Clarie Arnold does not want to major in education, but every day of senior year she spends her second hour at Holmes Elementary. HOST is a class offered by Spring Lake High School that allows students to experience what it’s like working in a classroom.
“I thought it would be something new and different in my day,” Arnold said.
HOST teaches students how to work with kids, be in a leadership role and communicate professionally with their teachers. Either by reading in small groups with kids, laminating signs or grading math tests, high school students are immersed in a setting that can provide them with a broad foundation.
“I really like getting to know the kids when I work individually with them,” Arnold said. Students can be placed in a kindergarten through sixth grade classroom, or special education classes, to interact with students and help out their teachers.
Senior Amelia Ernzer is also a HOST student who compared it to an apprenticeship, and says it “teaches you a new perspective on learning.”
Ernzer took HOST to test out a career field that interested her. She works with second graders, and enjoys working with a variety of students – even the ones who struggle and cause trouble at school.
“I like working with kids that remind me of when I was a kid,” she said.
