Interview with Madeline Pendergast

Madeline Pendergast, a James Patterson Scholar at Towson University, began her teacher preparation in August 2013. These are her reflections after completing one and one-half semesters of study.

Miss Pendergast, it's so nice for you to take time, especially at this part of the semester because I know things are very busy for you. We're wanting to look at teacher education at Towson across time,

and we're especially delighted that a group, a very special group of six students have volunteered to share with us their thoughts about their potential careers in teaching, and that is the eight James Patterson Scholars.

That's a very special place to be, and we're delighted that you were awarded the scholarship and that you're here at Towson. I think a good place to begin is in the beginning. So would you share with us a little bit about your early life,

where you were born and where you grew up? Of course. I was born in Annapolis, Maryland. It was right outside, my first home was in Arnold, Maryland and I am a twin.

And so me and my sister just lived there with our parents for a while. And then we moved to Severna Park, which is like two minutes from Arnold and we had our little sister who's four years younger than us and we just grew up there and stayed there.

We shortly lived in Singapore for a couple of months and that was such a great experience and I loved it. Really? How old were you when you went to Singapore? We were in seventh grade, me and my sister.

And so we were only there for a short time, but it was such a great experience. We got to travel all over the world and had so many memories from it. Wow. It was great. And so were you in school at all or was it during the summer?

It was from April til June. And so we went to the Singapore American School there and it was a beautiful school and not like a school around here. It was all open and beautiful and it was a beautiful country to live in.

Yeah. Well, how special that was. Wow. It was. I wouldn't, like, change it for the world,

being able to, like, experience that, 'cause not many people can say they lived in Asia at such a young age, you know. No, very few people can say at any age, they lived in Asia. I know.

So that was a special thing. Do you think that influenced how you looked at things or what you wanted to do or... I mean, it was such a small piece of time, but at the same time... It definitely changed my views on the

world, being able to, like, see there... We were able to go to Thailand and see, we saw all this poverty and it made me want to help out more. And so hfulpely with, like, this teaching, I'll be able to go to Thailand or even to Africa to help out in the future with my teaching and...

Very nice. What kinds of things were you involved in as you went through school? Were you involved in sports or any service projects or anything that influenced you in terms of a possible career? I, well, for the sports, I was on the swim team for two years

and also the dance team for a short while. I just mainly, I was in the National Honor Society. I just hung out with a lot of my friends and I always kind of knew that I was going to be a teacher.

It was always in the back of my mind and growing up through school and having all these great teachers, like I couldn't name one teacher that I hate, that I did not like, and I just loved it. It made me realize how, like, important the teaching career is.

Absolutely. So as a little kid, did you, you know, did you teach your stuffed animals or did you... I had this whole setup in my basement. I had an overhead, a big chalkboard.

It's still all there. And these desks, and I made my parents all sit down and the babysitters who would come over and I would just teach them. And throughout my elementary and the beginning of middle school, I was, that was my thing to do in my spare time, just to play as a teacher.

It kind of faded as I got into high school, but it's still all there. Like I just can't give it up. We haven't touched it down there and it's just like a part of me that I can't, like, get rid of.

Well, how about your sister? I mean, was she your student or... She was, she did it with me for a little bit. She wasn't as into it.

She wanted to be a teacher too, but that faded more quickly than I did. It was just, she just kind of did it because, like, I was doing it too, I feel. And so we're always together. And so she sort of diverted, or not diverted,

but took a divergent path than you did. It's complicated. She... And actually in the beginning of our senior year, she did an internship at an elementary school because she thought she wanted to

be a teacher during that point. But then she realized that that wasn't her thing. Going through the whole internship, working with the kids and realizing that, oh, maybe this isn't for me.

But then I decided that maybe I'll try it out and see, like, if it's really for me. And so I did the second semester and I just absolutely loved it. And I knew, like, even that grade level, that's where I want to because those kids were just amazing.

Tell us a little bit about the internship. That was a course? It was a class that you took? Senior year you can take a certain amount, you had to take English and then whatever

requirements you needed to take, but you could get out of school early. And so you could either not do anything with your free time or work, but I wanted to, like, be productive, so I did the internship also. First semester I just worked all the time.

But this second semester I did the internship and I absolutely loved it. We helped the teacher. I got to teach small groups even. And I... So this was in an elementary school?

It was actually in the one that I went to, which is right across the street from me, which I loved, like, we've been, they just rebuilt it up and it was beautiful. And we, I got to just help plan and get this

little taste of what it would be like for what I have in the future. And what grade level did you work? It was a first grade classroom. And so I just, I was in one main classroom,

but I did also help the other teachers and it was actually a mixed classroom. Which I want to do, that's what I kind of want to be in the, because I'm special ed and elementary ed major and I want to just be able to have that classroom where there's the kids that need more help than other kids.

And I was able to stay patient with them and to work with them. Well, I think now that you're going to find that every classroom is going to have, I mean with inclusion, all those kids with exceptionalities will be in your classroom,

even if you're a a general education teacher. Yeah, exactly. So. And that lasted for like four months or something? I mean...

