• General Education courses
• Elementary Education Teacher Preparation courses
• Conductive Education coursework and application
• Students are required to pass the State of Michigan Basic Skills Test, as well as meet all other criteria for admittance to the School of Education.

• The POHI teacher preparation program is designed to prepare the candidate for the State of Michigan POHI endorsement. Specialization in Conductive Education methodology also qualifies the candidate for international conductor-teacher status. Students wishing to explore this major must meet with an advisor in the School of Education for full explanation of course requirements.
• Application and acceptance into the POHI program occurs each spring. Application deadline is March 15th. Applications are available in the School of Education.
• The undergraduate program for the preparation of teachers of the Physically and Otherwise Health Impaired (POHI) began August of 2001. Curriculum is delivered by Peto Institute and Aquinas College faculty. The emphasis is on the conductive education pedagogy and methodology.
• Students completing this program earn an Elementary Education teacher certification and a K-12 Physically and Otherwise Health Impaired (POHI) endorsement. The conductive education methodology component results in the additional granting of a certificate as a conductor-teacher, whose status is recognized worldwide.
• Students enroll in eight semesters of concurrent theory and application work. Students may also gain credit and experience by studying at the International Peto Institute in Budapest, Hungary.
• Incoming freshmen are eligible to apply after completing their first semester at Aquinas. An interview with the Aquinas College Director of the Special Education Program and a Peto Instute professor, as well as a demonstration project, are required. Enrollment is limited.

Andrea : "I was always interested in occupational therapy and education, especially working with kids and conductive education combines both of those things. When I visited the lab school (at Aquinas), I fell in love with it immediately."

Clare : "I always wanted to do special education. My sister went to school (at Aquinas) and I heard about the (POHI) program that way."

Melissa : "I had no idea about it and an AQ recruiter was at my school. I wanted to go into special education and he told me about the POHI program. It was brand new – he didn't even have a brochure on it. I came up to visit Aquinas and the lab school. When I visited, you could just see that the kids liked it, the teachers liked it and they were learning."

Jamieson :"I first wanted to do physical therapy, but the demand wasn't here. I knew I wanted to work with kids, and was thinking about teaching. When I saw the program and the rewards from it, I immediately wanted to do it. It's so different and so interesting."

What Do You Find Appealing About the Conductive Education Method?

Andrea : "A lot of the families see a benefit to being in conductive education. It benefits the families as well as the kids. It's meant to help integrate kids with family and peers. I enjoy seeing the kids work to become more independent."

Clare : "The methods used in conductive education are good for all kids. There's not just an academic focus, but a whole body focus. (Conductive education) looks at the whole child."

Melissa : "The fact that it's a holistic approach, but you're always looking at the positive. You're never saying a kid can't do something. We look at the positive aspects, not the negative aspects. More often than not, with conductive education, you see specific results. You're working with a child that when someone says ‘they can't do this,' you say ‘Yes they can and I'm going to find a way.'"

Jamieson : "I want to make a difference. I felt that I could by helping a child learn to do something someone else said they couldn't. The kids gain such independence. They're very self motivated."

In General, What was your Experience in Hungary Like?

Andrea : "It's interesting to see conductive education and how their system works and how we developed out of what they've done. We're such a smaller scale here. Theirs is a huge network throughout Hungary and all of Europe, really."

Clare : "The days were pretty packed, but there was a good balance all around. We went sight-seeing and visited the art museum; we went to the opera and the theatre."

Melissa : "I had no idea about Hungary. I absolutely loved it. The country itself was absolutely beautiful. It was great to see the method we're using in full force."

Jamieson : "It was amazing. The sites were extremely beautiful. The history of the city was amazing. The people were so warm and friendly. I didn't feel a need to know the language. If given the opportunity, I would definitely go back."

What was Your Experience at the PETO Institute Like?

Andrea : "It's nice to see a large quantity of children with the dame diagnosis working together. To see how conducive education works for a larger variety of kids. We also observed and worked with adults with Parkinson's and stroke victims."

Clare : "It gave us a real feel of what the program can be. Even though they're speaking a different language, you could still follow what they were doing."

