VTVLC Teacher Profile
Get to Know the VTVLC K-8 Teachers: Sharon Rock
Q: Can you tell us a little about your background?
A: I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Castleton State College. I earned my Masters degree from Southern New Hampshire University. I started teaching full time at Alburgh Community Education Center for 3 years. Then I moved to teach closer to my hometown at Bellows Free Academy Fairfax for 6 years. I earned my Online Teaching Specialist degree through NEOTI and this is my second year teaching at VTVLC.
Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching for VTVLC?
A: It’s so hard to decide what my favorite thing about teaching for VTVLC is as I love it all! If I had to though, I’d say my most favorite thing, outside of the flexibility of the program, is how well I get to know my students, their families, and their pets at home. Even though we are virtual, I am able to learn more about these students faster than I did when I was teaching in person.
Q. What has been the highlight of your virtual classroom this year so far?
My highlight so far happened during our Friday Morning Meeting when I asked students to share about what they were looking forward to for the weekend. I had a student share that she was actually sad for the weekend and was looking forward to Monday! When I asked why, the student replied, “I’m actually sad because I love school now that I’m with VTVLC and I miss seeing you and my friends.” This warmed my heart and confirmed my love for teaching!
Q. What is different about teaching for VTVLC than teaching elsewhere?
The biggest difference I can think of is the difficulty of access to hands-on materials to aid in learning. There are many apps and virtual resources available as well as paper products that are easy to print or send to students. My students are okay with technology when they start the year, but soon after we start our year, they become very tech savvy students and love to learn about the new virtual tools available to them. In addition, there is more time to have students talking to each other in our virtual classrooms. They become the teachers and work together in student-centered learning environments aided by teacher-facilitated discussions.
When online, students are not just listening and watching through a device. Instead, they are engaging in rigorous content by participating in deep, thoughtful classroom discussions, working with peers in break-out groups, working independently, working on content with mixed age levels and varying experience levels, and, best of all, having fun learning and sharing what they know!
Q: What do you wish people knew about online learning or VTVLC’s
full-time K-8 program?
I wish more people knew about VTVLC period! I still have folks I talk to that haven’t heard about our program, as I try to spread the word about this wonderful program. One thing I wish people knew was that students are not online just staring at a screen for 6-7 hours a day. That would be exhausting, even for an adult learner! Instead, we have wonderful combination of synchronous and asynchronous lessons. When online, students are not just listening and watching through a device. Instead, they are engaging in rigorous content by participating in deep, thoughtful classroom discussions, working with peers in break-out groups, working independently, working on content with mixed age levels and varying experience levels, and, best of all, having fun learning and sharing what they know! I’ve had students tell me that they actually love what they are learning right now, with this content that we have created here at VTVLC with the collaboration of experts.