by Lindsay Brooke Whitfield (May '08 graduate)
You are just about to partake on a semester journey into another world that you have been waiting 3+ years for. As Teaching Fellows we have attended seminars, participated in committees, attended all summer Teaching Fellows events, and any other activities on campus that we have felt would help us prepare for our future. However, your clinical internship experience is something you could never be prepared enough for.
I have realized that it doesn’t matter how many speakers you hear discuss on a variety of issues that you will encounter in the classroom, how many extra trips you attend to become more culturally educated before entering the classroom, and the high grades you achieved in your general education courses. Your clinical experience will test you. The one thing that you will realize is that no one else will receive the same experience that you will. Your other friends in your major, your Teaching Fellows, or those that have come before you will all receive different experiences. Some of you may be placed in a school with a clinical teacher that you “clash” with; others will have been matched perfectly with their clinical teacher. Some of you will be placed in small rural areas where the poverty level of the students and the community is rather eye opening; others of you will be placed in high attendance level schools where the student to teacher ratio is unbelievable. Some days you will experience heart-warming feelings of compassion towards the students, and sometimes the best feeling you had that day was when you finally wrote that particular student up for ISS. The truth is, you’ve probably already heard this and what I’m saying isn’t any new news to you at all. But once you’re there, at your school, everyday, from beginning to end, you’ll finally face all of these experiences. It is when you realize that you’ve been thrown into the madness that sometimes you wonder why you wanted to be a teacher. It is also when you see a small child smile because you helped him/her with something so small to you but yet it was so difficult for them, or when your high school students hand you a prom picture with a note written on the back that says “To Ms./Mr. _________, I’m going to miss you so much next year,” that you realize how rewarded you are. These are honestly the different joys of a teacher. You never honestly know when you wake up in the morning what to expect in your school day.
You will be told plenty of times that your students cannot affect your day. It doesn’t matter how happy and energized you may be in the morning because who’s to say that every student in your class woke up feeling just as bright as you. There are seldom days in the classroom where every student is having a “great” day. But, that’s also the fun of it; the surprises that each student will throw at you. You never know how your best class will act versus your worst class on a daily basis, or how your favorite students will act versus your not as favorite students. It may be that the new topic/subject you’re introducing that day, or for me, a particular dance step that I choreographed, that you’re extremely excited about doesn’t even seem to excite or motivate your students at all. You will be disappointed some days and then rather impressed others. You will find that being a teacher starts to become a sport where you begin to learn how to predict what will happen next. And this, my friend, is why you’re a Teaching Fellow. I hope that you all enjoy your last semester of college and yet your first semester towards finally becoming the teacher you wanted to be.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Photos from Spring '08
Photos by Elizabeth Helms (rising junior)
School's out! To celebrate, we're going to share some photos from the school year that we didn't get a chance to post during the year. We'll be doing this throughout the summer, probably once a month. This month, we're sharing some photos taken by Elizabeth Helms, rising junior and theater education Teaching Fellow.
Spring is a beautiful time on our campus - the trees and flowers are in bloom, everything is green again, and everyone is smiling. This is a view outside the Austin Building.
Left: Elizabeth went to New York City for her Junior Enrichment activity. The New York City trip is sponsored by the UNC-Chapel Hill program and invites fellows from UNC and from the rest of the state. It's one of the few Junior Enrichment options available over Spring Break. Most Fellows select summer activities for Junior Enrichment because we give up our Spring Break senior year for Senior Orientation.
Right: Elizabeth and fellow rising junior theater education major Alex White take a break from their very busy lives in Messick Theater to pose for a photograph. ECU has very strong but very difficult arts education programs. If you want to teach theater, music, art, or dance, your degree program will be especially hard - but it will also be totally worth it.
School's out! To celebrate, we're going to share some photos from the school year that we didn't get a chance to post during the year. We'll be doing this throughout the summer, probably once a month. This month, we're sharing some photos taken by Elizabeth Helms, rising junior and theater education Teaching Fellow.
Spring is a beautiful time on our campus - the trees and flowers are in bloom, everything is green again, and everyone is smiling. This is a view outside the Austin Building.