Melissa : "We did observation work, we had lecture classes on conditions that we don't do here, like Parkinson's disease, stroke victims - things we don't facilitate (at Aquinas). We went into classrooms and did hands on work. Every day we were in the classroom with the kids for at least two hours."

Jamieson : "The same methodology is applied here (in the U.S.), but the facility (in Hungary) is huge. The kids live there. We got to observe (adult) patients with Parkinson's and that's not available to us in the U.S. Conductive Education is accepted and expected more there than here. Any nerve damage a child has, someone at a there hospital will know about conductive education and be able to get them help early on."

What Surprised You the Most While You Were in Hungary?

Andrea : "The size of the PETO Institute! Here we have conductors that come and visit (from Hungary) and there're only a small number of (conductive education) schools in the U.S. It was really great to see all the conductors and their teaching methods on such a large scale."

Clare : "I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't expect it to be as pretty or as culturally rich of a city as it is. There was so much to do!"

Melissa : "This program can be so huge and work so perfectly - like clockwork. Even if something went wrong, it was no big deal. And it produces such amazing results."

Jamieson : "The expectation of the conductors. The kids live there and from the time they get up to the time they go to bed, they're each doing their own routines - day in and day out. It's expected. The kids spend every day learning how to be independent."

How Much Time Do You Spend at the Conductive Learning Center in Grand Rapids?

Andrea : "I'm there probably fifteen to seventeen hours a week. It's a little more for me since I'm trying to do the (five year) program in four years. The further you get into the program, the closer you get to the conductor role. You learn so much more in those ten/fifteen hours then you ever could in the classroom. Nothing can compare to working at the Conductive Learning Center. I don't know how you could do it without those practical hours. It'd be even more difficult!"

Clare : "We're required to do 10 hours of observation a week, but you also have to plan your lessons."

Melissa : "To get the major it's a minimum of 130 hours a semester. It works out to be ten hours a week. But then, like any teacher, you have time outside of the classroom."

Jamieson : "I do ten to ten and a half hours a week at the lab school, plus you also have lesson plans and observations. You start working as soon as you walk in the door. Even as an observer, it's hands on. You learn from experience. And at any time, you can ask questions. No child is the same. No cerebral palsy is the same. If you just did text book work, you wouldn't understand what conductive education is all about."

How Do You Feel Working With POHI Kids Has Affected You?

Andrea : "I've become a more patient person. I'm more willing to let things evolve at a slower pace. I think I can sense better when someone need help. It goes beyond the classroom – I think I'm more in tune to people's feelings."

Clare : "It's completely affected me. It makes you more tolerant and more patient. It makes you more determined to success because you see how hard they work. It makes you more appreciative of what you have and what you can do. With the community that's built up (at the Conductive Learning Center), you feel needed."

Melissa : "I go home everyday with a story. I think it's made me a better person. These kids work so hard for some of the things that everyone takes for granted. It's inspiring. I work with a five year-old who inspires twenty-two year-olds because he has a goal, and he's going to achieve it."

Jamieson : "It's made me stronger as a person. It's challenged me to set everything happening in my life aside and focus on the kids. The kids make me feel like I could be a better person through my day to day experiences with them. Sometimes I think I've learned more from them than they've learned from me. A lot of the kids are my role models - they're so self motivated and self disciplined."

What Would You Eventually Like to do With Your POHI Endorsement/Degree?

Andrea : "I'd like to be a conductor in the U.S. I'm open to see where this takes me, though. But I really want to work at a Conductive Education school. This degree is internationally recognized and gives me a lot of flexibility."

Clare : "I'm not really sure yet. I would like to work as a conductor right away. But with the (POHI) degree, you're also certified to be an elementary school teacher, so there are a few options."

Melissa : "Teach conductive education internationally. There's a school in London, I'd like to work there. Our degree is international."

Jamieson : "My personal goal is to one day have my own program. I hope, when I graduate, that conductive education has grown more. I love the kids and the families at the Learning Center. I would like to stay at the Center for a while, but my goal is to move conductive education more global."