An eight-member panel consisting of local principals, school teachers and student teachers from the school of education provided information on education programs to students on Oct. 17 in the Thomason Auditorium in the Lee Nursing Building.
The panel answered questions related to important topics concerning the teaching profession. Topics included students’ inspiration to pursue a career in education and what strategies they can develop to better their future classroom environments.
The members of the panel offered a variety of positive and encouraging answers to those in attendance.
“I was inspired to become a teacher by the many great, and some not so great, teachers I had in my childhood,” Crystal Horton, a teacher at Briggs Elementary in Florence, said. “They had a very positive impact on my life, and I wanted to do the same.”
Shanda Poston, principal at J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet School in Lake City, said the key to creating a positive school culture is to establish clear roles, responsibilities and expectations in the classroom. She also emphasized the importance of sticking to these rules and holding people responsible for the parts they play.
Experiences teachers and new student teachers alike agreed that one of the most important parts of teaching is creating a positive teaching environment within the classroom. Along with this, they said a useful way of creating this environment is by establishing roles and responsibilities for everyone involved in the classroom environment.
“A teacher must establish clear goals and objectives,” Emily Thigpen, FMU student and student teacher at East Clarendon High School in Turbeville, said.
Other panelists built upon this, saying that one of the most important aspects of teaching is building relationships with the students as well as their parents to enrich the classroom environment.
As many student teachers begin the interview process for potential teaching positions, the strategies to use during the process was a topic of several questions from those in attendance. Panel members offered their perspectives on what makes a candidate successful during the interview process.
The most common piece of advice was to be authentic to oneself and to be prepared with ideas but not to script and limit their answers.
It was a consensus by all panel members, but especially the veteran teachers, that teaching is not an easy profession. It requires passion and lots of patience to maintain focus and success. Discussing problems with a mentor, fellow teacher or administrator is key to navigating the first few years of any new teacher’s career.
In a profession where many teachers leave after only a few years in the industry, utilizing the resources available for support is essential to weather the transition into such a challenging career and maintain that positive environment.