Senior I Internship as a Dance Educator

By Brooke Whitfield (senior)

When trying to pick the right college coming out of high school, I decided that as I was interviewing for the Teaching Fellows scholarship, one of the only two schools that offered Dance Education was East Carolina University. Plus, I knew that East Carolina had a great education program in general. This was amazing to me. I could possibly obtain a wonderful scholarship and attend college for something that I’ve loved to do ever since a very young age. Why not, right?

I am now a Senior Teaching Fellow at East Carolina University in Dance Education. The Teaching Fellows scholarship has enabled me to pursue two of my favorite things; teaching and dance. My mother and grandmother were both teachers and I have danced since the age of five. Being a Teaching Fellow, I have been exposed to various schools and educational programs in North Carolina. This has made me more aware of North Carolina’s opportunities offered to school-aged children in our school systems. I feel more prepared to begin my student teaching next semester due to all I have been exposed to, and my Senior I Internship in Beaufort County is also helping me prepare for my future. I look forward to pursuing my teaching career in Dance Education and feel very prepared to share my knowledge thanks to the Teaching Fellows program and The School of Theatre and Dance at East Carolina University. Go Pirates!

A Resident Advisor Teaching Fellow

By Kristen Hales (junior)

There are two things at ECU that I have never regretted doing. I have never regretted accepting the Teaching Fellows scholarship, and I have never second guessed my decision to become a Resident Advisor. The perks of the job are amazing, with Teaching Fellows and the RA job, I have a full ride to ECU. My parents were ecstatic, and so was I, upon finding out that I got my own room! A single, for me!

However, being an RA also has its drawbacks. Even though it’s a fun, creative, hands on job, there are oftentimes when you face unique challenges. From domestic disputes to roommate problems, even to the “I’m locked out of my room” scenario, you get to see it all.

Despite these occasional drawbacks, this job is giving me valuable learning experiences as well. I want to be a high school teacher, and what better way to learn how to handle students of that age group than by managing a bunch of freshmen who are the same age or younger than most high school seniors. I also get to make informational bulletin boards – as a future super creative and innovative teacher, this is a great way for me to learn about diverse topics, from vegetarianism to energy conservation.

Being an RA is tough, but the experience will last me a lifetime.

Dean's Leadership Seminar: "Front of the Class"

By Kaitlin Bunch (freshman)
Photo by Jaron Cox (freshman)

Brad Cohen visited us on Monday, October 8, and gave a wonderful presentation. I really enjoyed the book and re-read many of the parts. I especially liked the parts when he talked about his childhood because I know many people that can relate to that. All children have ups and downs while they are growing up and Brad had some really BIG ups and downs. His book is so inspirational because he tells how he overcame those situations and how that has helped him become the person he is today.

I was especially excited about the movie that is being made about him. This will give other people the chance to hear about and visualize some of the things he has gone through. I was also excited to hear about his new wife. To be honest I had really hoped that from the time he wrote the book to the time he presented to us that someone would have entered his love life. Not saying that he couldn't survive without that someone special, I just had hoped that if it was something that he wanted that he would get it. He deserves it.

I did get a little bit bored during his talk because so much of what he said was from the book and a lot of the stories were the same. I did like watching him while he talked to try and see some of the things he does. It was so interesting to see how much his mannerisms changed when he wasn't speaking and when he was. It was also neat seeing some of the ticks that he had not mentioned in the book, like the way his right arm kinda twitched a little bit while he talked.

It was a very good learning experience to have him with us as well as reading his book, I think after reading that I will be a better person and also a better teacher in the future.

Click here to read Brad Cohen's own blog about his visit to ECU.

"Hello, Dolly!"

By Ashley Moore (sophomore)

I went to the play “Hello Dolly” put on here at ECU, by the ECU School of Theatre and Dance. I did not know what to expect because I did not know anything about it, but I heard from friends that it was an excellent play, so I bought tickets for my boyfriend and I. Then I heard it was a musical, so I knew I would enjoy it because I love musicals. The play was excellent just as my friends told me. The storyline and choreography along with the music kept my attention and pulled me into the story. I saw many underlying themes and lessons in the play. One of these was to be who you are instead of what people want you to be. Two of the characters acted rich to impress girls, but eventually admitted to being average because they were in love.

Another lesson I learned was that you should go for what you want. Dolly wanted to marry Horace. He was not interested in her at the beginning. Dolly’s strategy was to show him women that were all wrong for him so that he would appreciate her. In the end Horace realized that Dolly was the woman for him. The play was a progression of his realizing that love was right in front of him the whole time. I give the play two thumbs up and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. And a note to all freshman Teaching Fellows, get involved with on campus events or go support them. You may learn more than you think.

