Gorillas - Warriors - Swedes

The KTOY Team did some college visits this week and were inspired once again by the young people we talked to. The first stop was at Pittsburg State University. I had never been to Pittsburg before and was amazed at their education program. We spoke to about 130 student teachers...yes, that is right...PSU will graduate around 130 educators!! They really "got it goin' on" there. Of course, I have always been a huge fan of Dr. Andy Tompkins (Dean of Education at PSU) and can see his vision along with great professors like, Dr. Howard Smith, Chair of Curriculum and Instruction, embedded in this successful education program. Every one of us were impressed with the way these educators presented themselves (they dressed up and looked great) and with their involvement in the presentation.

Pictured here with Kelli LaRosh and Terri Gaeddert

What a surprise this morning to open the Salina Journal and see an article about Kelli LaRosh , a student from Sterling College, that published a book (about math)! How ironic that this article ran on the day we went to Sterling. We got to meet this amazing young educator and I even received a complimentary book - with her signature. Being around such innovative youth is inspiring. This was our first presentation where we only had 50 minutes but we did get an opportunity to visit informally with the education majors at a reception. We were engaged with great questions about grading, assessments, and project-based learning. WOW! I taught with Terri Gaeddert years ago so I know the these future educators are in the hands of a progressive and cutting-edge instructor.

After Sterling, we loaded up and headed to Bethany College to eat lunch and spend the afternoon with their education majors. We were honored that these young people gave up 2 hours on a beautiful Friday afternoon to hear us speak. Once again, we got a chance to interact and share our experiences and thoughts on education with about 90 students. I was a little more nervous about being at Bethany as this is my home town and I knew people in the group! In fact, my long-term substitute even showed up to listen in. With 43 years of experience in education, it was HE who should probably be doing this presentation!! We were in awe of the diversity of students attending Bethany - students from Canada, Oregon, Texas, and Sudan. What a great opportunity the students are getting from this diverse interaction. We came back to my house for some reflection on the day. The general consensus is these "smaller" colleges are "big" on teacher preparation!