Left: Elizabeth went to New York City for her Junior Enrichment activity. The New York City trip is sponsored by the UNC-Chapel Hill program and invites fellows from UNC and from the rest of the state. It's one of the few Junior Enrichment options available over Spring Break. Most Fellows select summer activities for Junior Enrichment because we give up our Spring Break senior year for Senior Orientation.
Right: Elizabeth and fellow rising junior theater education major Alex White take a break from their very busy lives in Messick Theater to pose for a photograph. ECU has very strong but very difficult arts education programs. If you want to teach theater, music, art, or dance, your degree program will be especially hard - but it will also be totally worth it.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Looking forward to Discovery!
By Austin Kestler (rising sophomore)
T-shirt design by Will Mercep (rising sophomore)
As freshmen, we just had our last seminar. It was about appropriate dress for Discovery, the week long Teaching Fellow retreat at the end of the summer that all rising sophomores must attend. We take 11 buses with all 500 Teaching Fellows and tour various schools, universities, and businesses across North Carolina. I'm really looking forward for a chance to meet other members from other colleges. I think we will meld nicely due to our experiences as Fellows. I'm really happy to be in this program and have opportunities like this to get out and sort of screen various working environments. I want to see what its like to live in other sections of the state I grew up in. I haven't been to the mountains or the beach in a long time either, so it will be a fun end to my first year of college.
(Editor's note: these are the graphics for our campus T-shirt. Every TF campus creates a special T-shirt just for Discovery. It tends to become somewhat of a . . . contest. With bragging rights attached for years to come.)
T-shirt design by Will Mercep (rising sophomore)
As freshmen, we just had our last seminar. It was about appropriate dress for Discovery, the week long Teaching Fellow retreat at the end of the summer that all rising sophomores must attend. We take 11 buses with all 500 Teaching Fellows and tour various schools, universities, and businesses across North Carolina. I'm really looking forward for a chance to meet other members from other colleges. I think we will meld nicely due to our experiences as Fellows. I'm really happy to be in this program and have opportunities like this to get out and sort of screen various working environments. I want to see what its like to live in other sections of the state I grew up in. I haven't been to the mountains or the beach in a long time either, so it will be a fun end to my first year of college.
(Editor's note: these are the graphics for our campus T-shirt. Every TF campus creates a special T-shirt just for Discovery. It tends to become somewhat of a . . . contest. With bragging rights attached for years to come.)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The End of An Era: Spring '08
We're just about done with the year! Officially, exams end tomorrow and graduation is on Saturday, but it's close enough to the end to reflect on a great year for us as ECU students and as Teaching Fellows. We have a lot to be proud of: countless hours of service and tutoring in our community, successful practicums and internships, participation and recognition in other campus activities from musical recitals to honor societies. We traveled to Asheboro, New York City, and Atlanta as part of our program's travel enrichment activities.
Freshman Nieves Villasenor had this to say about this year: "To me, it feels like yesterday that we were new here to East Carolina. It doesn’t feel so long ago that we all met at Camp Don Lee for the Teaching Fellows & Maynard Scholars retreat. I can still remember vividly my first football game at Virginia Tech, running across the opposite side of the football field to my spot after my fellow band members and Teaching Fellow/Maynard Scholar friends had begun the show without me. It’s crazy how these priceless memories have all taken place so quickly within just our time at ECU. It’s gone by so fast, yet so much has happened."
We have a lot to look forward to for next year. We have a full slate of enrichment activities provided by the state for the summer: rising sophomores will go on the Discovery bus trip, rising juniors will participate in Junior Enrichment and Junior Conference, and rising seniors will complete Senior Orientation activities and attend Senior Conference. We have a promising class of incoming freshmen (as always!) and we can't wait to meet them in the fall. We're launching a new committee to work with a new academic outreach program here at ECU, the Pirate Tutoring Center. Many of the secondary education degree programs are undergoing revisions to make our graduates even more competitive and well-prepared, and we're very excited about these opportunities.
