3rd CESTL Evaluations

3rd CESTL Evaluations
Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
University of Texas at Brownsville

How did students feel about their CESTL experiences? Below are their feedback:

WOW! CESTL was such a great experience. When I first heard that we were going to have to present at a conference for eight and half hours, I wasn’t too excited. And even when I was there, I was not exactly looking forward to being there for a long time. Yet, despite this predisposition, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Luckily in high school I had the opportunity to publicly speak on many occasions. I was often the Master of Ceremonies at events held at school, participated in extracurricular activities in which I had to publicly speak, as well as say the announcements and Pledge of Allegiance every morning over the PA system. So all of this experience gave me the courage and the ability to present at CESTL with ease.

I was worried that I was going to be over time, but I feel that my presentation went well, as did everyone else’s. There was not a single person who went up there that I didn’t enjoy their presentation. It was a really humbling experience and it reminded me of why it is important to leave an impression on my future students. So many of us in there were motivated, pushed or were helped by teachers. It is imperative that we leave a lasting memory on our students to motivate them to do well in life.

I think that as far as advice for the next CESTL, I would keep stricter time limitations for the students. Even though I didn’t mind listening to the stories that went over time, I think that we wouldn’t have gotten out too late if the limit was enforced. Overall, I think it was organized very well, but also I feel that several students arrived late (I know several of them had classes) and disrupted the speaker. Maybe if students are arriving late, they should wait outside before presenter finishes. There could be a notice on the door advising this rule. Once the presenter is done, then they should be allowed in. I feel that several students were distracted as others entered/left during their presentation. Other than that, I think it went smoothly.

I’m glad that I had the experience of attending and presenting at CESTL. The stories I heard were touching and emotional. Some were funny and humorous. Overall, regardless of how much I wasn’t looking forward to it initially, I definitely would like to do something like this again and I, without doubt, am glad that I took this course with Dr. Dengting and had the opportunity to share my life experiences and learn from the lives of my peers. Thank you Dr. Dengting. I will never forget you or what you have taught me. You are an awesome teacher and we need more people like you in the world. Thank you for sharing your passion with us and for inspiring us to work so hard. I’ve never had any teacher push me so hard without being negative or demeaning. I appreciate everything you have done and the time you have spent in grading and lecturing. Congratulations with what you have done and I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors!
-Heathcliff Lopez EDCI 4322

The CESTL was a great experience! I was a bit worried about being contained in one room, forced to listen to 40 (or so) other people’s stories, but I was pleasantly proven wrong. It was such a great experience to consider the motives of other future educators. Some of the colleagues’ presentations were very emotionally stirring. Their experiences truly had an effect on them, and they were passionate about their work. I’m really grateful Dr. Dengting brought that out in all of us.

I was fairly satisfied with my performance. I think my explanations and PowerPoint flowed nicely. Reflecting back on the content of my slides, I wish I would have condensed the information A LOT-I think I had so much information that I wanted to get it out to everyone. At the same time, the large amount of information may have made it hard for some people to grasp. I felt like I just flew by without giving people a chance to register the implications of what I was saying! I think this will be one of my problems when I begin teaching-limiting the amount of information I give to my class at a time. I know there will not be enough time for my students to learn EVERYTHING, but I sure do wish I could teach them everything. There will be so much they do not know, and my natural instinct is to inform them. We’ll see how that goes once I begin my career.

For advice on the CESTL, I think we really should have begun at the time we said we would. Maybe in the future, you could require for students to be there 30 minutes earlier for roll call or risk losing participation points. This is just one idea, but the conference really exceeded its pre-set time frame. Also, a strict limit of 8 minutes to present and 2 minutes for discussion should be enforced. I know it was difficult to let someone who was showing so much emotion to know that their time was up, but maybe if it was emphasized more during class, the problem won’t be as bad.

One more suggestion-I think the evaluation policy should be discussed before the conference as well. I learned at the conference that we should give no points if there were no questions asked. I’m not sure if how many other people knew this, but I hope everyone did. Also, maybe everyone should send their PowerPoints to everyone in the class a day or two before; that way, everyone can be required to come up with at least one legitimate question for the presenter. Not everyone has to ask the presenter their question (that would take too much time), but at least someone will have a question for every presenter.

