Ms. Brill's First KATE Conference!!!

WOW, I can't believe I got to attend my first KATE Conference last week. I am so grateful I had that opportunity - especially because I was able to attend sessions with my classmates. It was so comforting to have all the pre-service English education candidates with me at the conference to go through that new experience together. 

The sessions I attended at the KATE conference were amazing. One that was particularly helpful for me was the session for pre-service teachers. I loved that I was able to share my fears with other classmates and have discussions on how we can combat these fears. The presenter kept telling us that we are teachers, and we are warriors. I love that, and I think I’m going to make that my new phrase from now on.

I couldn’t help but feel like a proud mom when I attended the sessions my classmates lead. They all carried themselves so well and were able to keep the session on task. I admired them so much for their courage in standing up in front of teachers that have had their own classrooms for years and having the confidence to know that their ideas were valuable.

I have so much respect for the “real” teachers that attended these sessions and offered their input. It was so helpful to have people with experience in the session. I met several of them at the social at Public, and I think that is so valuable to me as a pre-service teacher. I could tell they cared about my success and wanted to get to know me.

My favorite memory from the conference was definitely when a teacher in USD 259 commented during one of the sessions that she had confidence in all the future teachers she saw at the conference. Overall, when I left the conference, I felt like my inspiration for teaching had been reignited. I am so excited to attend the KATE conference again after I have a class of my own and can bring my own advice through my successes and failures to pre-service teachers!

We are teachers, and we are warriors!