Future Teachers Conference welcomes 233 high school students to NIU campus to explore potential careers in education

Laurie Elish-Piper
Laurie Elish-Piper

For the high school students who attended April 27’s Future Teachers Conference at NIU to learn more about careers in education, the message was clear.

Laurie Elish-Piper, dean of the College of Education, was thrilled they had come, grateful for their intentions and affirmational for their potential.

Teachers, the NIU College of Education dean told them, are “the backbone of our democratic society.”

“What teachers do in the classroom all day, every day, makes things possible not only for individual students and their families but for our communities and our nation as a whole – so thank you for your interest in becoming a teacher,” Elish-Piper said as she opened the event in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium of the Holmes Student Center.

Elish-Piper, who previously taught in elementary and middle schools before joining higher education, said that she “never regretted a single day in my life” her decision to teach.

Neither would the high school students, she said: “If you truly want to make a difference, teaching is a remarkable way to do that. What you do changes the world for your students.”

“How many of you had a teacher who was really a changemaker for you, who really made a difference?” Elish-Piper asked to several raised hands.

“I hope all of you want to be that teacher – that teacher who motivates students to work harder than they ever thought possible; that teacher who believes in students when they don’t believe in themselves; that teacher who opens hearts and minds and creates new possibilities for students,” she added. “I suspect that we have a lot of you who will be that teacher for your students, and I’m so happy that you’re here today to continue your journey toward teaching.”

Christy Schweitzer
Christy Schweitzer

Organized by Christy Schweitzer and the COE team in partnership with Valley Education for Employment System of Kane County (VALEES) and Waubonsee Community College, the event brought 233 students from 10 schools and two vocational centers.

High schools represented included Batavia, Earlville, East Aurora, Fox Valley Career Center, Indian Valley Vocational Center, Kaneland, Oswego, Oswego East, Somonauk, West Aurora and Yorkville.

Keynote speaker Lindsey Jensen, the 2018 Illinois Teacher of the Year, encouraged the students to follow in her footsteps.

But she conceded that the job is a difficult one.

Some students who need the most love often ask for it in the most unloving ways, Jensen said. Some students dare teachers to teach them.

Meanwhile, she said, teachers must resist the urge to make assumptions about their students, the parents, administrators and school board members. They must overcome “the us vs. them mentality.”

“You will be surprised by the situations you find yourself in as an educator,” she said. “It will push you beyond your limits.”

At the end of the day, however, the rewards are great: “We get to see in kids,” Jensen said, “what they do not see in themselves.”

Lindsey Jensen
Lindsey Jensen

The day on campus also featured breakout sessions taught by faculty and staff across multiple colleges at NIU; each student could choose three topics from 16 options.

Those included “The Art and Heart of Teaching,” “Differentiation: Make Learning Fun but Challenging,” “Thinking Critically about Controversial Issues,” “Develop Your Personal Teaching Philosophy” and “Teaching: The Ultimate Juggling Act,” along with content-related talks on teaching agriculture, art, early childhood, elementary school, high school, math, music, science and more.

Students eventually regrouped for lunch in the Regency Room, where they listened to and asked questions of a panel of current NIU College of Education majors as well as an alumna (who also is a Waubonsee graduate).

They also heard presentations from Schweitzer, the college’s assistant director for Student Success, VALEES Director Cassie Blickem and Bob Cofield, director of School District Partnerships at Waubonsee.

Funding for the conference was supplied by an Ed Pathways grant from VALEES and a Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois grant from Waubonsee.

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