First-Years Dive into Teaching
We understand that some of our students come to MLC with questions. “I think I want to be a teacher (or pastor or staff minister), but how can I be sure?” That’s one reason we’ve developed Early Field Experience 1 for first-year education and staff ministry majors—so they can plunge right into ministry and see if it feels like a good fit. The five-day event occurs immediately after students’ first semester here—in our new January term. We asked some first-year students how it went, and we thought you’d like to know too. After all, these future teachers could be serving your family and your congregation in a few short years!
Myah Loberger
(Mount Olive-Appleton WI)
EFE is . . . a little taste of what your future may look like. The first year in college you’re usually taking gen ed classes, so actually being able to be the one teaching instead of listening is so unique. I love that MLC gives us an experience to see if this is really what we want our future to look like!
EFE showed me . . . just how much I want to be a teacher. It was so much fun interacting with the students and collaborating with other classmates to improve our lessons.
Hannah Bodden
(Abiding Word-Houston)
It all clicked: I put together a lesson on one of my favorite stories! I took concepts of characterization to help students relate texts back to themselves, and at the end of my lesson, when some of the students were telling each other about their favorite character and why, it was so exciting to see how they had gotten something out of the lesson!
A little nervous, but . . . I was a little worried because I’m only six years older than the kids I was teaching, and I was a little afraid that they would be mean to me. But the kids were so sweet. I wished that I was able to teach more than just two groups, because I had so much fun having discussions about English with the kids!
Ella Bergemann
(Good Shepherd-Downers Grove IL)
Leveling up: The EFE 1 experience made me realize on a new level just how much I want to teach. Hearing called workers’ stories of sharing the gospel (not only with kids but with their families as well), I became convinced that there’s nothing else I’d rather do with my life. Thank you, presenters! The presenters were knowledgeable and welcoming, and I learned so much from their insights and stories. Hearing wisdom on various teaching-related topics was incredibly inspiring and rekindled my excitement to learn how to share the joys of teaching.
Teaching is a good fit: I learned a lot about how teaching fits my personal characteristics and gifts. Teaching fits me as an individual better than I ever thought. No teacher is the same, and that’s awesome!
Isabelle Steidl
(St. Paul-Muskego WI)
What’s that stuff called?
I taught first- and second-grade science, and we made oobleck, which is a suspension of cornstarch and water that can behave like a solid or a liquid depending on how much pressure you apply. My highlight was seeing the kids’ reactions to the experiment and their excitement to learn. They weren’t afraid to ask questions and get their hands dirty.
This experience . . . really reinforced my passion and excitement for becoming a teacher. It also reinforced my reason for becoming a teacher, which is to teach little kids about Christ so they can not only be in heaven someday but also teach others about Christ.
Sam Plocher
(Holy Trinity-Des Moines WA)
Lightbulb moments: I taught third graders about area and perimeter by having them lie on the ground and form shapes. Seeing the lightbulb turn on when they understood a problem is something I’ll always remember with joy.
My love for kids . . . only grew through this experience. I am so excited to be out in the ministry teaching kids just like these someday.