It lasted the whole second semester until I graduated. I needed a certain amount of hours to be able to say, to complete the internship.

What kinds of things did you actually do? I made copies, laminated, cut out. I got to, as I said, lesson plan a little bit be able... So she was like, OK, you can figure out what you're

going to teach for this during, like, math, and, like, you can teach it like a small group. And so she, it was like, it was basically like I was a parent kind of because she had parent volunteers.

So like I was able to help with the kids and teach and I could walk around and help the kids when they needed help. And I even, I forgot the test, but there was some tests that I did for the kids where they had to read and I marked off what they got wrong.

And so that was pretty cool being able to, like, test the kids. Oh, sure. Assessment is a very important piece of teaching. Yeah, I got to learn that early.

Yeah. So I didn't know about that, yeah. Absolutely. But how nice that you had that experience.

I'm sure you must have been a little concerned when your sister didn't have such a good experience. Like, wow, what about me? I'm glad I got to experience it because I wouldn't, I wouldn't know,

like if in my junior year I go into classroom and end up not liking it, I would have not know what I've done. But I know that I like it and I am glad I had that experience. That's great.

So it's getting to be senior year and you're thinking, OK, I really like this. I want to be a teacher. You're applying to colleges and one of the schools you applied to was Towson. And what made you choose Towson?

It was always in the back of my mind. I'm a homebody, so I knew I wasn't going to go far. And I knew Towson had a great education program. I applied in more northern schools, but I didn't think I would be able to

last long because I found myself just, especially, I think, since I'm a twin, I always had that person with me. I knew we were splitting. And so I just knew I wanted to stay close because she knew from the start she

wanted to go to University of Maryland, College Park. And Towson was an easy distance from there. And I just heard great things. Love the campus, it's beautiful and just the program is so

right here. And I just knew this is where I would fit. And I love it here. Good.

I wouldn't change it for the world. Good, good. Tell us about being here. Have you... What kinds of courses have you taken?

Have you taken anything yet that's related to education? Oh, like, they put you right in. I've taken, I'm taking a math both these past two semesters for education where you just learn the basic math,

some concepts to teach them. I'm taking a special education now class and you just learn all about the disabilities and how to handle the kids well, which I love too. I'm in the basic English, which everyone has to take.

Sure. I'm... History, geography. Next year it's going to be much more education-based. I have to take all these education classes, so it's a little diverse now, but next year it's going to be much more education but they definitely put

you right into the education classes. Which is a good thing. I'm glad, yeah. But you do have to take care of all those university general education requirements. And I think because the education majors

are so tightly packed, sometimes it's both a general education course and a requirement for the education course too. So you get a two-fer on some of those. Have you had any experience yet where you went out into schools or observed kids?

I have not been able to do that. I know a few of my fellow classmates who are in secondary ed were able to do that from some class, but I have not been able to. I don't know when. I know definitely junior year.

I just don't know exactly next year. Well, I suspect that before your junior year, you'll be at least doing some observations. I hope.

Yeah. Since you've already sort of done this and even a little teaching, and that's a good thing. What...

What courses have you enjoyed the most? I love math. The math, like I said, that's the first class I said, that math has always been my strong suit.

It's in the history and the English, I don't, it's not my strongest, but science and math, I felt like I'm the strongest there. And that's where even if, like, I have to get a minor in something,

I would choose math or science because that's where I've always been the strongest. That and I just love the math. Just comes to me easily. That's great.

And we need math teachers and we need math teachers at the elementary level. And we have faculty who are in math education and they, well, obviously you're taking the course with somebody who is a math educator and that can be sort of an area of specialty

for you if you want it to be. I even, I'm starting to consider it even more because... I'm hesitant because I heard that the elementary and special ed major is hard and it's called the ESE program.

And I just heard it's very difficult. And so I don't know if taking on the minor of the math would be the right thing, but I'm just starting to, I'm have it in the back of my mind to keep it because I know I want to be very, have a lot of credentials and be able to...

Well, I mean, the more credentials you have, the better chance you have of getting a job and a job where you want to be. So that makes good sense. Well, you'll see, I mean, over time you'll figure this out.

But I would say hold on to that math because that would distinguish you, and those math-science fields, we're really, really looking for people who have that kind of expertise.

Well, what haven't we talked about that you might want to share with us? At this point in your career, you're only in your spring semester of your first year.

So I know that not too much has happened yet, but anything else you can think of? Just for anyone who's watching this and who would become at Towson, just, Towson's a great choice even for teachers or anything else. All my friends have a lot of friends who are not education majors and they

absolutely love it here and their program they're in. And Towson's just a great place to come for anything. And that's it, right? OK, well, we appreciate your coming in.

Thank you. I love being here. Good. We want you to stay and we want you to graduate and be a teacher because we need people in teaching.

Thank you for having me.