Although this presentation was hard work, I’m glad we did it. I feel like I have really contributed to my colleagues’ knowledge about how to manage their future classrooms. It was also very encouraging and inspiring to see everyone else doing such a great job-I know there are many, many great teachers in our group. Thank you Dr. Dengting for believing in us and for inspiring us to do our best always! (Ruben Rincon, Jr. EDCI 4322)

Even though it was really LONG, I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s personal stories. Some of them were very interesting, inspiring and emotional. Rosalinda’s story was very emotional; one would think that things like that don’t happen but I guess they do. It was so sad that lady she came to live with to get an education tricked her and wanted her to work as a maid.

Noelia’s story was also very emotional and inspiring. She so deeply wanted to come to college and get an education and somehow she always had an obstacle; she got pregnant. I’m glad that finally she had the opportunity to come to college and make her dream a reality. I wish my mom would get motivated like these ladies and so many other ladies in class decided to come to college and get an education.

I thought my presentation went very well I received several questions which I thought I was not going to get. I even told Abel to ask me a question just in case I didn’t get any questions. I felt very grateful that my peers took interest in my presentation. What I learned about myself was mostly that I am being to get more comfortable in public speaking which is very important for me since I’m going to be an art teacher.

My suggestion for future CESTL would be handing out the pizza much earlier because I started getting a headache because I was starving. People arrived there at one and we did not eat until around six; it was too many hours without eating. Another suggestion for future CESTL would be getting a lager room like a lecture hall because I really could not see to much of a difference from presenting in class to presenting in that room. The only difference was that people were well dressed and the time for the conferences was longer. I really was expecting the conference to be in a lecture hall, but overall it was a good experience. (Frank Barrera, EDCI 4322)

As I was driving to the education building for our CESTL conference I started to feel very nervous and started sweating. As I walked into the room I saw many of familiar faces that made me feel a little more comfortable. I had attended the other EDCI classroom about two weeks earlier which gave me the opportunity to meet some of those students that were at the conference. After being there for a couple minutes I said to myself, “This is no big deal. I can do this”, and I started feeling better and more confident. I started to realize that everyone was just as nervous as I was and that helped me.

As the other students started doing their presentation, my nervousness began to fade away because I started to realize that these were my classmates who I had spent all semester with and that I shouldn’t feel nervous. I had the opportunity to really know my classmates this semester. Thanks to Dr. Boyanton, presenting in front of them was like presenting in front of friends.

Everyone had a different story and they all caught my attention. I was really moved by some of the presentations that were presented and it makes me realize that I wasn’t the only one that struggled to get to where I am today. Some of the presentations made me sad and I realized that some students lived a harder life than I did and still found a way to keep learning and did well in school.

It was really interesting to hear my classmate’s personal struggles and I have a new respect for all of them. I don’t think I will ever forget any of them and I hope they won’t forget me, either. I loved this class and the way Dr. Boyanton taught it, I would recommend that nothing be changed from this class. I would love to thank Dr. Boyanton for this great experience and I have learned many things from her which I will definitely incorporate into my classrooms.

Again thank you, Dr. Boyanton!

I would also like to thank all my classmates. THANK YOU GUYS!! (Crespin Gonzalez)

First of all, I have to admit I did not like the idea of having to spend so many hours in the conference but once the conference got started and I started to listen and learn from everyone’s stories and experiences I lost a track of time. Time when by so fast and I enjoyed every minute of the castle. I was extremely nervous and scared, I guess because of my language barrier I get embarrassed and scared of mispronouncing something and I freeze. And it happened, I froze for a second and lost track of what I was saying but I got right back to it and continued. My presentation did not really go the way I planned I let my nerves get control of me and I forgot to mention many things I wanted to.

But after I was done with my speech I still felt proud of myself for getting through it and I felt relieved. I definitely learned to get over one of my biggest fears, public speaking I also learned to trust my peers with my personal life. I am the one who always thought personal life should be kept personal; but after the castle I learned it is o.k. to let go and share for the best. I think we all learned from each other and everybody did an outstanding job with their research. I would not change any thing about the castle conference. Every thing was well planned and organized and everybody looked so professional. It was a great practice and introduction for what the future has in store for us as future educators. I thank Dr. Boyanton for bringing the best out of us and for showing us what we are capable of. (Erika De La Garza)

I am speechless when it comes to last night’s CESTL conference. Everyone was so supportive and everyone I feel did an amazing job presenting. The environment was a lot more comfortable that I had expected being with another class that we did not know too well. I ended up knowing a few other people from the class and they were all respectful and supportive to all of us.

