Professional Development
I have attended a series of important and fulfilling events including speakers, workshops, and conferences to help me gain insight into the field of education. These experiences have helped me to develop my professional opinion about teaching and learn from experts in the field. I have been privileged to meet important people and learn essential skills that can help me when I become an elementary school teacher.
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Cultural Experience Event: Poverty 101
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
October 29, 2013
Hours: 2.0
Everyone knows that millions of people live in poverty in our country, and many of those are children. The Poverty 101 event really helped to put me in their position and put a face and a back story to a few of these people that we see everyday, on the street, in the supermarket, and in our schools. It made me feel as if I actually know these characters and inspired me to want to touch the lives of children affected by low income situations. I realize that unfortunately that some of my future students will be faced with less than ideal living conditions and I will do everything in my power to understand, communicate with their parents who may not speak the same language, provide adequate nutrition, and all the while maintinging high expectations for them. The event helped to show me what some of these children might be stressed about, excited for, and afriad of. Poverty 101 was a real eye opening and a once in a lifetime kind of experience.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
October 29, 2013
Hours: 2.0
Everyone knows that millions of people live in poverty in our country, and many of those are children. The Poverty 101 event really helped to put me in their position and put a face and a back story to a few of these people that we see everyday, on the street, in the supermarket, and in our schools. It made me feel as if I actually know these characters and inspired me to want to touch the lives of children affected by low income situations. I realize that unfortunately that some of my future students will be faced with less than ideal living conditions and I will do everything in my power to understand, communicate with their parents who may not speak the same language, provide adequate nutrition, and all the while maintinging high expectations for them. The event helped to show me what some of these children might be stressed about, excited for, and afriad of. Poverty 101 was a real eye opening and a once in a lifetime kind of experience.
Conference: 2nd Annual Multicultural Education Conference
Multicultural Education: An Approach to Educational Equity
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
September 7, 2013
Hours: 6.0
One of my most important responsibilities as a future teacher is to educate myself in order to develop an understanding of other cultures and to guarantee a fair education for all of my potential students. The Multicultural Education Conference aimed to do just that; educate individuals who work with children in schools on understanding backgrounds, culture, and race as well as provide materials and tips to address culture in schools in a nondiscriminatory way. I attended three workshops including “Holocaust Studies in the Classroom”,“Relatives as Parents” and “Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education”. The breakout session that I feel I took the most out of was the third. We were given specific tips on how we can prevent bullying resulting from sexual orientation such as placing a safe zone sticker in your classroom letting students know they are free to be themselves and reminding yourself as well as everyone who enters your classroom to not pass judgment. We were provided with these stickers which I thought was wonderful. I also liked the idea of a “no name calling week” and the activities that go with this. I was enlightened on some of the misconceptions such as the thought that only high school teachers will have to address sexuality issues, so I know this information will be valuable to me as an elementary teacher as well. I also enjoyed the “Holocaust Studies in the Classroom” because the presenter provided us with a list of literature pertaining to the holocaust that we can use with students of different ages to shed light on the horrific event and even use it as a lesson on tolerance. I found the “Relatives as Parents” session interesting because, I never would have thought of kinship families as a different culture. One of the best things about this conference although was that it enlightened me to the many things that “culture” can encompass. I feel that I received many useful resources and ideas to implement in my future classroom to not only make my students feel at home but to remind myself every day of my responsibility to provide equal and unbiased education. As the video at the end of the conference stated… “We may have come over on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now."
