My name is Mia Gallagos. I am currently a senior at United South High School, and I will be talking about the TAFE program that I have been a part of for the past three years. I have been interested in education for as long as I can remember, but it really stuck with me when I was in 8th grade. That was when they started pressuring us to decide what we wanted to do so we could take the right classes in high school. I saw how teachers around me made an impact on students, so I decided that was the pathway I wanted to take. I talked to my counselor, and they set me up in this amazing pathway, which allowed me to experience TAFE.
In TAFE, we participate in numerous events where we can teach, not only as assistants to teacher aides but also through a program called Junior Achievement. This program lets us go into elementary schools and teach students for a day. TAFE helps us become prepared for what we will face in the future. It provides lessons on things like creating anchor charts. For example, we had a project where we had to create an anchor chart all by ourselves without our teacher’s help, which brought out our creativity.
Additionally, we learn about portfolios and résumés, which are crucial when applying for jobs. Our teacher prepares us for creating résumés and making lesson plans. Every week, a teacher needs a lesson plan and must know how to describe and teach it. By teaching us this, our teacher gives us a head start in teaching compared to others who don’t have this experience.
I will show you the ones that are used for technology programs. Here are some examples: Google Slides, which we use to create activities, Google Sheets, Canva for creating announcements, and Google Docs. I also have slides on fundraisers I’ve participated in, like leadership roles, a steak plate fundraiser for the band, the mini conference where we taught middle schoolers, and Junior Achievement, where I was able to teach elementary students.