Gwynedd-Mercy College

School of Business and Education

EDU 223 – Teaching Science PreK-4

Professional Development

Please use this template to TYPE your reflection. Please attach it to the Discussion Board
by the due date on your calendar. You may post at any time that you complete it.

Name: McKendra Mount

Event/Activity: Education Outreach Teacher Panel

Date: November 18, 2022

Describe the event, your participation, and why this may be helpful to you in your future career.

I was not able to attend the teacher panel on campus, so I watched the recording of it. The

very first question was “what is something that you wish Gwynedd could have prepared you

for?” and this question got me thinking. I think there are a million things that school in general

cannot prepare you for. I work at a preschool and have worked there for the past four years, so I

have gotten a lot of experience with students, parents, and classrooms. However, there is a lot

that I learned in pre-student teaching that neither school nor my work could prepare me for.

Every day is different, and every student is different, so as the teachers explained, there is no

way to prepare for everything. They also mentioned that the lesson planning process and having

that experience at Gwynedd was very beneficial in teaching. I know that a lot of teachers will say

that once you are a teacher, you will not have to write lesson plans as in depth as the Gwynedd

ones, but having that background is beneficial because in your mind, you know what aspects

need to go into a lesson.

Another question stuck out to me which was “have you had issues with parents taking

you seriously because you are a younger teacher?” and one teacher, responded that she had a
personal encounter with a parent that asked how old she was and if she was sure that she should

be there. I feel that this might be something that I run into in the future because I am on the

shorter side and have always been told that I look young for my age. It is important to keep in

mind in these situations that parents are not purposely trying to insult you, but they may be

nervous that a younger person is teaching their child because people generally associate age with

wisdom and experience. At my job I tend to feel like parents do not take me seriously because

there are a lot of older teachers at my job. I have also had a co-worker say that she does not like

working with the younger girls at my work, but I know what I am capable of and that I am

qualified to work here, so her opinion did not matter to me.

The interview process is what makes me the most nervous. The various responses by the

teachers on the panel was very interesting. Some teachers made the interview process seem very

easy going and some made it seem very nerve-wracking. I know that I have to be very

professional in the interview process, but I have to also be true to myself, like some of the

teachers mentioned in the panel. I want my interviewers to know who I am as a person, and if it

does not work out, it is better for both me and the school because I would not want to be in a

school that is not right for me.

This panel was helpful to me because these teachers are graduates of Gwynedd Mercy, so

their experiences will be similar to experiences that I could have. They have been in a lot of the

same classes as I am taking or have taken, so it is nice to hear what classes are the most

beneficial in their opinions.