Owen LaChance
(Photo: Karsten Moran)
By Rebecca Maxon
Owen LaChance has always liked working with kids. As a student teacher in spring 2025, he honed his skills with support from cooperating teachers.
FDU Magazine: What sparked your interest in teaching?
OL: I went to summer camp growing up, and when I was in high school at theater camp, they gave us responsibilities and we helped the kids. I just loved seeing the young ones fall in love with something that I loved.
FDU Magazine: Where did you student teach?
OL: I taught fourth grade at Lafayette School in Chatham, N.J. Fourth grade teachers cover reading, math, science and social studies. It was a great experience to get direct advice from teachers before going off and teaching on my own.
FDU Magazine: What other field experience do you have?
OL: During my first year in the MAT program, 2024, I worked as a paraprofessional while taking night classes. Then in my second year, I student-taught two days a week in the fall semester and full-time in the spring. I supported students with a variety of needs to learn and grow in the best possible environment. I worked with two great cooperating teachers, and this lived experience with my mentors really prepared me.
FDU Magazine: What have your cooperating teachers taught you?
OL: They taught me how to keep a class organized, attentive and productive; how to adapt my disciplinary talks with students to match their personalities; and the most effective ways to communicate with parents.
FDU Magazine: What’s a creative lesson plan you wrote and taught?
OL: In a math lesson, I challenged students to use an online digital manipulative website called Polypad to get creative about showing their work. Every student had a different representation of the subtraction problem, though most students got the same correct answer. There is no one “right” way to approach problems.
FDU Magazine: Is there anything else about you that you’d like our readers to know?
OL: When I heard Lafayette School was staging “Seussical Jr.,” I volunteered on the show. It was a good way to stay involved with the kids and do something that I’m passionate about.