Aaron and Jeff sit down with Kaylin Shewmake, a Penn State University student and Student PSEA Central Region president. Kaylin was one of the fortunate recipients of the student teacher stipend that was awarded this past year. She talks about her experience applying for and receiving the stipend, the improvements she hopes to see in the future, and how fully funding this stipend is key to attracting more future educators in Pennsylvania.
Aaron and Jeff sit down with Kaylin Shewmake, a Penn State University student and Student PSEA Central Region president. Kaylin was one of the fortunate recipients of the student teacher stipend that was awarded this past year. She talks about her experience applying for and receiving the stipend, the improvements she hopes to see in the future, and how fully funding this stipend is key to attracting more future educators in Pennsylvania.
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Voiceover:
Welcome to Duty Free Lunch, the official podcast of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Join us as we unpack the issues that matter most to you, from cutting-edge classroom strategies to thought-provoking policy discussions. If it impacts PSEA members, it's on the menu.
Aaron Chapin:
Hello and welcome to Duty Free Lunch. I am PSEA President Aaron Chapin. Joining me today, PSEA Vice President, you know him, Jeff Ney. How are you doing, Jeff?
Jeff Ney:
Good, Aaron. How are you doing?
Aaron Chapin:
Oh my gosh! I can't say enough great things about how I'm feeling today.
Jeff Ney:
Really?
Aaron Chapin:
Yes.
Jeff Ney:
Well, I mean, by the time everybody's hearing this, it's a new year. It's a new you. Same you?
Aaron Chapin:
Same me.
Jeff Ney:
Same you. Okay.
Aaron Chapin:
You don't change this greatness.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, when you get to that top of the pinnacle, there's nowhere else to go.
Aaron Chapin:
Where you are in my life, and I just had a birthday.
Jeff Ney:
You did just have a birthday.
Aaron Chapin:
I did. I did. Nobody surprised me in the studio though.
Jeff Ney:
60 looks great on you.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, 65, I guess it is. And it's great weather outside, unless, of course, this is being released in March. Maybe it's better by them.
Jeff Ney:
It's got to be better than it is right now while we're recording. It is frigid out there. Oh my goodness!
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah, yeah. It's windy. It's miserable. Yes. But we are excited.
Jeff Ney:
We are very excited. We have a great guest today.
Aaron Chapin:
You know why, Jeff?
Jeff Ney:
Because we have a great guest today.
Aaron Chapin:
Exactly. Exactly. We're here to talk about another key piece of legislation from the past year that PSEA members were instrumental in helping to get passed. It's something that's going to go a long way towards refueling the teacher pipeline. Well, that's really good. That is good writing.
Jeff Ney:
That's good writing, right?
Aaron Chapin:
Wow.! And of course, I'm talking about the student teacher stipend, which we've talked about before. It's helping student teachers afford to make it through their certification process.
Jeff Ney:
You're doing it.
Aaron Chapin:
It's a new year, I should start taking speech classes. PSEA, as you all know, have been working really closely with legislators to increase funding for this program to ensure that all student teachers are covered. And we're thrilled to have gotten the ball rolling. It's been a great start in this first semester, and it's going to keep rolling this semester. So in the studio with us today, we're going to get an insider's perspective to one of the lucky recipients of this stipend. She's from Penn State, so we know she's great.
Jeff Ney:
We are.
Aaron Chapin:
Go Lions! Big football game. Of course, it's probably already over by the time this is out, and we would've won. We've beat Notre Dame.
Jeff Ney:
Well, go Irish. Sorry.
Aaron Chapin:
She is the Student PSEA Central Region President. It's Kaylin Shewmake. How you doing, Kaylin?
Kaylin Shewmake:
I'm good. How are you guys?
Aaron Chapin:
Well, welcome to Duty Free Lunch. It's great to have you in the studio. So thank you for making the trek down from State College. We're going to get right into it, Jeff.
Jeff Ney:
Yeah, let's do it.
