Teacher Panel

The teacher panel that was held on September 18 provided an insurmountable amount of knowledge about the future of my educational path. When I took a look at the topics that were going to be discussed, I felt as if nothing would really relate to the present me. But honestly, any information from people who have been through what I’m doing now is much appreciated. These topics ranged from preparing us for student teaching, the edTPA, and even finding a job once we graduate. 

To prepare for student teaching, the panelists gave a lot of tips and pointers. The one that stuck out to me the most was connecting to the students from the very first day. It seemed as though all of the panelists agreed that this was the most important thing that one can do during student teaching. A handful of the panelists also stressed that making sure you have a good relationship with the cooperating teacher and the technology that the school uses is also very important. 

The edTPA has always been something intimidating to me. Something akin to the final boss that you have to tackle before getting the treasure that is your teaching license. I have witnessed people fight it and come out victorious, but it has always seemed like it is scarier than it really is. The panelists and even some of the faculty put most of my worries to rest by giving me more details of what it is that others have not been able to. I guess there is some type of nondisclosure agreement that everyone has to sign?

Finally, there was a lot of discussion about what to do after you finish the student teaching. The principals really took the floor for this and described what they look for, the type of people they want, and what propels one candidate over another. The panelists all agreed that the first year should be used as a foundation year to establish yourself and learn to collaborate with the other teachers. 

There was not much talk about the different variety of technology that is used in the classrooms, however, it seemed most of the schools that were represented use smart board and Google Classroom. I overheard many of the teachers say that having the ability to adapt to new technology on the fly is a must.