SEA Attends IEA Spring Conference

The Student Education Association (SEA) at Governors State University is part of the Illinois Education Association (IEA), which supports and promotes networking among individuals from the education community. The IEA hosts a conference each semester. This spring semester the event was held at the Hilton in Lisle, IL (Chicago Suburbs) from Friday, April 6th thru Saturday, April 7th.

On Friday, the student IEA planned a Legacy Project which began at 12:30 p.m. The event, which took place at Hubble Middle School, presented four activities encompassing themes such as Integrity, Kindness, Respect, and the Environment. More than 50 student IEA members volunteered to demonstrate and lead the activities for almost 300 students within 6-8 grade. After 3 hours at the school, members were provided time to relax and bond with other leaders from throughout the state before enjoying a wonderful Italian style buffet dinner and watching the film “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and The Science of Hope.”

Saturday, members took part in a variety of professional development workshops led by current teachers, professors, district administrators, and professionals in the field. Session topics included “The Law and You,” “Assessments in the Secondary Grades,” “Educators of Students with Special Needs,” “Building a Classroom Community in Early Childhood,” and “Teaching with Tech Tools” as well as panels of teachers with first-hand knowledge, experience, and advice about the profession at elementary, middle, and high school levels. Along with the sessions, SEA members had opportunities to meet and socialize with fellow SEA members from universities across Illinois. Everyone walked away with materials, tools to use in the classroom, bundles of free books for their future classroom libraries, and wonderful experiences to cherish.