Multicultural Education: An Approach to Educational Equity
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
September 7, 2013
Hours: 6.0
One of my most important responsibilities as a future teacher is to educate myself in order to develop an understanding of other cultures and to guarantee a fair education for all of my potential students. The Multicultural Education Conference aimed to do just that; educate individuals who work with children in schools on understanding backgrounds, culture, and race as well as provide materials and tips to address culture in schools in a nondiscriminatory way. I attended three workshops including “Holocaust Studies in the Classroom”,“Relatives as Parents” and “Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education”. The breakout session that I feel I took the most out of was the third. We were given specific tips on how we can prevent bullying resulting from sexual orientation such as placing a safe zone sticker in your classroom letting students know they are free to be themselves and reminding yourself as well as everyone who enters your classroom to not pass judgment. We were provided with these stickers which I thought was wonderful. I also liked the idea of a “no name calling week” and the activities that go with this. I was enlightened on some of the misconceptions such as the thought that only high school teachers will have to address sexuality issues, so I know this information will be valuable to me as an elementary teacher as well. I also enjoyed the “Holocaust Studies in the Classroom” because the presenter provided us with a list of literature pertaining to the holocaust that we can use with students of different ages to shed light on the horrific event and even use it as a lesson on tolerance. I found the “Relatives as Parents” session interesting because, I never would have thought of kinship families as a different culture. One of the best things about this conference although was that it enlightened me to the many things that “culture” can encompass. I feel that I received many useful resources and ideas to implement in my future classroom to not only make my students feel at home but to remind myself every day of my responsibility to provide equal and unbiased education. As the video at the end of the conference stated… “We may have come over on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now."
Arizona Ambassadors for Excellence Speaker
Chandler Gilbert Community College
March 30, 2011
1 hour
“We need to teach our students to be able to survive in the 21st century,” explained Mr. Josh Tabor, a high school math teacher from Tucson, when explaining his goals as an educator. Mr. Tabor talked about the importance of educating students not only in reading, writing and math, but in life skills as well. Mr. Tabor opened my eyes to the reality that it the teachers’ responsibility to prepare students for the rigorous work force and real world of the 21st century. He explained tips and strategies in which teachers can teach these skills in a way that is interesting and beneficial to the students, such as giving the students a problem they have never seen before and having them use their skills to figure it out. With this knowledge I will be able to implement life skills into my own lessons when I become a future teacher so that I can prepare my students for life after school.
Chandler Gilbert Community College
March 30, 2011
1 hour
“We need to teach our students to be able to survive in the 21st century,” explained Mr. Josh Tabor, a high school math teacher from Tucson, when explaining his goals as an educator. Mr. Tabor talked about the importance of educating students not only in reading, writing and math, but in life skills as well. Mr. Tabor opened my eyes to the reality that it the teachers’ responsibility to prepare students for the rigorous work force and real world of the 21st century. He explained tips and strategies in which teachers can teach these skills in a way that is interesting and beneficial to the students, such as giving the students a problem they have never seen before and having them use their skills to figure it out. With this knowledge I will be able to implement life skills into my own lessons when I become a future teacher so that I can prepare my students for life after school.
2011 Future Educators Conference: Sharing, Empowering & Embracing Culture
South Mountain Community College
March 11, 2011
7 Hours
“You never know what impact you’ll have on a student,” said teacher of the year, Amanda McAdams, during the first breakout session I attended. At the future educators conference, I attended a total of three breakout sessions; Conversations with 2011 Arizona Educational Foundation Teacher of the Year – Amanda McAdams, What Does Professional Development Mean for a New Teacher, and The Benefits of Storytelling Skills for the Classroom Teacher. Of these three sessions the one that impacted me the most was listening to Amanda McAdams speak about her journey to becoming a Teacher of the Year 2011. Mrs. McAdams gave us tips as future educators and teachers that can only come with experience such as, do not give up on your students, and get involved with the community and administration. Because of this session with Amanda McAdams, I have a better understanding of the Teacher of the Year program and will be able to implement tips such as building bonds with my students and holding them all to high expectations when I become a teacher.
South Mountain Community College
March 11, 2011
7 Hours
“You never know what impact you’ll have on a student,” said teacher of the year, Amanda McAdams, during the first breakout session I attended. At the future educators conference, I attended a total of three breakout sessions; Conversations with 2011 Arizona Educational Foundation Teacher of the Year – Amanda McAdams, What Does Professional Development Mean for a New Teacher, and The Benefits of Storytelling Skills for the Classroom Teacher. Of these three sessions the one that impacted me the most was listening to Amanda McAdams speak about her journey to becoming a Teacher of the Year 2011. Mrs. McAdams gave us tips as future educators and teachers that can only come with experience such as, do not give up on your students, and get involved with the community and administration. Because of this session with Amanda McAdams, I have a better understanding of the Teacher of the Year program and will be able to implement tips such as building bonds with my students and holding them all to high expectations when I become a teacher.
