NSU hosts Celebration of Teaching on Feb. 15

(Tahlequah, OK)--Looking to spark the minds of public school students that might want to become teachers, Northeastern State University is hosting the annual Celebration of Teaching.

The event is set for Feb. 15 from 9:45 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Webb Center Auditorium and the University Center at the NSU campus. Deborah Landry, chair of curriculum and instruction at NSU, said the hope is to provide an interactive workshop for those considering a career in teaching.

The purpose of the program is to assist public school students, especially minorities, to have early, positive experiences with a college and those who educate teachers, Landry said. We hope many of those students will decide to become teachers.

Sarah Brown Wessling, 2010 National Teacher of the Year, and Elizabeth Smith, 2010 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, are the keynote speakers.

Wessling teaches English to 10th-12th grade at Johnston (Iowa) High School. She holds bachelors and masters degrees from Iowa State University in English education and English literature and is nationally board certified in English language arts instruction.

She says she was meant to be a teacher and that learning must be learner-centered.

Wessling begins each school year by asking students to tell her what course expectations should be or asks them to write journals to discover what inspires them. She then works to find ways to include student inspirations within the class.

"Students construct knowledge when it is personally relevant to them and when it has a real authentic purpose, said Wessling.

Wessling says she could make any career or interest meaningful by igniting a similar curiosity in others, but she chooses "to create life-long learners and genuine thinkers accustomed to intellectual risk."

Booker T. Washington, Central and McLain high schools, Hawthorne Elementary, KIPP Academy, Locust Grove middle and high schools, Pryor High School and Checotah High School are expected to participate.

The event features a luncheon for the middle and high school students and workshops for all students.

We will have hands-on, interactive workshops for students and teachers all promoting the rewarding experiences of learning and teaching, said Landry.

Funding for the event is provided by the NSU College of Education and grants from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Minority Teacher Recruitment Center.