I personally had never been involved in something like this; it made me feel as if I can accomplish anything now. I had always been terrified of public speaking but after last night I always have to remind myself that I did it once I can do it again. I was pretty satisfied with my presentation because like I said I was always shy and afraid of public speaking. Then once I was up there in front of everyone I let go and realized these classmates were not here to judge me or make fun of me, they were simply here to learn.

I feel I have learned a lot from this experience. First of all, I have learned that there are amazing teachers out there that will go to the limit to help their students feel comfortable and important. I think we all have Dr. Boyanton to thank for everything. I also learned a lot from my peers. They shared stories in the CESTL that will stick with me forever. I learned good ways to be and affective teacher and bad ways. I feel everything went perfect in the CESTL, the only thing we could have improved one was the scheduling. Make sure we keep time properly, but besides that I feel the night went better than I every expected. Thank you, Dr. Boyanton for this amazing experience. (Patricia Amador)

I remember being really nervous about doing my presentation, but I think it went really well over all. I remember my parents calling me every hour to see at what time I would pass. I am really glad they showed up because even though I am 23, married and have my kids, they still support me in my education. I think that since we prepared for that all month long, everything was good to go. The only thing we had to worry about was how we would do when the time actually come to give our presentation.

I really thought I was going to be nervous when I passed to the front but once I was up there I felt really comfortable, mainly because my parents were there. My dad is really big on family and gets really sentimental when he hears us tell them that we appreciate them for everything we have done. As soon as I started my presentation, he was crying, so soon after I couldn’t hold it. Thank God! I didn’t cry like a baby.:)

Over all, I had fun that day, even though the hours were long. This entire month was really a month that I will not forget. I met new people and even found a person in whom I had something in common. I no longer feel alone in things that have happened to me in the past. And to that person, she should walk proud because she has done so much for herself this far. There is still more to come.

I think in the future I will visit one of these conferences when the opportunity comes along again. You learn about how there are different lifestyles and backgrounds to everyone and we need to learn how to adapt to them and not judge them by a simple statistic or by how we think they are. We should take our time to meet with everyone individually and find that inner personality they have. (Michelle Shogreen)

I would first thank you again Dr. Boyanton for preparing such a stimulating, interesting, and informative course for this session of summer. Your, or should I say our class has been wonderfully challenged and stimulated in many ways. RIGHT everyone?!!! It has allowed us to bond almost from the very first day.

I know that many of my classmates/friends will go on to obtain their master degrees as well as be fantastic teachers wherever they teach. Some will get their PHD’s and hopefully do positive things for the future of students in this or any country abroad if they chose too. Everyone did a terrific job presenting last night. I am glad that we got to have that experience. It is just another way in which you have helped to prepared us—your students, for what challenges we may face as educators. It starts with us from the first day to the last as future educators and it is transferred and carried on by the students in which we influence each day. Hopefully we can instill and inspire them as we have been. I really enjoyed the experience of learning from and about all of you. I will never forget this class. Take Care and God Bless You All. Thank you again Dr. Boyanton!
JL Jones

Well, I have to say that I am very proud of my performance and everybody else’s. I really believe that we all did such a great job. I couldn’t believe that I did it! I can actually say that I am very proud of my performance. I am usually not satisfied with my performances but this time I was. When I first had to do it in class, I hated the way it turned out because I felt that I had skipped so many things and I wasn’t able to get my points across, but when I did it at the conference, I felt that I was able to make my points and tell my complete story.

I never thought I would say this, but I actually enjoyed this conference. It was a big learning experience for me. After talking in front so many people I feel that now I am able to do any presentation. I will probably still be nervous, but at least I know now that I am capable of doing it.

I also liked this conference because it gave us a chance to learn a lot about everybody’s life and it allowed me to see how important family is to most of us. Family support is very important and that is the reason most of us are in college today. We all want to make our families proud.