Why Am I in College: Procrastination CLASI Workshop
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
February 23, 2011
1 Hour
Where will you be in 2031? This was a question the coordinator of the workshop asked us as we were doing a dream state exercise in which we dug into our sub-conscious to find what our goals and ambitions were for the next 20 years of our lives. The workshop helped me to prioritize my goals and realize what I want to do with my life both academically and career wise. I was able to get tips for ways I can organize my time and therefore avoid procrastination such as setting short term goals and rewarding myself when I accomplish those goals, and using a planner/to do list. These good habits are things I can pass onto my future students when I become an elementary school teacher. I will use the information I learned in CLASI to organize my life and help me obtain my goals, as well as put the tools to use when I become a teacher to stay organized, grade papers on time, and help my students to be as proactive as possible.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
February 23, 2011
1 Hour
Where will you be in 2031? This was a question the coordinator of the workshop asked us as we were doing a dream state exercise in which we dug into our sub-conscious to find what our goals and ambitions were for the next 20 years of our lives. The workshop helped me to prioritize my goals and realize what I want to do with my life both academically and career wise. I was able to get tips for ways I can organize my time and therefore avoid procrastination such as setting short term goals and rewarding myself when I accomplish those goals, and using a planner/to do list. These good habits are things I can pass onto my future students when I become an elementary school teacher. I will use the information I learned in CLASI to organize my life and help me obtain my goals, as well as put the tools to use when I become a teacher to stay organized, grade papers on time, and help my students to be as proactive as possible.
Jonathan Kozol Event
Chandler Center for the Arts
November 1, 2010
2 Hours
“Teaching is a beautiful profession” is what educator, author, and activist Jonathan Kozol believes, and this belief was very evident during his speech which I was honored to attend. I listened to Kozol speak about his great passion for children and teaching, as well as many issues we are faced with in education today. First, Kozol addressed the importance of pre-kindergarten education for all children, which opened my eyes to this issue. Kozol also addressed the issues with low income schools with high poverty and how teachers can make a huge difference in the lives of children who need it most. The most touching and eye opening part of the speech was when Kozol told the audience about a time he and Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers), went to a low income school with many minorities and they figured none of the children would recognize Mr. Rogers from television because they were poor, and one little boy said “welcome to my neighborhood.” Kozol proceeded to say “when will we welcome him to our neighborhood?” which opened my eyes immensely to the problems that exist with racial tolerance and low income in education. I will use this in the future when I am a teacher to understand each child and their home lives, so that I can not only form bonds with them, but teach them to the best of my ability.
Chandler Center for the Arts
November 1, 2010
2 Hours
“Teaching is a beautiful profession” is what educator, author, and activist Jonathan Kozol believes, and this belief was very evident during his speech which I was honored to attend. I listened to Kozol speak about his great passion for children and teaching, as well as many issues we are faced with in education today. First, Kozol addressed the importance of pre-kindergarten education for all children, which opened my eyes to this issue. Kozol also addressed the issues with low income schools with high poverty and how teachers can make a huge difference in the lives of children who need it most. The most touching and eye opening part of the speech was when Kozol told the audience about a time he and Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers), went to a low income school with many minorities and they figured none of the children would recognize Mr. Rogers from television because they were poor, and one little boy said “welcome to my neighborhood.” Kozol proceeded to say “when will we welcome him to our neighborhood?” which opened my eyes immensely to the problems that exist with racial tolerance and low income in education. I will use this in the future when I am a teacher to understand each child and their home lives, so that I can not only form bonds with them, but teach them to the best of my ability.