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Participating in in-person and virtual student teaching placements prepared Courtney James for what was to come.

As part of Courtney James’ journey to becoming an educator, she applied her classroom training to several faculty-mediated fieldwork experiences that allowed her to not only become a better educator but establish professional relationships with current teachers and students while gaining the confidence to become an adaptable classroom leader.

“My first classroom experience was during my sophomore year when I was placed at Fisher Middle School in Ewing, NJ. I eventually completed my student teaching at the same location two years later and it was extremely helpful to have already established some relationships before my student teaching began.”

She continues, “I also completed a field experience virtually during the peak of COVID-19 which prepared me for the complex developments happening in educational technology at the time. During this experience, I was able to truly interact with students at the age level I intended on teaching, practice writing and executing lessons, and gain knowledge from experienced teachers.”

How faculty positively impacted her career as an educator

“The professors I’ve had at Rider have shaped me as an educator. The classes I took early on in my time at Rider with Dr. Curran and Dr. Pearcy helped me to determine the kind of educator I wanted to be. Later, I had discipline-specific classes with Dr. Casey, and she was an instrumental part of my success as well. Her passion for language arts reminded me of why I chose to teach in the first place.”

Using the lessons she’s learned at Rider in her classroom

James is currently a 7th-grade language arts teacher at Kreps Middle School in the East Windsor Regional School District where she teaches four classes a day to a variety of learners.

“I learned many valuable lessons during my time at Rider. One of the most prevalent is that teaching is all about relationships. Dr. Curran said this in almost every class I took with him and it stuck with me until I began my teaching career this past year. I truly value the rapport I have developed with my students; as time passes, I realize that Dr. Curran could not be more correct.”