For future CESTL conferences, I think that Dr. Dengting should tell all the students to have their power point slides ready the day before the conference that way they can save it to the computer ahead of time. I think that it would save a lot of time. (Monique Solis)

Today was the CESTL conference. I was so nervous that I felt like crying as soon as I stepped in. Once I saw our classmates it made me feel even more uneasy because they were all dressed professionally. I thought that with our wardrobe we actually already looked like teachers which made me feel anxious. I started seeing everyone go up to the front and present. All of them were doing so well that it made me feel as if I was going to do horrible.

As soon as I had to sit on the chair to wait for my turn I started shaking all over. I couldn’t control my legs and my hands. But it was so awkward when I actually got up there because it was all a blur. Why was it a blur? Well, I actually didn’t even feel as myself up there, I had this confidence that I actually never have, it was interesting to feel it. I remember getting some questions from others and answering them.

But as soon as I sat down I didn’t even remember what I had answered or said. I doubted myself and thought, did I actually just do that? I did it! I was relieved I felt so hot afterwards because I knew that I was relieved. Thank you Dr. Boyanton for having us speak in this conference because I never would’ve imagined myself doing so. I have had a wonderful summer in this course. I can honestly say that I have known most of my classmates in a deeper perspective and hopefully made new friends. I hope all of my classmates and Dr. Boyanton as well have every dream fulfilled and that they can achieve them with positive outcomes. Thank you all for a wonderful class! (Cristina A. Garcia)

I am so happy that finally we did the CESTL. I was very nervous at fist, but after seeing everybody go up, and I felt very proud of everyone, and I felt that I worried too much because it was not that hard, it was very challenging but I feel it was another accomplished goal. I feel very satisfied with my performance, I talked about my research and I felt very familiar with everyone, I did not feel nervous once I was there in front of everyone and for that I feel very satisfied and proud of myself.

I learned a lot from this experience; it was great to see other person’s perspective on education and their points of view on what they think can affect a student. I though it was great and I learned a lot from everyone.

One suggestion that I would give to improve future CESTL is to the students to keep their story under their research question; I saw many student’s topic were mainly focused on their lives and did not relate it to the main question which was how that special topic influenced their life as a student; for example if they chose how their parents influenced their life as a student; students should have had related their story on their parents influence and not get off the subject like telling their whole life story and things that were not relevant to their parents relation to their education. That is just my point of view, personally I tried to keep my story only related to my topic and not to go very deeply into my personal life which had nothing to do with my education. (Kesia Martinez)

I felt really excited about the CESTL. I’m not going to lie, at first I felt so nervous I thought I was not going to be able to do a good presentation in front of everybody. I felt my heart pumping every second during the presentation. But overall, I think that I did a good job and I feel proud of myself. I know I did talk very fast, I should have slowed down but since I was so nervous just to the fact that I was the center to everyone’s attention made me feel more nervous than what I was. I really learned that no matter what obstacles you confront in your way, always continue to be optimistic and motivated to succeed throughout life. I really think that everything came out so perfect that I don’t think there’s any suggestion to improve in future CESTL Presentations. Thank you very much Dr. Boyanton , I really enjoyed and learned a lot from you. You have really motivated me and I’m pretty sure to the rest of my classmates as well. (Nidia Lopez)

Well to begin with I thought that this night would never come. When I first found out about the CESTL conference I am not going to deny it but I was terrified. The closer we got to the event I was really nervous. Well, when I shared my story at the conference I was really anxious and nervous and I really did not know how I was going to go up there and share my experience. I knew it would be really emotional. I was afraid of letting my emotions go and not be able to continue.

After I started going up there I knew this was it. I had to get my strength and courage to do it. I was really glad with my outcome. I never really thought I could do it. I think it would have been that nerve-wrecking if it had not been based on my life. Yet, I knew I had to share my story with others.

I am glad I got the courage to come out in the open and talk. I wanted everyone to see that regardless of how we grew up, we could do changes of our own. That I learned from my past to stay strong and keep going. I am really glad I got the chance to share my story. Thank You, Dr. Boyanton for believing in each one of us to be able to go up there and speak. I will always look back at this as an incredible learning experience for me as an educator and as a parent. (Margarita Trevino)

Today was the CESTL presentation. I was nervous when I got there and I saw many unfamiliar faces. The good thing is that in our table we were all nervous before presenting we would say good luck to each other and at the end of the presentation we would say good job.

