Kindergarten Teacher,Special Education Integration Classroom Windermere Boulevard School-Amherst, NY
posted January 30, 2013- written by Tamara Horstman-Riphahn
Jessica Elggren chose Buffalo State because of the college's exceptional reputation in the field of education. "My entire experience at Buffalo State prepared me for the real world," says Elggren, "I understood the purpose of what I was doing."
Two professors significant to Elggren’s growth as an educator are Kim Truesdell and Keli Garas-York.
"Dr. Truesdell gave me a strong foundation for becoming a classroom teacher. Her assignments were directly linked to real-world tasks, she ensured that we knew the important terminology, and she helped us develop effective lesson plans. Dr. Truesdell helped me to become a reflective teacher. To this day, after each lesson I teach at Windermere Boulevard School, I take time to reflect on what was successful and what could be done differently to maximize student learning and success. Dr. Truesdell’s belief in my abilities, as well as her passion for teaching literacy, motivated me to apply for the Literacy Specialist Master’s Program at Buffalo State."
"Dr. Garas-York prepared me to be a capable and confident teacher of reading and writing. Throughout my graduate coursework, I used assessment kits and strategies in teaching reading comprehension, and was provided articles and resources that familiarized me with the most current research and practices. She showed me how to assess, diagnose, and provide intensive remedial instruction to struggling readers and writers."
"I truly believe that it is because of these two women that I have the career that I have today. I have never worked so hard in any class as I did as a student of Dr. Truesdell and Garas-York. They motivated me to work and to learn, they had high expectations and provided valuable feedback, and they are incredibly brilliant and dedicated to the field of education and teacher preparation. I have a high level of respect for these two outstanding professors at Buffalo State."
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