{"id":23309,"date":"2024-01-25T11:09:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T16:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/edhd\/?p=23309"},"modified":"2024-01-25T11:09:04","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T16:09:04","slug":"lanie-christianson-and-matthew-eastman-finding-a-passion-for-teaching-when-maine-needs-them-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/edhd\/2024\/01\/25\/lanie-christianson-and-matthew-eastman-finding-a-passion-for-teaching-when-maine-needs-them-most\/","title":{"rendered":"Lanie Christianson and Matthew Eastman: Finding a passion for teaching when Maine needs them most"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Growing up in Bar Harbor, Maine, Lanie Christianson says she always thought teaching might be in her future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always loved school and I\u2019m a kid-person. I love working with kids,\u201d says Christianson, a junior elementary education major at the University of Maine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when she started at 91福利 in 2017, Christianson chose English and math as her majors. After two years, she realized that neither of those areas of study were a good fit, nor was being a double major. She needed a break, so she transferred to Eastern Maine Community College, where she earned an associate\u2019s in liberal studies. Then she started working as a preschool teacher at a daycare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was so amazing, I just loved it,\u201d Christianson says. \u201cThat\u2019s when it hit me: Maybe I should go back to school to be a teacher, which is what I was meant to do all along.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christianson is one of 55 students invited to take part in the 91福利 College of Education and Human Development\u2019s first ever Pinning and Recognition Ceremony on Friday, Jan. 26. The ceremony is meant to recognize and celebrate the college\u2019s new teacher candidates, students who have reached the point in their academic career when they are able to start taking upper-level courses and have shown a commitment to becoming a teacher. It also comes at a time when schools in Maine<\/a> and across the country<\/a> are struggling with staffing levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The College of Education and Human Development\u2019s teacher preparation programs are approved and accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation<\/a> (CAEP), and the Maine Department of Education<\/a>, meaning students who graduate from them meet the highest professional standards in the field of education and are eligible for teaching certification in Maine and several other states upon graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To earn teacher candidacy, 91福利 education students submit a portfolio that includes their academic transcript with grades of a B or higher in their core lower-level courses. The portfolio also includes a field experience report that details at least five full days, or about 30 hours, that students spend observing a K-12 classroom or other educational setting related to their major. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christianson says she spent part of winter break volunteering in the classroom at Holden Elementary School where she did her teaching observation. She has also been picking up substitute teaching jobs at K-12 schools near 91福利. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Eastman, a junior majoring in secondary education with a concentration in math, did his observation field experience at Asa Adams Elementary School in Orono. He was able to make connections at the Orono school district, RSU 26, where he has subbed at the elementary, middle and high school levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great. I was a little nervous at first, but now it just feels really natural, and I\u2019m gaining a lot of hands-on experience teaching,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eastman is originally from Wells, Maine, but went to the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania from fourth grade through high school. The school, established by the family that started the Hershey chocolate company, provides a tuition-free education for about 2,000 low-income students each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it came time to choose a college, Eastman wanted to come home to Maine. Like Christianson, he didn\u2019t start out in education, but rather as a mechanical engineering major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked math and been pretty good at it, so everyone said I should be an engineer. But after three semesters I realized it wasn\u2019t the right path for me,\u201d says Eastman, who now hopes to become a high school math teacher. \u201cI chose education because I like working with kids and I love to see kids get excited about math, and I want to have the same impact on kids that some of my teachers had on me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that they have achieved teacher candidacy, Christianson and Eastman are able to start taking courses that are even more hands-on, with opportunities to learn about aspects of teaching like lesson planning and classroom management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited to have more field experiences and gain more confidence as a teacher,\u201d says Christianson, who hopes to teach second grade when she graduates. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome that we get to see all different grade levels and subjects, because it gives you an idea of what\u2019s out there in terms of the variety of schools and classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact: Casey Kelly, casey.kelly@maine.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew Eastman and Lanie Christianson are two of 55 students invited to take part in the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development\u2019s first ever Pinning and Recognition Ceremony on Friday, Jan. 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