Newspaper Review for Spring Conference 2007

Power of positive thinking stressed at SDEA conferenceRoss Dolan The Daily Republic - 04/02/2007 Positive thinking isn’t a problem for Bob Sprang.

Sprang, assistant professor of education, physical education department chairman and assistant football coach at Dakota Wesleyan University on Saturday was the keynote speaker for the spring conference of the South Dakota Education Association’s student program, held at DWU. Nearly 50 students attended the conference.
The meeting was an opportunity to encourage students to continue their interest in the teaching profession and to consider a career in South Dakota.
SDEA state Student Coordinator Rich Mittelstedt said the main drive of his organization during the past year was to increase funding to schools. But working with students now will hopefully increase SDEA numbers next fall, he said.
“Our goal is to promote membership and show that there’s power when people join together to protect their rights,” he said. “We also try to promote goals that they can accomplish as students — applying for different grants for projects on their respective campuses.”
SDEA didn’t have to sell Kristi Anderson — co-president of DWU Future Teachers, senior class president, and elementary education major — on a career in education.
Originally from Hitchcock, she hopes to begin student teaching next fall, possibly at Ethan, where the 6-foot-1 Anderson worked as an assistant basketball coach.
But inspired by books like “Educating Esme,” and “Inside Mrs. B’s Classroom,” Anderson also wonders what it would be like to teach in a Chicago inner city school.
“The books really inspired me,” she said, admitting that the thought of working in a city school is a bit intimidating for a girl from a town with a population of just 108.
It doesn’t bother her that South Dakota teachers are in 51st place in national salary rankings. She estimates that 60 to 75 percent of approximately 118 education students at DWU will remain in-state.
“I’m personally not concerned (about the salary situation) because you don’t do it for the money. If you’re a teacher you do it because it’s what you love,” Anderson said.
She hopes eventually to get a job teaching in grades four through six.
Anderson also is positive about job prospects, although in-state slots for elementary teachers have been difficult to find. There are jobs opening up, especially on reservation schools, she said.
Part of each SDEA student conference is doing some community outreach activity, Anderson said. Heavy rains washed out plans of painting playground equipment at L.B. Williams Elementary School, but students ended up helping the school bag raffle tickets for an upcoming carnival.
“We’ll have another painting party on a sunny day,” she said.
It was Sprang’s job, as speaker, to keep that positive flow rolling. Sprang, who also taught at Mitchell High School for a time, said he has enjoyed every day of his 43-year teaching career.
Among other tips, he told students to choose friends well, to be a friend, to smile more, and to give recognition to others.
Just as you are what you eat, Sprang told students, the same principle applies to the mind. He said you are what you think about.
“We have 45,000 to 51,000 thoughts a day,” said Sprang, “and 75 to 80 percent of those thoughts are negative.”
Sprang stressed success, attitude and motivation.
To motivate students, said Sprang, teachers have to remain positive, set goals, be consistent, be disciplined, and set a positive example by being enthusiastic about whatever they do.
The successful person knows that motivation comes from hard work, he said, but the complacent person thinks things will be delivered without effort.
Success is not always perfection, said Sprang; it’s giving 100 percent of effort to whatever you do.
“Enjoy each and every day,” said Sprang. “You never know when it will be your last.”