Reflection On Colloquium Experience

My experience at the colloquium on Monday night was not at all what I was expecting, yet it was a truly beneficial experience. Due to the fact that the presenter was stuck in an airport somewhere in Louisiana, we were not able to hear her presentation about the autism spectrum. Because of this, Dr. Rubio, the dean of the education department at Spring Arbor, decided that he would open up the floor for any students who had questions about the testing required by Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) School of Education (SOE) as well as any questions related to student teaching. With that being said, the organization of the room was quite interesting. Dr. Rubio was near the front of the room and all of the attendees were scattered near the back of …show more content…
Technically, I am not required by the State of Michigan to take the Spanish MTTC exam since I am not majoring in Spanish; however, since I would like to teach Spanish, I am required to take the exam. By taking this exam and being certified to teach Spanish, I will be able to teach Spanish to elementary aged students. Because I believe that it is vital for students to begin learning a second language early, having the ability to teach them Spanish will only benefit them. My ultimate goal in becoming a teacher is to teach my students not only how to become life-long learners, but to also find the aspects of school and life that they are passionate about. My hope is that by teaching Spanish to my elementary students will help spark a passion for learning a second language, even if they decide that Spanish is not the language that they want to learn. There is so much research that supports teaching young children a foreign language, and that the benefits extend into all avenues of …show more content…
For example, one education student asked about being placed in a school and how that whole process worked. According to Dr. Rubio, there is quite an extensive amount of work that is involved in placing a student into student teaching programs. I did not realize how vital it is to start thinking about student teaching now and making connections in as many of the schools that you might want to possibly student teach in, so that when the time comes for you to student teach, you will have more opportunities to get into a school that you love. After hearing this information, I decided that it is crucial that I start visiting different schools and deciding which ones I really like and then spending at least one day a week observing/working in a classroom and connecting with the teachers. Since I have heard that quite a few student teachers wind up getting a job at the school that they student taught at, it will be important that I make my choice well and that I truly support the school and their