I liked the intermission when Mrs. Boyanton did the ribbon dance that was actually relaxing. She did a great job. She also did a presentation that was nice of her because she went through what we went through well speaking is no problem to her but she got sentimental when she was doing her presentation but she still went on like a professional.

The CESTL had a little of everything. At the beginning I though eight hours is going to be a long time but once we were there time flew fast. It was my turn to go up there I got really nervous that I made my presentation short. This is what I hate about presentation. I always have ready what I am going to say but once I am up there I tend to skip things. I had my notes with me but I didn’t want to use them because everybody looked so confident and they didn’t use them so I got shy to use them. I really like to be like my peers even though they were nervous they went up there and were so confident and did a good job and everything look so natural. As I was doing my presentation I felt that mine was one of the worst presentations and I was disappointed but when I got to my table my peers said you did a good job I felt better. I am glad it’s over and I hope that I gave my point across. (Tania Teran)

Wow! I was really amazed about everybody’s presentation, it was really emotional and touching, I learned a lot from everyone. This was my first experience ever in giving a story of my life to strangers. But you know it was worth it, after a while I felt that all those people, I knew them from a long time. I am really glad that Dr. Boyanton made us participate on this presentation.
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I was really nervous when I arrived, even though I was the 4th one from the end. But after seeing everyone’s presentation, I felt more confident. When it was my turn I just was honest and said what I needed to say. Maybe I did forget some important key points, but overall I was proud of myself.
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I learned a lot from this experience. This was something new for me to do. I learned a lot from my peers and their situations. Their stories touched me and I really enjoyed how everybody was raised differently.

My advice for the CESTL will be to have more people involved, parents and family, it will be a good learning experience for them as well. Overall, it was a success and I was really proud to be part of this presentation.

Thanks, Dr. D. Boyanton (Sandra Rosales)

I was very nervous to present my research on how motivation has played an impact on the kind of learner I am. Mostly, because the research made me go back to all stages of my life, I told Dr. Denting a few days before CESTL that my research could be very sad. She recommended me to focus on the times that I was very motivated to keep learning. I felt more positive and tried to my best. I learned to admit that my mom's unique way of raising me helped my sister, brother and I to become good people. Then, I came out with the idea that I would like to invite everyone in the conference to ride the roller coaster to see my motivation phases as a learner. I felt good during my presentation. I would like to have more professors to engage me in this manner to become less anxious about public speaking.

I am not just adding Dr. Denting in my list of motivators, yet I am locking her energetic motivation deep in my heart. She is my role model for now on.

One suggestion to improve our future CESTL is to invite someone from previous CESTL for students to see a UTB student's life after college. Another suggestion is to keep manilla folders with each student's name and as they present the other students could put in their evaluations. In that manner, Dr. D. Boyanton does not have to go and organize so many evaluations.
(Irene Olmos)

I really enjoyed the conference. It was really interesting to listen to other people's experiences and to be able to share mine with others. I really enjoyed the red ribbon dance!! It was amazing to see how you are able to control the ribbons and create such beautiful shapes according to the music. I would never thought I would have the opportunity to see such a great performance in my life. I am really interested in the Chinese culture, especially because the University Mariachi got invited to go perform in China next May. I can't wait to go and see a little bit of what your world and culture is like. I am really looking forward to that trip!

Going back to the CESTL I was really nervous. I feel like I did better in the rehearsal than at the conference :( My friend said that I said things that did not make any sense. I also want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to perform at the conference.

The CESTL made me realize that other people have many problems as well as me. I learned that parenting is a big influence in their children. I got to learn about other people's lives, the way they grew and I got ideas about how to raise my children in the future. I learned about what things to do and not to do to help my own children and also future students.

