"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!

Life in Umstead Hall

By Austin Kestler (freshman)

As a freshman Teaching Fellow I moved into Umstead Hall about a month ago. This was my first time sharing a room and living away from my parents. At first I was extremely nervous and uneasy with the living situation. The first few days were rather miserable to me. My roommate was involved with marching band and I was rather lonely. Soon after our trip to Camp Don Lee, however, I was well on my way to having a good time in college. I have met so many awesome people that by the time I went home for Labor Day weekend I was severely bored back in my old setting and was longing for my friends back at my new home.

We’ve been through a lot in such a short time. I really enjoy living with the Teaching Fellows and Maynard Scholars. I’m really proud to be in this program I don’t think college would be the same if I wasn’t a part of this group. I look forward to spending the rest of the year with my new family.

September 15: SMU at ECU

This past weekend, the Communications Committee worked the ECU Teaching Fellows and Maynard Scholars Concession Stand at the ECU vs. Southern Miss football game. (Each committee works the concession stand at one home football game as part of the program requirements here at ECU.) While the Pirates posted a disappointing loss, our concession stand was a smooth victory for our program.

The co-chairs of the Communications Committee, Eric Pullen (senior) and Sarah Wittmer (junior) rely on every member of the committee pulling their weight. Everyone did a fantastic job, and one of the busiest jobs was the task of managing the money for the sodas, ice cream, and lemonade. Sarah Langston (sophomore), right, did an excellent job of this during the first half of the game.

Here's what one member of our committee had to say about working at the game:

"My name is Ingrid Duke and I am a senior Dance Education Teaching Fellow. This past weekend I worked the ECU vs. SMU game and had the opportunity to work with a new face in the program, Shelby Sapp, a freshman history education major. I really enjoyed getting to know another Teaching Fellow here at ECU and sharing all my past experiences with her. I also enjoyed hearing about the changes that the program has undergone since I was a freshman.

On the lighter side, I sold Dippin Dots at the game, which as we all know is opening up a store across from McAlister's now! Ice cream of the future is now readily avaiable to students beyond the game day!"

(Photos by Elizabeth Helms, sophomore)

All Moved In!

It's taken a little while, but after a few weeks of moving in, getting used to classes, and assigning all of our Fellows and Scholars to their committees, we're off to a great start for the 2007-2008 year. The freshmen are settled into Umstead Hall and their COAD 1000 classes; the sophomores and juniors are starting tutoring, and the seniors are as busy as ever with their Senior I internships.

Over the next few weeks, look for updates to this blog about all of our exciting adventures, both as Fellows & Scholars and as ECU students. But for today, the Communications Committee is off to run our Teaching Fellows Concession Stand at the Southern Miss. game. (We'll let you know how that goes, too.) Go Pirates!