The Senior II Experience, Part 1

By Daniel Barnes (senior)

My name is Daniel Barnes and I am a second-semester senior (or Senior II) in the Teaching Fellows Program. For the next few months, I will be updating my progress and reflecting on the experience of “Senior II.”

I am a Secondary English Education major interning at Roanoke High School in Robersonville, which is about 30 minutes away from Greenville in Martin County. A typical day consists of waking up at 5:30 A.M., preparing for school, leaving my apartment at 6:50, arriving at Roanoke at 7:25, and teaching from 8:00 A.M. until 3:10 P.M. The conclusion of the student school day does not signify the end of the teacher’s day, though. Usually, my clinical teacher and I are involved with tutoring sessions, faculty meetings, workshops, and planning for the upcoming week. We usually leave school at 4:30 P.M. unless we have parent-teacher conferences or a ballgame. Then, after arriving home at 5:00 or so, I spend approximately an hour on either grading papers or developing lessons.

The transition from a predominately class-based schedule to an exclusively internship-based routine has been easy. Instead of returning from a one-day a week internship and worrying about 13 hours of courses, the Senior II experience allows me to focus on what I want to do and plan. I’m learning more this semester about how to teach, rather than what to teach. As an English major, most of my classes have been content-based, i.e. reading and writing about collegiate-level literature. Now, my education has changed “directions.” Typically, college classes teach you, the college student, and give you the opportunity to show the professor what you know (and remembered). The internship allows me to apply what I have learned in a way that forces me to think about the subject content in ways that are more enjoyable than traditional classes. Think about this: when you read books in college, your typical assessment consists of writing about a professor-designed topic and regurgitating information that you were supposed to have remembered. In high school, however, I can determine how much students have learned about a protagonist by assigning a “body biography,” which is a human-sized drawing of a character that is filled with symbolic and textual representations of that character’s traits and personality.

Of all things I’ve learned thus far, the most important one is that “you get out what you put in.” Even when I spend extra time at school and extra time planning, I thoroughly enjoy working at school and with students when I have planned fun activities in detail. Undoubtedly, this has been my favorite semester in college – and I owe much of it to my awesome clinical teacher, Mrs. Shannon Hill, who provides me with thorough, constructive advice. I can’t help but give a little advice – develop a strong relationship with your clinical teacher. Luckily, it was very easy for me to develop a friendship with my clinical teacher and the entire staff at Roanoke. Next time I will move on to specific events to reflect upon. If you have any questions or concerns about the Senior Experience, email me at dmb0322 (at) ecu.edu.

COAD 1000: Freshmen Fellows and Scholars

By Will Mercep (freshman)

Each semester, there are certain seminars that Teaching Fellows and Maynard Scholars must attend. These seminars differ for each class. For sophomores, juniors, and seniors, there are three seminars each semester. Freshmen are a little different. There are still seminars to attend in the spring semester, but in the fall freshmen take a class.

This class is called Student Development and Learning in Higher Education. We refer to it, lovingly, as COAD 1000. This is a class that is designed to help students with the transition from high school into college. We do many fun activities as well as talk about different events happening on campus. Although the class is an hour and fifty minutes long, I can personally confess that it goes by in a flash. After taking this class, you will have a much better knowledge about how to find things to do on campus. It helps you see who you are as a person and what study method is best for your personality type. Probably the best thing that it helps with is learning where everything is. There are a lot of buildings and a lot of names to know, and it helps to have teachers that you already know that you can talk to. You might think that it’s a waste of time, but it’s information you can’t afford to miss.

2007 ECU Marching Pirates

By Bradley Baggett (freshman)

Have you been wondering what the marching band has been doing so far this season? Well, we started off moving in a day before the Teaching Fellows were scheduled to move in. Dr. Knighten, the director of the Marching Pirates, had us move in earlier so we could go ahead and start the week-long band camp as soon as possible. We practiced about eight hours a day most of that week. After band camp, we started our regular practices on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from four o’clock to six o’clock. All that practice finally paid off when we played at Virginia Tech on September 1. That was a great experience. We got a very warm welcome and much support from all of the Virginia Tech fans. I’m sure everyone knows about the intense ECU vs. UNC game in which our band definitely out marched UNC’s band. Some may not be aware that we recently held ECU Band Day. We all had a great time at Band Day working with and trying to recruit kids from the high school bands who played with us at the Southern Miss game.

From all of us in the Marching Pirates, we hope will come and see us march and listen to us play our stands tunes. Go Pirates!