Aaron Chapin:
So Kaylin, what I need you to do is walk us through this application process for the student-teacher stipend. First of all, how did you even find out about it and then prepare to apply?
Kaylin Shewmake:
Well, it was a few months ago, so if I remember all my information correctly, I believe that I heard about it first actually through PSEA. Last year I was the PACE Chair for Central Region, so I believe we had a meeting with the Central Region president last year, Grace Greener, and she told us a bunch of information about it so that we can spread it out to our orgs and our chapters and to people around Penn State.
So I got a lot of my information from that. But in order to prepare for that, it was confusing a little bit because I think information slowly got released as it went out. So when we first heard about it, all we heard was you're getting a stipend and you're going to get a good amount of money. And that's all we knew, and then we started slowly learning things like you're going to need to put in an application.
You're going to need to know where your place for student teaching. So I think it was a little stressful trying to put that all together. But on April, whatever day, 11th, I think something like that, I was in my dorm room, had my computer open, and I was sitting there ready to apply with the little information that I had.
Jeff Ney:
Well, that's great. So you're sitting there waiting for your computer. How quickly were you able to get into the system to put your application in?
Kaylin Shewmake:
Honestly, okay, so my application I got in a little late because my computer was messing up and I couldn't sign it electronically. So I had to run over to my dorm room commons, print out this application, sign it, and then scan it, and then send it back in. So it took me a little longer than I wanted it to take, but I got it in.
Jeff Ney:
Why did you think it was so urgent to get it in immediately?
Kaylin Shewmake:
Well, I had been telling every single education major I knew to apply and apply and apply to try and get it so that there would be an increase of people to try to get an increase of money next year or an increase of budget for more teachers. So I knew that it was going to be a little bit competitive, so I wanted to get it in ASAP, as fast as possible. So I was a little disappointed when I saw I had gotten it in a little bit later than I hoped. And honestly, I didn't think I was going to get it because I had submitted it not two or three or four minutes after it had originally opened.
Jeff Ney:
Oh wow!
Aaron Chapin:
Well, by the way, Jeff, she talks about the electronic signature portion.
Jeff Ney:
Yes.
Aaron Chapin:
You actually need to do an electronic signature portion because we've had prospective student teachers be denied because they typed stuff in. So we found out through government relations, this is for real.
Jeff Ney:
Absolutely. And I'll tell you what, don't get me wrong, I mean, this is not something the PSEA ran. This was not a PSEA website. This is obviously going through FIA, and it was their first time doing it, Aaron, and they took a little bit of responsibility, said there was going to be some hiccups. So you've gone through the process. What do you think could be done to improve upon that process for the next group that's going to do the applications?
Kaylin Shewmake:
I really think FIA should work more closely with colleges. I think when I went into my student teacher interview after I'd already applied, I started asking my supervisor a bunch of questions and she was like, "Honestly, I probably know as much as you do." She said that there was not much communication with the schools, which is valid because it's a new program.
Jeff Ney:
Brand new program.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yeah, but it didn't seem like anybody knew the intricacies of where we were going to get the money, when we were going to know if we had gotten the stipend, what we're going to do after we had known that we gotten it. It was just, I think, working more closely with colleges and maybe even with PSEA to have people or spokespersons for to share information about it and answer specific questions probably would've been really helpful.
Jeff Ney:
I think that would've been great. But again, as you said, shout out to Kelli Thompson and all the work that she did on our government relations to help everybody out.
Aaron Chapin:
And I think we all need to remember, everybody that was involved in this process was so eager to get it up and running. I think government would take a year. Hey, let's work all this out. They were like, no, we want to jump on this and get it moving. And so we were building the plane, I say we, but the state was building the plane while they were flying it. And there's these hiccups. And unfortunately, I think everybody, all the college students this year, you're the Guinea pigs. And when we see this next year, it's going to be so much smoother.
