Topic of the Week: Professional Development Events in the School of Education

The School of Education hosts a variety of events and workshops almost every week to prepare students to enter the professional world, network, or engage in professional discussion on various topics in education.

Tell us about an event you have been to. How did it benefit you as a future educator? Why was it interesting? What did you learn? 

Some examples include:

• Teacher Certification Workshops (Violence Prevention, Child Abuse)
• Careers Outside the Classroom
• E-Portfolio Workshop
• Job Search Workshop
• Stacey Bess Lecture
• Kappa Delta Pi Assemblies
• Career Fair

For a complete list of upcoming events, visit the School of Education website at http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/undergraduate/education/currentevents

Topic of the Week: Teacher Certification Exams

For our first discussion topic, let's talk Teacher Certification exams. As we know, all future educators are required to take a series of exams to become a licensed teacher in New York State: The Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST), the Assessment of Teaching Skills (AST-W), and the Content Specialty Test (CST). Remember, it is essential to begin preparing for the exams as soon as possible and avoid saving them for the last minute. It is wise to complete all exams before you apply for student teaching your senior year!

All freshmen should have already registered for the LAST exam. St. John's offers various preparation courses throughout the semester, which students can sign up for in Sullivan Hall room G-06. Finally, it is important for students to inform the Dean's Office of the status of all exams and report scores as soon as they arrive. 

For more information on the NYSTCE, visit http://www.nystce.nesinc.com/index.asp. The website even offers practice exam questions and helpful study guides!

Further information can be found on the St. John's website, http://www.nystce.nesinc.com/index.asp.

Tell us: Which exams have you taken? What did you think? How did you prepare for the exam and what advice do you have for students about to take it? 

*Please remember to keep all posts both positive and professional. Any negative or derogatory posts will be removed promptly.*

Halloween Extravaganza

The S.T.A.R. Halloween Extravaganza on Monday, October 31st, proved to be a spectacular bonding event as buddies, mentors, and School of Education students got together to sit back, relax and enjoy a bit of Halloween fun. Pizza was served alongside delicious baked goods and candy donated by generous members of our S.T.A.R. team, many of whom displayed their Halloween spirit by arriving in full costume. Mentors and Buddies had the opportunity to take photos, watch the classic Halloween movie "Hocus Pocus," and perhaps share a laugh or two. At the close of the event, the S.T.A.R. Coordinators awarded two prizes, treat bags filled with candy and a Starbucks gift card, to the best dressed mentor/buddy pair, Kelvin Sage and his freshman buddy, Saalima Welch. Congratulations to the most spirited duo, who dressed up as Batman and an adorable school girl. The S.T.A.R. Coordinators were thrilled at the large turn out and enthusiasm of all who attended. It will certainly be one of many exciting events to come!

To RSVP to this event: http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/zyxnk8q64et5c446q

Look out for our poster around campus, and make sure EVERYONE RSVPs! Can't wait to see everyone there!

Beyond the Blackboard with Stacey Bess

Last night, St. John's University students had the opportunity to listen to a lecture by the inspiring, award-winning educator and author Stacey Bess. During her motivational talk, Bess spoke about how she overcame the odds during her first teaching assignment: a K-6 educator at "The School with No Name" in Salt Lake City, Utah, home to severely impoverished children and their families. Despite overwhelming obstacles, Bess realized what it was that those seemingly "unteachable" children really needed: love, acceptance, and someone who believed in them. As her book, Beyond the Blackboard explains, "Stacey discovered that by teaching and modeling love, self-worth, personal power, and courage she could reach children who had previously been labeled unteachable." As future educators, we can all take something away from Bess' inspiring story. The evening ended with an opportunity for all students at the lecture to receive a free autographed book.

For more information about Stacey Bess' story, visit her website: http://staceybess.com/index.php

What did you think of Stacey Bess' story? What lessons did you take away from her words? We hope mentors and their buddies were able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity together. Tell us your thoughts!

Stressbuster

The Stressbusters program enhances campus life by continuously training and dispatching teams of students to give free and effective backrubs, health information and resource referrals at events, residence halls, study halls and wherever else the stressed gather!

Stressbusters bust stress with far-reaching benefits that address today’s top barriers to academic success:

• Studies demonstrate that the type of backrubs provided by Stressbusters reduce anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure and depression.
• Stressbusters provides convenient relaxation breaks for large numbers of sometimes hard-to-reach students and staff where they live, work and play.
• Stressbusters gives student participants re-occurring stress reduction training, service engagement opportunities and social support connections.
• Popular Stressbusters events serve as permanent vehicles for health information, screenings, referrals and other wellness resources.

We are in the company of many other universities who have seen the need to make wellness and stress reduction a priority for their campuses (Columbia, Brown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, NYU).

The Stressbusters program provides much more than just back rubs.  Its stress-relief focus attracts students and staff from all corners of campus, providing sustained and diverse opportunities to address many interrelated health issues, prevention strategies and support services:

• Training, Engagement and Support for Hundreds of Students
• Linking Students and Staff with Campus Wellness Resources
• Connecting and Advancing Healthier Campus Initiatives

Stressbusters cultivates continuous working relationships between campus leaders, student organizations, administrative departments, and even faculty.  As a result, it can be used to build and expand a community wellness network and enhance healthier campus initiatives.

If interested please e-mail: 
stressbusters@stjohns.edu