As my elementary school motto went “students today, leaders tomorrow.” Education is the most important asset in shaping the future generation yet, why do people never want to be a teacher?
Melissa Calil and I sat down this week to look at just that, deep-diving into teaching, FSU, and what we can do to remove the stigma.
Her Campus (HC): What inspired you to get into education?
Melissa Calil (MC): When I was a senior in high school I was a representative for the Educational Excellence School Advisory Council (EESAC). Essentially, it was made up of a group of students, teachers, parents, faculty and administration that came together twice a month to talk about the logistics of the school and data-driven analysis. The conversation focused a lot on how we can improve testing and the overall well-being of the school.
HC: How do you think Florida State has prepared you for your career in education?
MC: The College of Education has really shaped my FSU experience. I’ve been involved on campus, done all that but the best thing I’ve done was get involved in my college. The College of Education lets me work directly with students and do what I’m passionate about every day. When it comes to my passion I can thank the College of Education for providing me with so many great opportunities to grow.
HC: How is the College of Education so different from other colleges? What is the program like?
MC: The College of Education here has Social Science Education, which I’m in, Elementary Education, Special Education, Students with Disabilities/ Impairments, and English Education which are all combined degrees. This means you get a bachelor’s and a master’s on a 5-year track so you can save some money along the way and work in your field a lot faster.
HC: How has your involvement in the College of Education impacted the way you view the future of education?
MC: I’m a student ambassador for the College of Education. I got this position on literally the first day I was accepted into the Social Science Education program. They were offering students to come by their office to learn more and I did just that. I was a sophomore then and now I’m a senior but since then I’ve been really involved in the recruitment process for the college. I learned how important and how much we need to emphasize teacher recruitment and the preparation for teacher candidates. I don’t think the state of Florida is doing enough with that.
HC: What can the state of Florida do to understand the importance of education? How can we remove that stigma surrounding teaching?
MC: I don’t’ think the state of Florida understands that all you need for a better education is funding. There’s nothing else you can do. You can add all these laws and amendments but they won’t do anything without funding, no change will be made. Not only money for textbooks etc., we need to pay everyone that works in that school more. It’s one big cycle where prospective students for education don’t even want to learn because of financial compensation. How can you recruit someone who is going to be lowly paid after they graduate? It’s one big cycle we see in the College of Education. That’s where my role as a student ambassador comes in. I work recruiting people, seeing how we can make their experience worthwhile and make them motivated to teach in the state of Florida and the public-school system.
HC: How do you think marches or rallies like this past one play a role in Florida’s government?
MC: So, in the state of Florida teachers aren’t allowed to strike and so these rallies are everything teachers can do. They are pretty monumental and contain important voices in them. Teachers unionizing and collecting their concerns of wanting what’s needed—shows. Everybody knows I mean these rallies are on national tv. They’re really just the beginning of the fight for funding. At the end of the day, we’re not fighting only for the future of our students but of America.
HC: Any final words?
MC: Follow your heart and join the fight. We have power in numbers. If your dream is to teach don’t let anything scare you.
All photos courtesy of Melissa Calil.
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