Jeff Ney:
Well, it's just like anything else that goes on in all of our classrooms. I mean, you do a brand new lesson with brand new curriculum. The first time around, it's awkward. It's bumpy. It's going to have its little share of mistakes. You're going to do it better next time. But the important thing is that they got it going and they got the money to these kids.
Aaron Chapin:
Absolutely. So speaking of that money, how's that going to impact your life, you and your family's life?
Kaylin Shewmake:
I mean, honestly, I felt like I had a massive weight lifted off my shoulders. For my senior year, my parents found it important that I was completely financially responsible for my tuition and also my living expenses, so trying to navigate how I was going to afford my tuition and everything. I had to take out loans, obviously. Penn State, a little pricey. I took out loans, but knowing that I didn't have to work a part-time job on top of student teaching I think was a really, really, really big deal for me, because I'm involved in a ton of extracurriculars and a ton of stuff up at Penn State.
And just trying to balance full-time student teaching as well as trying to balance those extracurriculars and then also do prep work, curriculum development, trying to do also work for my classes that are on top of my student teaching, it would've been almost impossible to balance all that. But again, a lot of student teachers find themselves in that position.
Jeff Ney:
Absolutely. You said something that resonated with me quite a bit, and we hear it from our student members often that this stipend is going to impact them because now that extra job that they have to hold while they're still doing their student teaching may not need to be done or may not need to put in that many hours. And now you can completely focus on the education and learning the craft that you've chosen to do.
Aaron Chapin:
So you were involved obviously with Student PSEA. Still are, right?
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yes.
Aaron Chapin:
Even though you're going to be student teaching starting next week.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yes. I'm very excited.
Aaron Chapin:
It's pretty exciting. I know. It's great. So how are you involved in that advocacy role in getting everybody aware of what's taken place?
Kaylin Shewmake:
I mean, I have honestly just tried to spread out the information to anybody who will listen. Since I'm the Central Region president, I try to connect with all of the universities that are within my region, and I like to send out information that is important to them. So student teacher stipend obviously was a part of that.
So I'd been sending as much information that I knew as it came along, and especially talking to my org during meetings and answering questions from members that they might have, like miscellaneous questions. So just try to get out the information, as much information that I knew and tell literally anybody who was an education major.
Aaron Chapin:
And I think she's done exactly what a lot of our student leaders in all the chapters have been doing. I mean, we were in Marywood at different times.
Jeff Ney:
Yes, we were.
Aaron Chapin:
And I know that their leaders have been doing the same thing. I know it's been replicated across the state. You have done such an immense job and getting that information out because honestly, reading emails, seeing social media from PSEA, it's not going to cover enough. It's firsthand, passing it along.
Jeff Ney:
And there's a reason why she's the chapter president. I mean, crying out loud, with a go-get-em attitude like that, obviously it's going to be something like that. And for the fact that you can give that to somebody else down the line and tell somebody, "Hey, this is the experience that I had. Make sure that your passwords are working. Make sure that your technology's up-to-date. Make sure your electronic signature is okay."
And you've done all of that. Are you planning on... So now you're doing your student teaching come this next semester. You're obviously going to leave. You actually have an incoming president. Did you already have elections for next year's?
Kaylin Shewmake:
We didn't.
Jeff Ney:
You did not. So when you do have those, you are going to leave those blueprints for the next person to move along because they're all going to need that during the summertime because they're going to have to register.
Kaylin Shewmake:
100%. Yes.
Aaron Chapin:
Do you think the stipend is going to make teaching or these student teaching programs more equitable?
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yes. I think that we're definitely heading in the right direction of it being equitable. I think that we could be even more equitable with trying to just get it to as many people as possible and increasing that budget. But again, it was the first year this program was run.
Jeff Ney:
Along those same lines, do you think that this stipend as the word gets out, especially to now our high school, because you've also know we're part of Educators Rising into our high schools, do you think that this stipend is going to increase the popularity of kids to go into education? Or do you think this is just something that everybody else gets and it probably won't make a big difference?
