“Teaching has so many challenges, but it is still the best profession in the world,” CEA President Kate Dias told CEA Aspiring Educators gathered for their end-of-year Apple Banquet last weekend. “The most important thing we can do is to invest in education and make sure each and every one of you feel like you’ve made the best choice in the entire world by deciding to become a teacher.”
State Vice Chair Owen Eccles congratulated his fellow aspiring educators on their many accomplishments and shared that their ranks have continued to grow with two new chapters added this year and membership doubling to reach 327 students.
“Props to chapter leaders especially for bringing in new members,” he said.
See more photos from the Apple Banquet.
Throughout the year the AEs gave back to their communities with beautification events where teams of members cleaned up and decorated two schools. They planned and hosted an annual Read Across America event at Mystic Aquarium and held their first meeting with legislators.
“Not only has our state chapter done great things, but each university chapter here has also done their own incredible things like PD, community service, community outreach—so we have a lot to celebrate,” Eccles said.
“I stand before you bursting with pride and excitement. I couldn’t be prouder of the work the Aspiring Educator team has continued to do this year,” said CEA Educational Issues Specialist Elizabeth Sked. “I was not sure how we would top last year but the key is teamwork. There’s not one person, not one chapter, not one leader, not one staff member responsible for the success and growth of our program—all of the AE members and supporters are part of this dynamic team making such a positive change.”
She continued, “You hold within your hands the power to ignite a passion for learning, to instill confidence in the hearts of your students, and to empower them to realize their fullest potential. I want you also to remember those values in yourself: passion, confidence, and empowerment. Being a teacher is a work of heart, and we hope that you find this work to empower you to be leaders, both inside and outside of the classroom. As you venture into next year, whether it be teaching in your own classroom or continuing your studies, I also want you to remember your union is here to support you.”
“You will always have a home with CEA,” Dias said. “This will always be a place that you should feel deeply connected to. You will hopefully always be a member of your union because I think one of the things we need to remember is that this job is absolutely impossible to do alone.”
Unions provide essential support for new educators learning the ropes of the teaching profession.
CEA Executive Director Todd Jaeck shared a story about a young educator he worked with early in his career who faced an unexpectedly poor evaluation her first year teaching and discovered the power, protection, and advocacy of her union when she was feeling alone.
“It’s our unions that provide that type of support,” Jaeck said. “It’s your voice that gives your union power to create a better future for our students. I invite you tonight to think about how you can engage in your union as you advance throughout your career.”
NEA Aspiring Educators Chair Sabreena Shaller, a recent graduate of Pennsylvania’s Millersville University, knows firsthand what her Connecticut counterparts are going through as they balance classes, jobs, student teaching, and their role as leaders in the Aspiring Educators program.
“You spent hours planning community service projects, hours talking and organizing with members, and hours preparing to talk with legislators,” Shaller said. “I know you all have crazy, hectic lives, but I also know that you have an incredible amount of passion, dedication, and love for our profession, and that love is what makes you all as aspiring educators so powerful. We all have the vision of creating the safe spaces, classrooms, and school communities that our students and educators need and deserve.”
Also representing the national arena was Dr. Blake West, senior policy analyst at NEA, who has decades of experience supporting new and aspiring educators. On behalf of NEA President Becky Pringle, a strong supporter of the NEA Aspiring Educators Program, he thanked AEs for all their work this year.
Connecticut Teacher of the Year Kiana Foster-Mauro is an early career educator who clearly remembers her own first days teaching. She offered the aspiring educators encouragement as they contemplate soon having a classroom of their own.
Visitors to Foster-Mauro’s classroom usually first notice the books and plants in her room, she said, and then see the posters and images with diverse faces and words displayed on the walls and the dozens of classroom family pictures.
“Something it usually takes a while for visitors to pick up on is a sign that hangs among a handful of other signs on my whiteboard that very proudly states how many mistakes Ms. Foster-Mauro has made this year complete with an image of my bitmoji shrugging with a face that screams ‘yikes!’ Right next to the bitmoji is a large circle, and currently inside that circle written in very excited, child-drawn numbers is ’52.’ From the moment that I introduce this sign to my students during the first month of school it instantly becomes a huge hit. My days become filled with, ‘Ms. Foster Mauro, you made a mistake!'”
Beneath the bitmoji image, Foster-Mauro has written, “Every mistake has helped me grow as a teacher.”
Foster-Mauro added, “Please know that perfection is not attainable and it’s not even desirable. Our imperfections and our mistakes make us stronger. It’s how we learn our most meaningful lessons. The sign that proudly rests on my whiteboard is a constant reminder to my students and myself that mistakes are something to celebrate. Give yourself grace. It’s okay to not have all the answers.”
