Presenters:  Paul Danuser and Crystal McCabe

Title: Leaving Your Drama Behind: The Successful Transition to College

Session Description: Heading to college can be one of the great experiences in young people’s lives. New adventures and new experiences await all those who enter the “hallowed SATURDAY, JUNE 25 halls of academia.” New friends, new foods, and new living arrangements are just a few of the life-changing experiences students have when making the transition from high school to college. Unfortunately, more than one million students drop out of college every year, with nearly three out of every 10 freshmen dropping out, leaving debt and unfulfilled dreams of what the future once promised to hold. This interactive session is designed to help prepare high school students to attend and stay in college, by focusing on social and emotional well-being. This discussion will also provide the means to encourage students to build the individual skills necessary to make this incredible and exciting transition to their adult lives and career opportunities. These skills will also help you now, so you can begin to leave the drama of high school behind and look ahead with hope and anticipation for a successful college experience.

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Presenters: Crystal McCabe and Michael McCabe

Session Title: Friend or Foe? Balancing Relationships, Teaching, and Authority

Session Description: Deep down, we all want to be liked. This does not change when we become a teacher, but how do we make sure to keep a balance between being liked and remaining in charge? Some may say, “Don’t smile until Christmas” or tell you that if you are too nice, students will take advantage of you. You’ll hear that “Having too much fun in the classroom will make students misbehave,” but also be told to make sure to build that classroom community. Where do you even begin? Through this interactive session, these and other myths about being a teacher will be discussed, along with strategies for establishing, maintaining, and restoring relationships, building classroom community, and maintaining authority in the classroom. Participants will leave feeling more confident about their role and presence as a teacher. Who knows, you may even smile before Christmas!

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Presenter: Paul Danuser

Session Title: Charismatic Teaching: Going from Yawn to Yes! 

Session Description: We all know the difference between the teacher everyone loves and the teacher everyone avoids. Do you know how or why that happens? Nobody enters the teaching profession determined to be the teacher no students love or relate to. Somehow, that happens with some. How can you learn to be that teacher who drives the love for learning in your students, rather than being the teacher kids do everything they can to avoid? This session will provide inspiration and tips for teacher candidates to learn to establish themselves as charismatic teachers who love what they get to do and love those get to work with, rather than being a teacher who just does what they have to do with people they have to work with. Becoming a great teacher doesn’t just happen — this session will provide some encouragement for learning how to be a teacher kids want to have and will remember for years to come.