Panel Discussion: The Good, the bad, and what I’ve learned.

By Nicole Pruden
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus
September , 2010

I found today’s Panel Discussion to be different from any other lesson I have every taken in any Education course. What I found most interesting about this activity was the information I was able to take not only from the panel but from the class as a whole. It was also enlightening that the class as a whole was able to ask a variety of questions, often questions that I had wondered about but had thought about during the class. With the good also comes bad. Most of the information I took away from today’s lesson came from the Professor because she does have the most experience with regards to teaching and all the fundamentals that are involved in it. Although many of the students that participated in the panel did have some form of experience in teaching, some of the questions that were asked required answers from a person with “real” knowledge.

During the discussion a student asked how her class could be intimidated by her being as though she was short and young. It is funny because since I decided to that I wanted to become a teacher it was the one thing I always worried about. Unfortunately there is no getting around ones physical appearance, a fact that is hard to accept. So with this fact, how do I as a first year teacher set the foundation for my classroom where respect for me is expected and received by my students? Even with all the suggestions that were given by students I still feel that answer cannot be taught through a discussion or even in a semester. I imagine it is something that you must teach yourself. I say this because you cannot be taught how to act. I know myself better than anyone else and to expect someone else to teach me how to make my presence in a classroom known is a bit selfish in a sense.

Today’s lesson set what I expect to learn from this classroom. I will take away different ideas from my peers as well as my professor. From these many ideas I will form myself as a teacher because one idea that I might have heard during this class might work better than an idea I have myself.