Teacher of Promise | Internship Reflection 9

     On April 7th, I was invited to be a part of the Maryland Department of Education's Teacher of Promise Institute. I received this invitation because had the honor of being nominated as a 2017 Teacher of Promise in Maryland. The Teachers of Promise program was created by the Maryland Department of Education to recognize prospective teachers who were performing well in their university programs and to provide them with resources and mentors to help them transition into their first year in the classroom. The Teacher of Promise Institute is an event that brings the Teacher of Promise nominees together with experienced mentor teachers who have been chosen as Teachers of Year in Maryland. During the event, attendees hear from various individuals in the education field, including the Maryland Board of Education Superintendent. In addition, Teachers of Promise get the opportunity to ask questions of their mentors about how to approach the first year of teaching.

     While at this event, I had the opportunity to speak with several other prospective teachers and veteran teachers (including my media specialist from middle school, see left). It was a great experience to get perspectives from students in other programs as well as to speak with teachers who had been in the classroom for several years. Three of the speakers during the event were previous National Teachers of the Year. All of these teachers had a lot of great advice to share, despite having very different experiences with and approaches to teaching. This taught me that there are a lot of paths to being a successful teacher and making a difference for your students. The one thing that these teachers did have in common was their love for teaching and their students. This thread carried through the whole event. It was clear that in order to make progress in the classroom, you had to really care. In a later discussion, my mentor and I discussed how inspiring this was to hear.

     Speaking of my mentor, I was matched with the current Teacher of the Year from Howard County, MD. She and I got the opportunity to talk about both the joys and challenges of teaching, from engagement to technology policies. She provided me with a lot of insight into how to present yourself to your students and the real struggles of being a high school science teacher. In addition, though, she mentioned to me multiple times that she couldn't imagine doing anything else. We both remarked about how exciting it was to be at an event surrounded by so many people who were so passionate about providing the best education possible to kids in Maryland.

     I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of this event. The Teacher of Promise institute helped me to build professional connections, ask questions that would help any first year teacher, and to get exposed to exemplary teaching practices. I hope the the Maryland Department of Education is able to continue providing this program for prospective teachers.