Kaylin Shewmake:
100% I think it's going to make a difference. I think what deters a lot of people away from teaching is just working those hours and not getting any pay for it, especially for people who are completely financially responsible for their college. I think that it's a really, really hard ask to get somebody to work a full-time job for an entire semester while also paying for their living expenses and paying for their tuition. I think that it takes a lot of time management and a lot of hard work, and I think that some people could be deterred from that because they aren't getting that pay.
Jeff Ney:
I want to go back to the guidelines as far as applying for this. Do you think FIA and what you had filled out online, could they do things to make it clear and the steps to make it clear? I think you also mentioned a little bit about how the process was going to work. I mean, do you think all of that should be spelled out when applying so that after you're done with your electronic signature, you have something in your hand?
Kaylin Shewmake:
I mean, yeah, I think that there was just not enough knowledge in general about what we were supposed to be doing. So even just maybe setting up a video for this is what you're going to do, or sending out an email of these are the steps that you're going to have to take. You're going to apply for the stipend, and then you're going to wait to see if you got it, and then you're going to contact this person, and then you're going to do this. So just outlining those steps to make it so that everybody has an idea of what to expect or what they need to do. I think that would've really benefited me.
Jeff Ney:
I think Kaylin hits it right on the head. I mean, crying out loud, there's a YouTube out there for just about everything. Why wouldn't there be one for the student teacher stipend?
Aaron Chapin:
It sounds like a good job for you.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, really? You're going to give me another one.
Aaron Chapin:
I think this would be perfect for you to work on.
Kaylin Shewmake:
My bad. Didn't mean to sign you up for that.
Jeff Ney:
That's okay.
Aaron Chapin:
I really think, and again, it's all about hindsight at this point, but I think that's absolutely a great idea. And whether it's PDE, PSEA, or a combination of all our groups, putting something together where it's really spelled out, something they're going to watch.
Jeff Ney:
And I completely compliment you and what you're doing with your chapter of Student PSEA there in State College. What would your recommendations be to the other chapters that may not be as active with PSEA? Because you said you heard some of the information through PSEA, some of it through advisors. What would your advice be to those other chapters out there? What would you tell those leaders, "Hey, this is what I would recommend you do for your chapter?"
Kaylin Shewmake:
Honestly, for our meetings, we try to have a portion of it just dedicated to PACE updates or things that are important concerning policies around education. So just talking about it, having those conversations. I know that sometimes money can be kind of a touchy subject, so just being willing to try to just talk about it and have those conversations, even though they may be difficult.
And even roping in, this is a little diverted from your question, but roping in professors into talking about this stuff and just getting right to the source of getting every education major to even hear about it I think would just be so beneficial. Because there were some people who didn't even know about the stipend, when you had to apply, so they were already too late. So I think trying to get to the root and to the professors and to the students and just try to get out that information is really important.
Jeff Ney:
Aaron, you and I were very lucky Kaylin invited us out there to her chapter, and she had quite the crowd when we went there and spoke to the...
Aaron Chapin:
I think they thought we were giving something away.
Jeff Ney:
You think that was what it was?
Aaron Chapin:
I think absolutely, because I'm not sure why we had that many people come see us.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Hey, you guys were funny. They loved you guys.
Jeff Ney:
See, Aaron?
Aaron Chapin:
Uh-huh.
Jeff Ney:
It's not just your looks.
Aaron Chapin:
I know, I know. All right, so Kaylin, you get a magic wand, you can wave it and make the student teacher stipend program blossom into something better. What would be the biggest thing? If you could change this whole thing about the stipend, anything about it, what would it be?
Kaylin Shewmake:
I think the communication. I think that there was not a ton of communication to the students on what they were supposed to be doing, and I think that led to a lot of confusion. There were times when people would email and they would get no response, and there were times where they would ask questions and I would just simply have to say, "I don't know." So I think just communicating and getting out that information is really, really, really important for the stipend.
