黑料社

As a standout goalkeeper on 黑料社鈥檚 women鈥檚 soccer team, 聽Lani Mears 鈥�24 says she was always mentally prepared for anything coming her way. Mears has taken that same vigilant mindset into the classroom at Emerson Elementary in Indianola, where she spent Spring semester student teaching kindergartners.

鈥淎s a goalie, you have to be on your toes,鈥� said Mears. 鈥淵ou may not be in the action at the moment, but you have to be ready 鈥� and that鈥檚 totally like teaching. I鈥檝e learned that no two days are going to be the exact same, and things can change on the flip of a coin.鈥�

Mears, who earned the Dr. Donna J. Helble 鈥�71 Award recognizing the outstanding junior in elementary education last year, says the new education space in Dunn is amazing 鈥� the ideal place to prepare her lesson plans and practice teaching.

Her growing confidence as a student teacher, comes from the design of 黑料社鈥檚 education program and the faculty who prepared her. Going through a series of immersive experiences that build on each other provided the scaffolding that readied her for the challenge of student teaching.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e worked four years for this moment,鈥� said Mears. 鈥淎nd you have so much practice by then: in your classes, in practicum, teaching lessons, and just being with kids 鈥� or even teaching your peers. So, it鈥檚 not so nerve-wracking to stand up in front of the class when you f inally get there.鈥�

Mears says that gaining classroom experience and acquiring her teaching license are huge in paving the way toward her ultimate goal of serving as a speech pathologist in a school setting. In the short term, she plans to teach next fall while also preparing to pursue a master鈥檚 degree.