Undergrad Conference

On Wednesday afternoon, I attended the English Undergraduate Conference when I completed my classes for the day. I attended the session on "Teaching English is Secondary Education". I intend to be an Elementary Education teacher but I chose this session because of its educational background. The session was led by two women. The first question they asked us to consider was, "What makes you want to get into education?" I immediately responded kids. I want to teach because of my love for helping others be the best they can be. I want to teach at the elementary level because I think they're the perfect age for me and I don't see myself teaching at a higher level. I enjoyed this conference because the speakers put all things aside to make us feel comfortable and get what information we needed out of the time we spent together. We covered many topics to point me in the right direction. We talked about making teaching more interesting. One of the speakers said that she taught how she was being taught and lessons became very monotone and repetitive. This immediately sparked my interest to know that I truly want to help others and make learning fun. They mentioned that during student teaching the process will run my life but I will learn a great amount from the experience. The leaders of the session recommended many book titles that I hope to come across and have time to read. We talked about pedagogy and student centered teaching where students participate in doing their own learning. We spent much time talking about the PSSA and "teaching for the test". This creates many time constraints in teaching but we talked about how to bring the art into the classroom because another student in attendance had a degree in art. Art is a passion of mine so this meant a lot to me because I can see it now, my future students having a different project every week. This leads me into the next topic we discussed of putting yourself into your teaching. Each of your students including yourself bring something to the table of teaching/ learning wether it be their knowledge, talents, or creativity. Creativity is an important step in getting past the limitations which may or may not be set upon me in the classroom. One of the last points we discussed was "Who id your teacher self?" Who am I really and what do I truly believe in? What so I personally believe about teaching and learning? I am so glad I decided to attend the conference. I have began thinking so much more about the teaching and learning process and I know I have made the right decision to follow the path of education. I have began to think so much more of myself and my future after Wednesday nights meeting and I have opened many ideas and possibilities for myself