Aaron Chapin:
You want more money.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Um, I mean, I would love if other people could get more money that didn't get it.
Jeff Ney:
Wow! That is a great answer.
Aaron Chapin:
Yes, we need more money.
Jeff Ney:
We do need more money.
Aaron Chapin:
And obviously when we're recording this, we're about a month away from the governor's budget address, and I'm hoping that it's... Look, we don't know yet. Hopefully it's in his proposal and it's going to be something that we're going to be obviously advocating for as the spring comes upon us.
Jeff Ney:
I mean, we've heard directly from one of the recipients of the impact that it has made. You don't have to have necessarily a secondary job. It is something that you can focus on the craft of education more and more while you're there. Something you don't have to worry about, student loans, one of those things that you're going to come out of school and have to worry about. Because I would assume that if this stipend did not come through for you, that's what it would've meant for you, applying for more loans, possibly getting another part-time job to help defray those costs.
Kaylin Shewmake:
And I think it's just a lot for a college senior to be working a full-time job in general on top of everything that is expected of them while still trying to enjoy their senior year, their last year in college. So I mean, it was honestly, as I said before, just a weight lifted off my shoulders. I feel so much better going into this last semester, and I feel like I can fully put my all into student teaching rather than having to worry about the million things I have to do, including a part-time job after I'm done.
Aaron Chapin:
Because that's your job. When you're student teaching, that is your job, and that's all you should be focused on, just like all of us out in the field. This is your one job.
Jeff Ney:
Well, listen, I mean, and I'm sure you have friends as well that are in the business end of the world, just like I had roommates that were in the business end, and all of them had internships.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yes.
Jeff Ney:
And they would come home after a week of doing their internships and they would get paid and it would be fantastic. And I'm sitting there, I'm like, I don't...
Kaylin Shewmake:
I'm broke.
Jeff Ney:
Right. I'm broke. I'm going to the convenience store to go to work a couple hours to make sure I had money to have food for the next week. I get it. Now, Aaron and I did not get a chance to see the actual application online. Was the actual application easy enough to go through? Was there anything on there that maybe you could say, "Oh, this could have been a little bit better?"
Kaylin Shewmake:
Honestly, I think the application itself was pretty straightforward. I believe though that by the time the application had come out, I might not have had my definite student teaching placement because it was in April. I didn't get my definite school and grade and teacher until August. So I think, if I remember correctly, that was the point of stressor for me. I didn't think I had to denote the specific school, but I think that was a little bit of a point of worry for me with that application.
Jeff Ney:
I think we go back to, Aaron, your comment of building it in the air. This is a work in progress with everybody. So I mean, the colleges now see that kind of stressor and maybe we need to communicate with colleges a little bit more and say, "Hey, look." We understand that they're under a time crunch too, but this is what this group needs.
Aaron Chapin:
Absolutely. Jeff?
Jeff Ney:
Yes, sir.
Aaron Chapin:
Pop quiz time.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, it's pop quiz time.
Aaron Chapin:
Hit it.
Jeff Ney:
I love pop quiz. So you say you're getting ready to do your student teaching?
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yes.
Jeff Ney:
Okay. So what has been the best and worst, maybe the scariest thing that you're thinking about as you lead up to your time as a student teacher?
Kaylin Shewmake:
Ooh, okay. This is a good question. I'm going to start with the scariest because I want to end with the best.
Aaron Chapin:
Wow!
Jeff Ney:
Man, she's going to be awesome.
Kaylin Shewmake:
You flatter me. I think the scariest was probably my first observation. I love my supervisor, don't get me wrong. She's the sweetest, kindest human being in the entire world. But when she came to watch me teach, I was shaking in my boots. I was so nervous, and I was teaching math. I do not like math.
She came in. She was like, "Are you ready to go?" I said, "Um, I think I'm ready." And honestly, the lesson could not go as well as I wanted it to, but I had nothing to worry about. She just gave me a bunch of feedback, and honestly, it helped my teaching a lot anyways. So first observation, scary, but it was okay.