If you're joining us in the fall, you're in elite company! We all have fantastic stories of growth, perseverance, and success as a result of this semester. This summer, we'll continue to post some of these stories, chronicling our adventures as Fellows and Scholars - but also as student teachers, travelers, resident advisers, and, of course, college students. We hope you'll continue to follow our adventures as we end one year and begin the next.
- Sarah Wittmer, junior
Communications Committee Co-Chair
Freshman Nieves Villasenor had this to say about this year: "To me, it feels like yesterday that we were new here to East Carolina. It doesn’t feel so long ago that we all met at Camp Don Lee for the Teaching Fellows & Maynard Scholars retreat. I can still remember vividly my first football game at Virginia Tech, running across the opposite side of the football field to my spot after my fellow band members and Teaching Fellow/Maynard Scholar friends had begun the show without me. It’s crazy how these priceless memories have all taken place so quickly within just our time at ECU. It’s gone by so fast, yet so much has happened."
We have a lot to look forward to for next year. We have a full slate of enrichment activities provided by the state for the summer: rising sophomores will go on the Discovery bus trip, rising juniors will participate in Junior Enrichment and Junior Conference, and rising seniors will complete Senior Orientation activities and attend Senior Conference. We have a promising class of incoming freshmen (as always!) and we can't wait to meet them in the fall. We're launching a new committee to work with a new academic outreach program here at ECU, the Pirate Tutoring Center. Many of the secondary education degree programs are undergoing revisions to make our graduates even more competitive and well-prepared, and we're very excited about these opportunities.
If you're joining us in the fall, you're in elite company! We all have fantastic stories of growth, perseverance, and success as a result of this semester. This summer, we'll continue to post some of these stories, chronicling our adventures as Fellows and Scholars - but also as student teachers, travelers, resident advisers, and, of course, college students. We hope you'll continue to follow our adventures as we end one year and begin the next.
- Sarah Wittmer, junior
Communications Committee Co-Chair
Friday, April 18, 2008
Committee Overviews: Service and Travel
We're continuing with our committee overviews, but expect to see some blog entries about the excitement we've had in town this week in the future. Over the past week, Bill Clinton campaigned for his wife at a local high school and Barack Obama held a rally at our own Minges Coliseum. Despite the rapid approach of finals, you can find ECU Teaching Fellows spending their spare time working as volunteers on each campaign.
We're also preparing to leave for Atlanta today for our concessions trip. Life as an ECU Teaching Fellow or Maynard Scholar isn't quite always this exciting - most years we don't have primary campaigns in town - so we're using these committee overviews to give you an idea of what our typical excitement is like.
Service Committee Overview
by Kristen Hales (junior)
The Service Committee has been bustling with activity this year. This philanthropic division of the Teaching Fellows organization has touched many lives through its continuing service to Operation Christmas Child during the fall semester, and its other endeavors. One of the newest things the Service Committee has embarked upon is doing bake sales for the Ronald McDonald House. This experimental activity was a great success, and is expected to become an annual fund raiser for the group.
Additionally, the Service Committee members are planning to do road side clean-ups on Elm Street, and will be responsible for completing two hours of community service around Greenville and Pitt County. These actions will only further the success the Service Committee has already encountered, and serve as an example for others in the community to follow.
Travel Committee Overviewby Will Mercep (freshman)
Congratulations, you have just joined the Travel Committee! There’s only one thing left to do… what was that thing again?
When you become an East Carolina Teaching Fellow or Maynard, you are given the privilege of being a part of one of our fantastic committees. As a committee member you will effectively have a roll in the way your organization functions. Now, we’ll take a look at the exciting role of a Travel Committee member.
In the Travel Committee you will be a part of one of three subcommittees: Sophomore, Concessions, or Junior. These subcommittees plan the sophomore and junior trips along with the, you guessed it, concessions trip. The planning entails finding restaurants, shopping, and site seeing opportunities at each place. They then compile this information into a brochure for the students attending the event. They also make reservations for dinners, hotels, and buses. The Committees are organized and held together by two co-chairs. The amazing ’07-08 co-chairs are Alaina Ellison and Kelli Fogt. They hold meetings roughly once a month to stay on their trip deadlines.
Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” ECU TF/MS Committees allow you to be the change you want to see in our fellowship.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Committee Overviews, Part I
As the semester is winding down, we're going to take a couple of weeks to highlight what some of our student-run committees do. Every ECU Teaching Fellow and Maynard Scholar is required to participate in one of six committees, and each committee meets six times a year. Because this blog is run by the Communications Committee, we'll start with them, followed by the Social Committee.
The Social Committee is changing for next year; its activities will be absorbed into another committee to make room for a brand new committee. But more on that later - this post is about this year.
Communications Committee Overview
By Anthony Hingley
This blog entry is to let everyone know exactly what the Communications Committee does. The subcommittees are: Bulletin Boards, Chalkdust, Graduate Networking, and Bloggers and Photographers.
The Bulletin boards subcommittee is responsible for planning, acquiring necessary materials, and putting up the bulletin boards located outside the Teaching Fellows office.
Chalkdust is a newsletter containing articles written by members of that subcommittee. That newsletter is sent out to the East Carolina Teaching Fellows Alumni. This is one of the ways we let our Alumni know that we remember them.
If you are a current Teaching Fellow or Maynard Scholar, and you’ve gotten a birthday card from the Teaching Fellows office, you can thank the Graduate Networking subcommittee. They also write in all the cards for the Alumni.
The bloggers and photographers are the ones responsible for all the articles and pictures in the blog you are reading. New this year, the blog has been a big success and will continue next year.
The other responsibilities of the Communications Committee are designing the Discovery t-shirt and presenting the Discovery fashion show. The Discovery t-shirt is the shirt that freshman Teaching Fellows wear on school t-shirt day during the Discovery trip. Each school makes their own shirt, and ECU usually has a very good one. The Discovery fashion show is one of the freshman seminars, where the Communications Committee lets the freshman know what is acceptable and what is unacceptable to wear on Discovery, as well as other useful pieces of information about the trip.
Social Committee Overview
by Bradley Baggett
The main thing that the Social Committee works on every year is the
Holiday Social at the end of the fall semester. Next school year, the
Social Committee will handle the Pirate Pal socials, holding one in the fall
semester and two in the spring semester. They also provide the snacks
outside the office at the end of both semesters. The Social Committee is
well liked by its members. They get to have fun and be social, something all
the ECU Teaching Fellows and Maynard Scholars seem to be good at.
The Social Committee is changing for next year; its activities will be absorbed into another committee to make room for a brand new committee. But more on that later - this post is about this year.
Communications Committee Overview
By Anthony Hingley
This blog entry is to let everyone know exactly what the Communications Committee does. The subcommittees are: Bulletin Boards, Chalkdust, Graduate Networking, and Bloggers and Photographers.
The Bulletin boards subcommittee is responsible for planning, acquiring necessary materials, and putting up the bulletin boards located outside the Teaching Fellows office.
Chalkdust is a newsletter containing articles written by members of that subcommittee. That newsletter is sent out to the East Carolina Teaching Fellows Alumni. This is one of the ways we let our Alumni know that we remember them.
If you are a current Teaching Fellow or Maynard Scholar, and you’ve gotten a birthday card from the Teaching Fellows office, you can thank the Graduate Networking subcommittee. They also write in all the cards for the Alumni.
The bloggers and photographers are the ones responsible for all the articles and pictures in the blog you are reading. New this year, the blog has been a big success and will continue next year.
The other responsibilities of the Communications Committee are designing the Discovery t-shirt and presenting the Discovery fashion show. The Discovery t-shirt is the shirt that freshman Teaching Fellows wear on school t-shirt day during the Discovery trip. Each school makes their own shirt, and ECU usually has a very good one. The Discovery fashion show is one of the freshman seminars, where the Communications Committee lets the freshman know what is acceptable and what is unacceptable to wear on Discovery, as well as other useful pieces of information about the trip.
