Middle grades teacher candidates attend Middle Level Summit
Middle grades students are pictured with 2017 Georgia Teacher of the Year, Casey Bethel, (center). Students include (l-r): Skyler Smith, Ann Mitchem, Kalena Black and Hallie Blizzard.
On October 20, middle grades teacher candidates attended the Middle Level Summit at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia. An annual event hosted by the Collegiate Middle Level Association (CMLA), the summit included teacher candidates and teacher educators from institutions including: Augusta University, University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University and Georgia Southern University.
The theme of the summit was “Educating the Whole Child.” Casey Bethel, high school science teacher and 2017 Georgia Teacher of the Year, was the keynote speaker for the event.
Bethel encouraged teacher candidates to put the child at the center of everything they do in education. He shared analogies for the different roles teachers play and encouraged teacher candidates “to be innovative, to be invested and to build relationships with students.”
Before the keynote speech, attendees received a message from John Lounsbury, Ph.D., a respected leader in middle grades education and dean emeritus of the John H. Lounsbury College of Education at Georgia College.
Throughout the summit, participants selected breakout sessions on a variety of topics relevant for middle level education.
Teacher candidates Kalena Black, Hallie Blizzard, Ann Mitchem and Skyler Smith attended the Summit along with Amanda Wall, Ph.D., faculty advisor for Georgia Southern’s chapter of the Collegiate Middle Level Association.
The CMLA is a professional education organizations for college students preparing to become middle level teachers. An affiliate of the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE), CMLA encourages students to begin their careers with active participation in the national professional organization and interact with professionals in their field.
For more information about Georgia Southern University’s B.S.Ed. in Middle Grades Education, visit https://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/mged/bsed/
Posted in Student Highlights