“If you’ve built relationships this year, you’ve succeeded as a new teacher” – Esme Raji Codell, best-selling author and Chicago Public School teacher.
Codell offered these words of support to an audience of nearly 100 education alumni at the College of Education’s first-ever New Teacher Conference. Planned by the College of Education’s Induction and Mentoring Steering Committee, the June 20 event was a day earmarked for reunion, reflection, and growth for beginning educators who have completed their first or second year in the field.
In her presentation, Codell recounted her own journey as a first-year teacher in Chicago Public Schools, drawing from her book, Educating Esme. Woven throughout Codell’s talk were challenges for educators to continuously cultivate professional relationships, to critically examine the policy decisions and processes that affect their curricula, and to consider implementing the best practice of read-aloud in their classroom.
“Read-aloud makes such a difference in the lives of children,” Codell said. “When you are reading aloud to a child, you are not just reading aloud to that child, you are reading aloud to their children, and their children’s children. It’s one of the legacies of education, and it should not be put aside for anything, or anybody else’s priority.”
Conference sessions were led by veteran educators, and were focused around topics of time management, classroom management, school culture, and giving feedback. In addition, Regional Office of Education Assistant Superintendent for District 17 Diane Wolf ‘89, ’92, M.S. ’95, offered a powerful presentation on finding one’s voice in the classroom, school, district, and state.
“We talked about how important it is that as newer teachers, they listen, but also advocate for their students and their ideas,” Wolf said. “This will be their profession for the next 30 years, and I think it is so important that our school districts hear from first year teachers to the most experienced teachers.”
Attendees also got a chance to follow up with presenters in small, informal groups through an exercise called “Digging Deeper.” In addition, the alumni connected over lunch with their former instructors. While both of these opportunities were designed for attendees to ask questions specific to their own school environments, the dialogue was mutually beneficial.
“As professors and teachers, we learned a lot from the alumni about what is going on in schools, and the challenges they are facing,” Wolf said. “I know that we are all a little bit wiser now in terms of how to inform design for professional development classes to help support teachers’ needs.”
As the event drew to a close, alumni received classroom supplies they often are required to pay for out of their own pocket. They each received a copy of Educating Esme, and Codell stayed to chat with the educators and sign their copies. It was just one small way the College of Education thanked its talented and hard-working alumni, said conference Co-Chair and Assistant to the Chair in the Department of Special Education Kelli Appel ’89.
“We are so proud of our alumni and loved seeing them back on campus,” Appel said.
“We are so impressed that they took the day, and many made a long drive, to come back to Illinois State to reconnect and soak up some excellent professional development. Our graduates take their roles as effective educators seriously, and this group demonstrated that by their interest in learning, their participation in collaborative conversation, and their strong desire to continue connecting with the University.”
Appel said plans for the second annual New Teacher Conference are already underway. The College of Education will also host two, free and open-to-the-public events this November, including American Education Week guest speaker Rick Wormeli and its annual educational technology conference, T21Con, on Thursday, November 6.
To hear what educators are saying about the conference, check out #NTConISU on Twitter and Facebook. Check out more photos from the conference below:
Tommy Navickas can be reached at tjnavic@IllinoisState.edu.
