Girl's work is all child's play
Evans High School junior Sarah Shepherd recently received a gold medal for treating adults like 4-year-olds.
Evans High School junior Sarah Shepherd, 16, helps Jack Barker, 3, paint a picture in the early childhood education class at Evans High School. Sarah won the Family Career and Community Leaders of America's gold medal.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Sarah, 16, took the top honors for her participation in the Students Taking Action with Recognition competition for the early-childhood education event at the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America's 2005 National Leadership Meeting in San Diego.
"I had to teach a lesson to a group of judges like they were 4-year-olds," Sarah said.
In a city famed for its zoo, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America required competitors to plan lessons focusing on zoo animals.
"I read a book to them about zoo animals and then asked them to name their favorite animal," Sarah said.
"She also had a flannel board on an easel with different parts of it representing different areas, the top was green for grasslands, the middle was blue for water and the bottom was brown," said Martha McGough, Evans High School's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America teacher. "She then asked judges to pull an animal off of her 'magic bag' and put the animal on the board for where it would live."
The judges gave Sarah a 97.3 score out of 100. Her win marks the first time an Evans High student has won a gold medal in the competition. Sarah received a certificate from the Columbia County School Board.
"It's a good feeling," McGough said of Sarah's win. "As a teacher, I'm very aware that I'm teaching students who will one day teach children. I want to make sure they have every bit of knowledge they need for such a demanding job."
A member of her school's softball, basketball and soccer teams, the student council and the National Technology Honor Society, Sarah said she intends to become a kindergarten teacher.
"After going through this, I have a whole new respect for teachers," she said. "It's a tough job, but worth it."