Rhonda Reppert
Rhonda Reppert is a student in the Elementary Teacher Education program (English and math), and just finished a large project as a research assistant to Professor Pat Cavanaugh. The project served as Rhonda’s thesis project for the honors program.
“I worked for an entire semester helping Professor Cavanaugh on her book about bridging the gap between high school and college in regard to writing instruction. The problem her book addresses is the need of many students across the nation to take remedial writing courses when they get to college.”
“My piece of the larger project focused on the issue of grammar in high school writing instruction. Many teachers teach grammar as a separate subject, but as my thesis shows, it is not effective to compartmentalize grammar instruction. It must be integrated into a larger language arts curriculum.”
“The opportunity came about while Dr. Cavanaugh discussed her book project in a class on ‘Teaching the Art of Writing.’ Dr. Cavanaugh is one of my favorite teachers. She really pushes students to be the very best they can be. She doesn’t let anyone slide by.”
“The most important thing I’ve learned that I will use in my career as a teacher is that while I’m pushing my students to do their very best, I must give them the freedom to make mistakes along the way. Students must be given the chance to construct their own knowledge. It’s all a part of the process of learning.”
Rhonda worked as a court reporter and as a substitute teacher before returning to college to become an educator.
“While working as a substitute teacher, the principals I met recommended almost unanimously that I go to SVSU.”
“The campus is very user friendly campus, with great parking. The other university I attended made you take a shuttle, which required that you arrive up to 45 minutes earlier than I have to at SVSU. It eliminates a big waste of time.”
“SVSU’s teacher education program is better than most because students have more field time than other universities provide. Once we’re turned out, we’re more polished.”
“The professors at SVSU are great. They are passionate about what they’re doing and they care about how students are learning.”