Your class has been one of the best classes I have ever taken. I learned a lot about others and most importantly it helped me learned a lot about myself. Thank you for your dedication and for everything you taught us in this summer session. Time went so fast, and I will never forget how interesting and fun at the same time your class was!
(Karina Vela)

The experience with the CESTL was wonderful, I learned a lot not only from all the participants but from myself. I never thought that I could stand in front of a big group and talk about my life. It was very emotional but even with that I could do it. I am glad that I decided to take this class and specially with you Dr. Boyanton, I learned a lot from you as a caring person , excellent teacher and professional. It is an honor to have teachers like you in our university. Thank you.

About my performance I can not said that I was satisfied, I was emotional and nervous. But I am proud that even with that I did it!!!!!!!!!

My advice is that NEVER stop doing CESTL, the students will really benefit from it!
(Rosalinda Gonzalez)

Wow! I was really amazed about everybody’s presentation, it was really emotional and touching, I learned a lot from everyone. This was my first experience ever in giving a story of my life to strangers. But you know it was worth it, after a while I felt that all those people, I knew them from a long time. I am really glad that Dr. Boyanton made us participate on this presentation.

I was really nervous when I arrived, even though I was the 4th one from the end. But after seeing everyone’s presentation, I felt more confident. When it was my turn I just was honest and said what I needed to say. Maybe I did forget some important key points, but overall I was proud of myself.

I learned a lot from this experience. This was something new for me to do. I learned a lot from my peers and their situations. Their stories touched me and I really enjoyed how everybody was raised differently.

My advice for the CESTL will be to have more people involved, parents and family. Overall, it was a success and I was really proud to be part of this presentation.
Thanks, Dr. D. Boyanton (Sandra Rosales)

I was very nervous to present my research on how motivation has played an impact on the kind of learner I am. Mostly, because the research made me go back to all stages of my life, I told Dr. Denting a few days before CESTL that my research could be very sad. She recommended me to focus on the times that I was very motivated to keep learning. I felt more positive and tried to my best. I learned to admit that my mom's unique way of raising me helped my sister, brother and I to become good people. Then, I came out with the idea that I would like to invite everyone in the conference to ride the roller coaster to see my motivation phases as a learner. I felt good during my presentation. I would like to have more professors to engage me in this manner to become less anxious about public speaking.

I am not just adding Dr. Denting in my list of motivators, yet I am locking her energetic motivation deep in my heart. She is my role model for now on.

One suggestion to improve our future CESTL is to invite someone from previous CESTL for students to see a UTB student's life after college. Another suggestion is to keep manilla folders with each student's name and as they present the other students could put in their evaluations. In that manner, Dr. D. Boyanton does not have to go and organize so many evaluations.
(Irene Olmos)

I really enjoyed the conference. It was really interesting to listen to other people's experiences and to be able to share mine with others. I really enjoyed the red ribbon dance!! It was amazing to see how you are able to control the ribbons and create such beautiful shapes according to the music. I would have never thought I would have the opportunity to see such a great performance in my life. I am really interested in the Chinese culture, especially because the University Mariachi got invited to go perform in China next May. I can't wait to go and see a little bit of what your world and culture is like. I am really looking forward to that trip!

Going back to the CESTL I was really nervous. I feel like I did better in the rehearsal than at the conference :( My friend said that I said things that did not make any sense. I also want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to perform at the conference.

The CESTL made me realize that other people have many problems as well as me. I learned that parenting is a big influence in their children. I got to learn about other people's lives, the way they grew and I got ideas about how to raise my children in the future. I learned about what things to do and not to do to help my own children and also future students.

Your class has been one of the best classes I have ever taken. I learned a lot about others and most importantly it helped me learned a lot about myself. Thank you for your dedication and for everything you taught us in this summer session. Time went so fast, and I will never forget how interesting and fun at the same time your class was!
(Karina Vela)

The CESTL PRESENTATIONS: This is a great way to understand the differences in other people’s lives. I enjoyed listening to the presentations of the other students. I wish that there was a way for it to be done over a two day period, so that some could have more time to finish their presentations without having to feel rushed or cut short, and that some would be more efficient in their presentation to make it more evenly balanced. I also hope that we are evaluated according to the Criteria which were laid out in the syllabus and sample presentation, that would mean a great deal to everyone or at least most that presented in the designated manner. Thanks Again Dr. Boyanton.
(Jerome Jones, June 30, 2008)

When I was walking to the classroom where the CESTL Conference was going to take place, I was so nervous and started to panic. I didn’t think that I was going to be able do the presentation. When I walked in, at the far corner, I saw Michelle and Martha waving at me because they had saved a seat for me. Once I sat down I was feeling a little less nervous because there were still about seven people ahead of me.

