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West Windsor,
N.J. -- The 50,000-member Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) International Education
Honor Society added eight new future teachers from Mercer County
Community College Oct. 29. Education Professor Elizabeth DeGiorgio
and MCCC chapter officers inducted these high-achieving students
during a special ceremony that described the privileges and obligations
of KDP membership. More than 60 MCCC students have joined the organization
since it exapnded its membership to community colleges in 2004.
Professor DeGiorgio noted that KDP is the world's largest education
association, representing educators in all subject areas. This diverse
group shares a common purpose to promote excellence in the education
profession by recognizing and advancing scholarship, leadership,
and service. She noted that the organization offers scholarships
and provides students with valuable networking opportunities.
After the formal ceremony, invited speaker John Simone, MCCC assistant
dean for student services, shared some of the wisdom he has gleaned
during several decades as a teacher and administrator. "While
I have a passion to try different things, I have always found time
to teach," he said. "My teaching philosophy is to pay
attention, work hard, be patient, and do the right thing."
Great
teachers, Simone noted, have a passion for their subject, the discipline
to do the work, the continuing desire to develop professionally,
the ability to see their students' potential, and to genuinely care.
"There's a big difference between great teachers and those
who call themselves teachers," Simone said. "Students
want hope and they want to trust you. If you care about them, they
will remember you."
The day following the KDP induction, students were invited to a
workshop presented by Peter Yeager of Educational Testing Service,
who described the process and preparation for the PRAXIS exam, a
mandatory certification test for teachers.
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Inductees
include, from left, Lindsey Tippett, Kaitlin Schwear, Julie Rebhorn,
Veronica Lubrano, Adrienne Gibbons and Brian Holland (far right)..
Not picutred: Grazyna Solak and Andrea Barratt. Students are pictured
with, back row from left, Asst. Dean John Simone, Prof. Elizabeth
DeGiorgio and Vice President Guy Generals.
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MCCC's
KDP officers: alumnus counselor John Kobiernicki, Vice President
Jessica Coeffer, President Lisa DeMilio, and Secretary Cheryl Pocino.
They are pictured with Education Professor Elizabeth DeGiorgio.
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