Teachers spend summer getting hands dirty

Twelve teachers and counselors went back to work this summer — but not at their regular jobs.

Ten teachers and two counselors from the public school district completed School-To-Career internships at local industry leaders in order to bring their experiences back into their classrooms.

The internships took place at St. Charles Parish Hospital, Shell Chemical, Northrop Grumman and Destrehan Plantation.

Through the internships, the educators learned about various careers associated with each industry, occupational outlook, working conditions and advancement opportunities. Afterward, they developed lesson plans combining their experiences with 21st-century work skills and their grade level expectations.

Their lesson plans will range from topics like “Vertical forces at an angle” and “Proportions in the ship industry” to “My future is in my hands” and “Hurst Historians Heritage Day presentations.”

Barry Guillot, an earth science teacher at Hurst Middle School, said his internship at Destrehan Plantation made him realize how versatile the plantation can be in lesson plans beyond history.

“When you actually get there and you hear the people talking about the background, it shows you how many other ways it fits into the curriculum, with science and math, social studies and language arts,” Guillot said.

Guillot said he has planned several earth science lessons revolving around what he learned at his internship. One will revolve around how the early settlers used their local resources, like soil and mud, to survive.

Besides getting ideas for lessons, Guillot said internships give teachers credibility with the students and helps teachers to understand how graduates will use the information they are being taught.

Anitra Boyd, a counselor at Hahnville High School, agreed with Guillot that it’s important for students to understand how they will use what they’re learning in the future.

“In the internship, we see what they do on a day-to-day basis, bring it back in the classroom and have the children see the relevance of what they’re doing in the classroom to what they will be doing in daily life,” said Boyd, who interned at the hospital. “It gives them some insight … it shows them how it could be related to certain careers they’re interested in.”