Elementary Education foundations major and TESL minor Michael Del Conte tells us how he found his path to teaching.

Why did you decide to major in Elementary Education Foundations?

I originally came to the U of M planning to be a social studies/economics teacher at the high school level. Given this, I started as a history and economics major who planned on doing the DirecTrack to Teaching program. After some important realizations about what I wanted to do in the future, really enjoying some of the Elementary Education program’s intro coursework, and great experiences working in elementary schools, I decided to change my major to elementary education after my freshman year. 

When did you realize you wanted to be a teacher? 

During my sophomore year in high school I started working an after-school job at the elementary school that I attended when I was young. The program was generally for students that were behind their peers in class and needed tutoring. It surprised me how much I enjoyed helping these students and seeing their progress after working with them. In the following years, I continued to work a variety of positions in my local districts elementary ranging from teaching after-school program classes, youth sports, and para-educating at a summer school. As previously mentioned, I started as a history and economics major. After two semesters of the coursework, I found I was feeling unfulfilled. I took some time to reflect, and found that the elementary education jobs I had worked for brought me a lot of happiness and fulfillment that I wasn’t getting from my other classes. I ended up switching majors at the end of that freshman year and have continued working elementary school jobs over the summers. I really feel that I have found my calling and where I can make the biggest difference in the world.

What do you hope to get out of your educational experience? 

In the U’s elementary education program I hope to gain the experience, framework, and knowledge of how to best create an equitable, positive, learning environment for my future students. Particularly in the first practicum that I am involved in this year, I feel I am gaining a lot of applicable experience and knowledge from the teacher I am working with about how to best lead a classroom. 

What has been your experience with the faculty? 

I have always had extremely positive experiences with the faculty at the University of Minnesota. Especially given the pandemic, the professors of CEHD have given students flexibility and support. I’ve found that the relationships they build with their students tend to be stronger and more personable than within other majors or colleges. In addition to this, the faculty of CEHD are great at crafting curriculum that is poignant to the moment and challenges students to think through tough questions. Overall, I feel as though the elementary education degree I will get from the U of M holds a lot of value within the education world, and that is due to the work of the faculty.

Find out more about the B.S. in Elementary Education Foundations program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.