A presentation given by two executive board members of the Biology Teachers Association of New Jersey (BTANJ) on Feb. 21 provided students with insight into how to stay connected in teaching.
The biology department sponsored the talk on networking by Bunny Jaskot and Sharon Weiss of BTANJ that offered resources for students interested in studying education.
The lecture emphasized the importance of joining national organizations and attending conferences for students who are getting prepared to go into the education field.
"Get connected," Jaskot said. "Once you get connected, the excitement of interacting with people like you hooks you. You can exchange ideas and gain new perspectives."
"Especially in the sciences where research and knowledge is always changing, you need to stay connected to remain updated," Weiss said. "You need to excite your students. You need to be role models for them."
The program was arranged by a College alumnus, Rich Durso, who is now on the executive board of BTANJ and teaches biology at Hackensack High School. Durso wanted to come back to his alma mater to help students by utilizing the connections he had made.
He told students that getting an education from the College has been highly beneficial for him.
"I learned at the College what science is supposed to be. Now, I portray that to my students," Durso said.
"The cooperating teacher at the fourth grade class that I teach in said that the way to get a job in a good district is through knowing people," Kristina Avisado, early childhood education major, said.
"Ms. Jaskot and Ms. Weiss definitely enforced that and actually showed me how to do it," she added.
"I didn't think about networking before in education. It really depends on who you know. And where the presenters came from was helpful and the people they know is helpful," Irene Ning, junior physics/secondary education major, said.
For further information on resources for education students, visit btanj.org.
