Become a teacher, create a better classroom
Is education your passion? Do you want to become a teacher? Do you have ideas that can affect real change in our nation’s classrooms? At the National Student Leadership Conference’s youth teaching program, Education and the Classroom, you will learn the techniques of successful teachers and explore the issues impacting the future of our educational system.
Explore this program:
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The NSLC-Teach For America Partnership
The NSLC is pleased to announce its exclusive partnership with Teach For America. NSLC youth teaching program students will work with Teach For America as they learn successful strategies for improving our nation’s classrooms.
About Teach for America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity.
This year, 6,200 corps members are teaching in over 1,600 schools in 29 regions across the country while more than 14,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.
Interactive Career Simulations
Create innovative lessons designed to motivate students in an underperforming school. During the NSLC youth teaching program, Education & the Classroom, you will put educational theory into practice as you develop your own curriculum and get feedback from teachers and educational administrators. You will also tackle the challenges of our nation’s top educational officials as you set policy in an innovative Department of Education simulation. Whether your goal is teach in an elementary or secondary classroom or run your own charter school, you will leave the youth teaching program better prepared to succeed.
College-Level Curriculum
At the NSLC’s youth teaching program, you will enjoy college-level lectures on teaching and educational policy development. The lecture series will form a foundation of knowledge that will be vital to your success, not only during the conference but in your future career in education.
Topics include:
- Psychology of Learning
- Principles of Curriculum Development
- Classroom Management
- Special Education
Leadership Workshops
At the heart of the NSLC is a leadership curriculum designed to build concrete leadership skills that will help you succeed. From the beginning of your youth teaching program you will learn to work as a team during an exciting Ropes Challenge Course. Interactive lectures and small-group workshops will give you an opportunity to build upon your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
Leadership topics tailored to the Education program include:
- Personality Styles and Group Dynamics
- Conflict Resolution
- Negotiation and Effective Presentations
Trips & Tours
An important part of the NSLC youth teaching program is seeing the sites around some of our nation’s greatest cities. These trips are designed as both sightseeing tours and exclusive educational trips specifically tailored to the area of Education:
Washington, D.C.
- Newseum (inc. a teacher Professional Development Workshop)
- The Smithsonian Institution
- Historic D.C. Monuments at Night
- Holocaust Memorial Museum (inc. a teacher Professional Development Workshop)
- Baltimore Harbor
- Capitol Hill
Sample Schedule
Day 1
- Registration
- Campus Tours
- Opening Ceremony
- TA Group Orientation
Day 2
- AU Credit Option
- Ropes Challenge Course
- Leadership Series: Group Dynamics & Personality Matrix
- Roundtable Discussion: Who Is Your Favorite Teacher?
- Pizza Night
Day 3
- Teacher Workshops: Lesson Planning
- Lecture: Psychological Foundations of Education
- Department of Education Simulation
- Leadership Series: Conflict Resolution
- TA Group Meeting
Day 4
- Smithsonian Institution
- Teacher Workshop: Classroom Management
- Department of Education Simulation
- Leadership Workshop: Public Speaking
- Roundtable Discussion: Standards & Assessments
Day 5
- Guest Speaker: Literacy in America
- Leadership Workshop: Time Management
- Department of Education Simulation
- AU Credit Option
- Documentary: Paper Clips
Day 6
- Teacher Workshops: Parents & the School
- Lecture: Special Needs for Students
- Roundtable Discussion: Violence in Schools
- Baltimore Harbor
Day 7
- Capitol Hill
- TA Group Meeting
- Guest Speaker
- Lecture: Music & Arts in Education
- Game Night
Day 8
- Teacher Workshop: Teaching Diverse Learner
- Roundtable Discussion: The Teaching Profession, Choosing a School
- AU Credit Option
- Department of Education Simulation
- Leadership Activity
- TA Meeting
- Historic D.C. Monuments at Night
Day 9
- Teacher Workshop: Student Engagement & Motivation
- AU Credit Option
- Field Trip Planning
- Teach for America Presentation
- Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Dance
Day 10
- Closing Ceremony
- Final TA Meeting