Aaron Chapin:
You know what? It happens to all of us, like to all of us. I was that way for the first decade of teaching. It's nerve-racking, and that's okay. It means you care.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yeah. I mean, the students had watched me and my mentor teachers obviously watching me while I'm teach, but just having my supervisor come in to watch me, I was like, oh no, and I'm being graded on this. And she's watching every single movement I'm making. I was very nervous, but we got through it. It's okay.
Jeff Ney:
The advice that I give to all of my student teachers that I ever had is always have a plan B.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yes.
Jeff Ney:
And if possible, C and D as well. Because nine times out of 10, the kids don't want to cooperate with plan A. All right, so give us the bright spot.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Okay. So I think the best moment I've had while student teaching was having my first lesson that I felt was successful, I feel. I made a lesson. It was about chemical reactions. And honestly, we just did baking soda and vinegar to show chemical reactions and did a bunch of other stuff, but I tried to incorporate a lot of movement, a lot of interaction, a lot of growing and learning together.
And just watching them go through this lesson and know that I was able to have an active role in helping them learn and grow and laugh with their peers and have a good time while learning, it gave me such a sense of, I guess, pride for what I had done. And just seeing that they were having fun while also learning was just a really, really rewarding feeling for me.
Aaron Chapin:
You all can't see, but she's got a big giant smile on her face. Jeff and I, obviously, we've been out of the classroom for a little while now to do these jobs. And we'll say it, the only downside to this job is not being in the classrooms and doing exactly what you're doing and the work that we all put into these lessons. Because look, everybody listening, most of us are educators. We're support staff. We know how much work that goes into these lessons. And when it works, it is, it's a great sign of relief. It's great to watch the kids having fun. That's what teaching's all about.
Jeff Ney:
It's every day's goal to have that vision of those kids' faces light up. The light bulb come on. They make a connection, and that gets you coming back for the... It's like the high that you keep chasing for your entire career.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Yes. I mean, the first lesson I taught was a little shaky, obviously. And then after that, I had taken what I had learned from those lessons and applied it to the chemical reactions lesson. It wasn't perfect, but knowing that I had made those improvements and then actually was able to help my students and have everything go more smoothly, it was a really, really good feeling.
Jeff Ney:
If it was easy, everybody do it.
Aaron Chapin:
Exactly. Exactly. Unfortunately, that does it for all of our time today. And our guest today has been Kaylin Shewmake. Thank you very much for being here. It's been a pleasure meeting you. I think for us, we've been working on this for over a year now, even longer. And to have somebody in the studio today that's benefited from the hard work, not just of our office or team and all of our staff, but all of our members, this is a reward for us. So thank you very much for coming in and talking with us, and good luck with student teaching.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Thank you.
Aaron Chapin:
It's going to be fantastic.
Jeff Ney:
She gave us that light bulb moment for us.
Aaron Chapin:
That's right.
Kaylin Shewmake:
Oh, I'm glad I could do that.
Jeff Ney:
Thanks.
Aaron Chapin:
For any of our college students that are listening right now, if you have some feedback for us regarding this process, and again, we've sent out some communication, if you're having some issues or questions with this program, I just had a couple more email me late last week, and I've been talking with our government relations team, don't hesitate to email us.
You can send it to the podcast email or just send it to me at achapin@psea.org. Send us your questions. If you need help, we're here for you. But again, thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in. Do you have feedback for us? Because we're always happy to take it. Please send us an email at podcast@psea.org. I'm Aaron Chapin.
Jeff Ney:
And I'm Jeff Ney.
Aaron Chapin:
And you have been listening to Duty Free Lunch. Bye for now.
Voiceover:
You've been listening to Duty Free Lunch with the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Visit psea.org/podcast to learn more, and don't forget to subscribe and share. Paid for by the Pennsylvania State Education Association.