Here at Har-Ber, a variety of classes are offered. Some classes help students prepare for college while others prepare students to graduate directly into a job field. This year, another class was added to the mix: Jobs Skills.
“Shortly after school started I realized that I needed some new activities in my classroom,” Mrs. Alex Fitzgerald explains. “I wanted these activities to be relevant and challenging.”
Mrs. Fitzgerald started the Jobs Skills class this year with a total of four students: two juniors and two seniors. “So far my students have been really excited about the new activities we are doing,” explained Mrs. Fitzgerald.
The students do all their activities with “task boxes” – a plastic box that has all of the items and directions needed for a student to complete their activity independently. “Using task boxes is very common,” said Mrs. Fitzgerald, “and it has been used at Har-Ber before.”
Of course, the items for these activities don’t come cheap. Thankfully, many of the staff have been very generous with helping to collect the items Mrs. Fitzgerald needs. “It has been amazing to see how many people have helped,” she stated. “[However] I must admit there are very few needed things left.”
Students can help contribute to Mrs. Fitzgerald’s new class by dropping off items such as plastic shoes boxes, wooden or plastic eggs, small plastic Tupperware containers, and shoe polish sets, among many other things.
Through these activities, students learn job skills such as assembly and manufacturing skills and office skills. “I use a gradual release model to teach new skills,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said. “First the teacher will show the student how to do something. Then, the teacher will help the student to do the same task. Finally the student is given the opportunity to do the task by themselves.” Through repetition of the same task over and over again, Mrs. Fitzgerald’s pupils will independently learn to become fast and efficient at their tasks.
“I believe that every teacher at Har-Ber High school teaches life skills, that’s our job.” Mrs. Fitzgerald states. “My job is to meet the needs of the students that are in my classroom, so that when they leave Har-Ber they are able to meet and hopefully exceed the goals they have for their life.”