Back to School Armstrong Panel

An Armstrong panel is composed of selected educators from Indiana who have shown excellence in their jobs and are strongly committed to the career of teaching. These educators come to the Indiana University-Bloomington campus and hold a panel discussion in front of anyone who would like to attend. There is usually a topic that is chosen to be the main concentration of the presentation and questions are allowed at the end. For the Armstrong panel that I attended, the main focus was on preparing for coming back to school and how to successfully complete the first couple weeks with a new class.  Most of the educators outlined what they do in preparation for the school year and how they set up their individual classrooms.

One teacher that I learned a lot from came from an inner city school and felt very strongly about using time and resources wisely. The main idea I took away from his presentation is that everything on the walls of your classroom should be for a purpose. This means that all of the posters that are hung up are for a specific reason, such as teaching a new skill or reminding students of how to do a certain task. There are no silly posters that do not mean anything because all of the wall space is used for educational purposes. I completely agree with this idea because it speaks to what the children are in school for. They are there to learn as much as the can, not to sit in a pretty classroom. 

Another educator who I learned a lot from was a woman who teaches fifth grade at Binford Elementary School. One of the main points of her presentation was to urge future educators to be flexible. She explained that there will always have to be changes in your curriculum, simply because not every class will be the same from year to year. Sometimes teachers have to change their plans because of time or to fit the needs of students. Change is okay! As an educator, you must adapt to your surroundings and find a way to rework your lessons. Being flexible is an absolute must. 

Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this particular Armstrong panel. The educators who talked obviously had a lot of teaching experience and provided many great ideas throughout the presentation. It is truly nice to hear from teachers who have been through years of the profession and still thoroughly enjoy it. This gives me hope for my future career.