Social Committee Overview
by Bradley Baggett
The main thing that the Social Committee works on every year is the
Holiday Social at the end of the fall semester. Next school year, the
Social Committee will handle the Pirate Pal socials, holding one in the fall
semester and two in the spring semester. They also provide the snacks
outside the office at the end of both semesters. The Social Committee is
well liked by its members. They get to have fun and be social, something all
the ECU Teaching Fellows and Maynard Scholars seem to be good at.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Anecdotes from a Freshman TF
We just spent last week in New York City for the big ECU TF Junior Trip! To make up for our absence publishing the blog this week, here are two different stories from one of our freshman Fellows.
Looking Ahead To Tutoring
by Katilin Bunch (freshman)
I recently went to visit and volunteer at my little sister's kindergarten class. I had gone to surprise my sister by having lunch with her. I got to meet her classmates and her teacher. She asked me to stay and learn with her; I asked her teacher and she told me it would be fine to stay. I helped all the students to learn to write their last names and helped staple books that they had made together during my three hour stay. I also went outside with the class; I had a great time.
This experience has me very excited to start tutoring for a school in Greenville this semester. It reminded me of why we as Teaching Fellows are majoring in Education. Education is so important and vital with so many rewards and I want to be a part of that. It also reinforced my decision to teach high school students. I love smaller children but I know that I am better suited for older students. I am so glad I got to experience this. It has helped me to prepare for volunteering here in Greenville and I can not wait to get started!!!
A New Experience: Communicating with Professors
by Katilin Bunch (freshman)
In high school I never had trouble understanding my teachers. My sophomore year a foreign exchange teacher from Japan was supposed to come and teach my science class but he never came. I never had a teacher with a really strong accent. Here at college, however, I am faced with two professors that have very strong accents. It is extremely hard to understand both of them; especially when they begin to talk fast. I have learned to pay very close attention and take extensive notes. So far this has been difficult for me because I am not used to it. One of my professors seemed worried at the end of our first class and when I went to introduce myself to her she began to question me about how I thought the class went. She also asked if I thought everyone had understood since no one had asked any questions. I told her that when she spoke so quickly it was hard to hear her and understand what she was saying. She thanked me for talking to her and told me she would try to slow down during the next classes. She did slow down and it really helped a lot and people began to ask her questions and participated in class more. I encourage anyone who is having trouble to talk to their professors too . . . your grade depends on you!
Looking Ahead To Tutoring
by Katilin Bunch (freshman)
I recently went to visit and volunteer at my little sister's kindergarten class. I had gone to surprise my sister by having lunch with her. I got to meet her classmates and her teacher. She asked me to stay and learn with her; I asked her teacher and she told me it would be fine to stay. I helped all the students to learn to write their last names and helped staple books that they had made together during my three hour stay. I also went outside with the class; I had a great time.
This experience has me very excited to start tutoring for a school in Greenville this semester. It reminded me of why we as Teaching Fellows are majoring in Education. Education is so important and vital with so many rewards and I want to be a part of that. It also reinforced my decision to teach high school students. I love smaller children but I know that I am better suited for older students. I am so glad I got to experience this. It has helped me to prepare for volunteering here in Greenville and I can not wait to get started!!!
A New Experience: Communicating with Professors
by Katilin Bunch (freshman)
In high school I never had trouble understanding my teachers. My sophomore year a foreign exchange teacher from Japan was supposed to come and teach my science class but he never came. I never had a teacher with a really strong accent. Here at college, however, I am faced with two professors that have very strong accents. It is extremely hard to understand both of them; especially when they begin to talk fast. I have learned to pay very close attention and take extensive notes. So far this has been difficult for me because I am not used to it. One of my professors seemed worried at the end of our first class and when I went to introduce myself to her she began to question me about how I thought the class went. She also asked if I thought everyone had understood since no one had asked any questions. I told her that when she spoke so quickly it was hard to hear her and understand what she was saying. She thanked me for talking to her and told me she would try to slow down during the next classes. She did slow down and it really helped a lot and people began to ask her questions and participated in class more. I encourage anyone who is having trouble to talk to their professors too . . . your grade depends on you!
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