DECATUR, Ill. – Millikin University’s Tomorrow’s Teachers Conference, hosted by the School of Education, brought the largest number of high school students interested in getting into education the event had ever had on Monday, Oct. 21.
More than 150 high school students from around Illinois took part in the annual event that gave students interested in education an idea of what the college experience is like for Education majors. Attendees participated in breakout sessions, group activities and enjoyed a day of hands-on, behind-the-scenes experiences they would get as Millikin Education students.
“Perhaps now more than ever, our world needs outstanding educators, inspirational leaders, and role models. The best teachers serve as all three of those,” Millikin’s Director of the School of Education Dr. Chris Cunnings said. “Speaking on behalf of my outstanding Millikin University faculty members, staff, and students, our goal is to provide our conference attendees with an authentic, engaging, and valuable glimpse into the teaching profession. We want you to leave campus today inspired and excited about a potential career in education.”
Students also benefited from sessions and panels showcasing the latest in teacher education and innovative instruction, as well as an array of related areas that directly impact the future of teaching. The conference also featured two Teachers of the Year winners in attendance. Dr. Karen Lauritzen, a Millikin School of Education faculty member, was Idaho’s 2023 Teacher of the Year and led sessions on instruction methods featuring lesions on the human muscular system and the biology of flowers. Kim Radostits, 2023 Illinois Teacher of the Year and a finalist for the United States Teacher of the Year, brought a group from Oregan, Ill. High School attended the conference and spoke briefly about the importance of teachers in children’s lives.
“Being able to travel around Illinois and talk to students like yourselves and anytime I could give a presentation, I would always start by asking them to write down the name of their favorite teachers of all time,” Radostits said. “I have seen thousands upon thousands do that activity, and I never saw it take anyone longer than 10 seconds to write down their name. That is the proof of the impact that teachers have.”
The conference also featured a School of Education student panel where four senior Big Blue students shared their thoughts on their Millikin experience. Elementary Education majors Kailee Itzenhuiser and Lauren Auton joined Physical Education major Kyleigh Block and Instrumental Musical Education major Luis Guerrero on the panel that discussed their first inspirations about being a teacher.
“I absolutely loved playing school. Whenever I had a play date with my friends, we would play school, and I would be the teacher. I’ve always loved the learning environment,” Auton said. “I developed some really close relationships with my teachers and want to be that way for my students. I want to share my love of learning with them and help them develop their own love of learning.”
The four future teachers will be doing their student teaching next semester, and Guerrero talked about never passing up an opportunity to improve their teaching skills.
“Try everything. Teaching is something that you can theorize a lot about and write out really solid lesson plans, but when you are up there and actually doing it, you probably will be bad at it. You won’t get better at it until you do it more,” Guerro said. “I was asked to teach clarinet lessons during my freshman year, and I said I couldn’t do it. I wish I had said yes all those years ago because I would have become a great teacher so much sooner.”
Sam Mills, President of the Decatur Education Association, gave the keynote presentation titled “Why I Chose to Become a Teacher, and Why You Should, Too.”
“I was surprised by how many people were here today, and it made me hopeful about the future of education. When I was sitting in your position in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. When I slipped into the education role, I very quickly found out teaching was what I wanted to do. As soon as I got in the room with students and was able to connect with them, I knew this was it. If you don’t feel that now, when you are in that role and see that light bulb turn on, you will know this is it,” Mills said. “Let me tell you, there is not a boring day in teaching. Teaching is like it’s 8 a.m., and then it’s 3 p.m., and you wonder what happened? It will be August and then May before you know it. It is so fast and there is not a boring time as a teacher. You will not be bored.”
