What Students Really Say About Farmington


Why did you pick your major?
I picked Special Education because I think that’s the group of people I'd most like to teach. I feel I can make a big difference in this area.

Did you come in with that major?
Yes. Originally, I came in thinking that I’d like to teach special needs adults but then I started thinking I could be more effective if the students came to me earlier.

What is a special strength of Farmington's Special Ed program?
One strength of the Special Education program here is that the professors provide you with different tools you can bring into the classroom. After four years here, I feel very prepared to go into a classroom with new ideas and to help change special education.

For instance, I’m taking things I learned from my practicum experiences in my regular education class and my Special Education practicum class and combining all those tools to get a better understanding of what assessment is and how it should be used.

My philosophy of education is tied into that — they’re drawing from everything and nothing feels isolated. I’m also taking a class in Special Education law right now and I find I’m constantly referencing between that class and another class. It helps me better understand what I'm doing now.

Have you had a favorite class at Farmington?
I liked a lot of the math classes I’ve taken here and I think the math professors at UMF are wonderful, specifically Paul Gies [Assoc. Professor of Mathematics] — I think he’s a great professor. The way he teaches is that you might have several homework assignments to build on the skills you’ve learned in class. And then in specific classes you do more exploratory homework where you play with what you learned and maybe generalize it to other areas. So you build on those skills and then you really solidify them. When you come to a test or a quiz you feel you really know the material. He does a great job and I feel I remember things more the next semester. So I go to the next class and I continue to build on it. I like that continuation of things.

Tell me a bit about your Special Ed teaching practicum.
I’ve enjoyed my Special Education practicum the most. I was able to apply everything I’ve been learning. Plus, I discovered the Special Ed classroom is definitely where I want to be — I feel very comfortable in that classroom environment. But I also felt more needed and that my practicum supervisor really wanted me there and wanted me to help. In the Special Education practicum I’m in now, I get to work with certain students and my supervisor had me run different lessons she was having that day. I was an extra set of hands, eyes, and ideas in the classroom. It's fantastic!

Do you plan on teaching in a Special Education classroom?
Yes. Eventually, I'd like to teach in a Special Education classroom.

What has been the most useful thing you’ve learned in a class?
I think I'm destined to be a life-long learner. I’m going to continue reading things and applying to academic journals that focus on disabilities and the latest research-based teaching methods.

How did you choose to come to Farmington?
I’m from New Hampshire and I went to a college fair at Pinkerton Academy, which is near my town. I spoke to a UMF Admission rep about the college. At that time I knew I'd like to major in Special Education and there aren't many affordable schools in New England that have an undergrad program in Special Ed.

Later on, I received a postcard from Farmington asking if I'd like more information — the card was kind of funny and cute. It wasn’t an overwhelming amount of information but it seemed like a place I might want to visit. So I came to visit in October of my senior year and everybody I met here was really friendly and I felt I could see myself here. I liked it, so I chose to apply.

What do you like now that you’re here?
I still feel the people are really genuinely friendly and they go out of their way to help you. I also like the small-town feel. For some people it’s hard that we don’t have big shopping malls and big places to go out and do things, but I like that. I love the quaintness of downtown. And I like that I can go to the on-campus Landing to see shows and different things. I like that I’ve met a group of people I feel really close to. I think that at bigger schools you meet a lot of people but you never get close to a small few. Here, you definitely get to know people really well.

Has any classwork or outside-the-classroom experience affected the way you think?
Special Education 101, the intro class, was really great because they had the Council for Exceptional Children [a student organization that works with children with special needs] come and speak to us. That got me involved in that organization and led to me helping out with Maine Special Olympics and getting me involved in the local community.

The Council for Exceptional Children is a national organization that puts on conferences and produces journals about children with disabilities. The branch at UMF is a group of students who try and help and be effective in some way to the surrounding schools. They go in and do different activities, like pumpkin carving and bring some kind of experience to the classroom.

Was the western Maine area a draw for you?
Definitely. I'd say being surrounded by mountains and lakes makes Farmington a fun place to be if you enjoy doing outdoor things. New Hampshire and Maine are fairly similar geographically, and I’ve always been drawn to outdoor activities. So I'd say yes, the location was a draw for me.