Once I was next to present, I was a little nervous, but the worst part was that my throat was too dry. I wish I could have done a better job presenting. I didn’t like the fact that I was having problems pronouncing adjustment, and that I kept choking up on when I was trying to talk. I really enjoyed everyone’s presentations. It really makes you see that you are not the only one that has had difficulties learning.

The CESTL was a great experience for me because it helps us develop our skills in presenting in front of the class. It always allows us to learn about the different learning strategies that people use to learn. Thank you Dr. Dengting for giving us this great opportunity and for all that you have thought us. You are a wonderful professor, the university needs more professor like you. (Annabel Esparza, June 30, 2008)

Even though I was not able to attend the CESTL presentation, it was a wonderful experience to be able to present my power point presentation to my classmates today. I was able to see every body’s presentation through blackboard, and it was nice that everyone had the courage to share their lives with the class.

In today’s presentation I felt nervous but I was confident that I could do a good job, I don’t know how I did since, I didn’t received any feedback from my peers or professor. The research was very helpful and valuable because I had the chance to go back to my life and remember a little bit of how I was raised up. This presentation had a lot of value because we were talking about our life in front of everybody, I want to congratulate every peer for their hard work, and no matter what we all did a great job. Because is not easy to have the courage and talk about ourselves.

Like I mentioned above I did not had the pleasure to attend the CESTL on Friday but I heard a lot of good things from my peers, most of them enjoyed it they cried and laughed with the presentation. Everyone had an excellent day at the presentations. Once again thank you for you time and dedication Dr. Boyanton!
(Diamantina Chavez)

I believe that everyone did a great job, because it is not an easy task to present in front of your peers. The CESTL conference went well, although I was not expecting to stay till 10pm. The pizza intermission was very good, because I had not eaten all day. There were so many great presentations and I feel so enlightened. I’m glad I was part of this conference, because this experience has shown me a different side of me.

I feel relieved that my presentation is over with. I was not nervous or scared, but I felt all that pressure built up inside of me before the conference. I feel that after hearing all those life experiences, my mind was finally at peace. I feel I could have done better with my presentation, but then again I always feel that way about any task I take. This class has shown me that “life must be taken a day at a time.”

This conference is very intense and I believe that timing is very important. The eight minute rule is very important as well. I also feel that starting on-time is a must. I would have preferred a wireless microphone for the presentation. I don’t feel that anything else was missing. Everything was very well executed.

Thank you once again Dr. Boyanton for the opportunity of giving us the tools to reflect, not only on the psyche of children, but on our own lives. This class was a very eye-opening experience for me. I will not forget this motivation, learning environment and my peers. Thank you for everything Dr. Denting Boyanton.
(Abel Gomez)

Although Friday was an extremely long day, I was very pleased with how everyone in our class was confident during their presentation. I can honestly say that I learned a lot about everyone through their stories. Each presentation reflected the topics within the chapters that we had been going over in class. This experience has been stressful yet wonderful at the same time. Thank You Dr. Boyanton for having confidence in all of us. You have been the first education teacher that has justified my decision in becoming an educator.
(Lisa Avalos, June 30, 2008)

I felt that the whole experience was interesting and certainly something for the majority of us. It was tiring having to sit there for such a long amount of time, but I made it through the whole conference, so I guess it was not that bad. I was satisfied with my performance, but I did not feel I did the best that I could have done to present more effectively. By the time I went up to do presentation I was exhausted and was not thinking at 100% of my mental capability. I learned that the will to succeed or to change your life from how you were brought up can push you through some of hardest things a person can go through.

I was also amazed at how many people from outside showed up and stayed for the whole event. I was even more surprised to see some parents and other family members attend the conference for a couple of hours to support their loved ones. I would have liked to see another person helping out Dr. Boyanton making sure that people sign-in and put their powerpoint slides in the computer. I also would have stressed the importance of showing up early in order to avoid starting late which is what happened on Friday.
(Jorge Mujica, June 30, 2008)