I am doing some research for my Issues in Education course regarding teacher preparation programs and the lack of preparation teachers receive with regards to the diversity that exists in today's classrooms. My interest in this topic stems from my experience in my own teacher preparation program which, I felt, did not prepare me at all for the realities of teaching. Because of my lack of preparation for the linguistic and cultural diversity I found in my classroom, I returned to graduate school to get my master's in SPED and an ESOL endorsement, so I would be a more capable, well rounded teacher. In other research projects, I have also come across data reflecting teachers not feeling they were adequately prepared by their teacher prep programs, so I feel like this is an unfortunate trend in education.
My advisor recommended that I take a look at The Council for Accreditation for Teacher Education which is "the standard of excellence in teacher preparation." How fancy. I had no idea that there was a council with specific standards that gives (or doesn't give) accreditation to institutions with teacher preparation programs. Click here to view a map of the US on which you can click any state and view all accredited institutions in that state.
I was very interested/appalled to find that my college was NOT on the list. Yikes! Hope Dad never finds out about that because he always encouraged me to go to UCONN, a state school, which by the way...is ON the list. I will admit, when I originally applied to Villanova, I applied to the business school and was accepted. Villanova is an excellent business school and is ranked #11 in the nation, however sometime during the summer before freshman year, I decided that being a businesswoman was not my fate of choice and I requested to switch into the college of arts and sciences so that I could participate in the elementary education program. I should have known, based on the fact that I had to take my classes at another all female college down the street, that it was not the best ever teacher program, yet I put up with the nuns because I was happy at Nova and I completed the program. I met my best friend at Nova. I met my husband at Nova. In no way do I regret selecting that school for my college experience, but I can't help but feel like I wish someone told me about the standards in a teaching program I should be on the lookout for...
Now, I am not saying that because I went to a non-accredited school that I am a less effective teacher than other teachers out there, but I am bummed! I mean, I have a teaching license, I have endorsements, I have experience, I am a good teacher. I don't need "accreditation" to make me feel worthy, yet I just keep thinking I wish I knew! Thank goodness my grad school is on the list or I think I would just about die. Standards are created with a purpose and I don't ever like to be associated with something that is sub-par.
Now, here is where all you lovely teachers that read this blog come in.....
Help me with my research!
Where did you go to college for your teacher prep?
Did you do your program as an undergrad or grad student?
Is your college/university on the list? Here is the link again.
(no judgments....remember I didn't make the list!)
Did you feel that your program adequately prepared you to teach linguistically & culturally diverse students?
I really hope to see a lot of comments because this issue is really interesting to me!
Much love to all my teacher peeps!
8 comments:
Wow Katie this is VERY interesting stuff. For undergrad I went to Boston College and for grad I went to UMASS Lowell. My undergrad school is NOT on the list and my grad school IS on the list. I would love to hear more about the accrediation program and how schools become "accrediated" The reason I ask is because I actually think my program prepared me very well and has a reputation for preparing teachers well. My fiance's ungrad school WAS on the list and he had a much harder time finding a job than me after college. It kinda seems to me like the state schools go through the effort of getting accrediated which is probably a really big pain in the butt process and maybe the other schools don't bother? I'm not trying to say that accrediated schools are not good- I just think my undergrad program was at least as good as my fiance's if not better. I had to do a lot more student teaching than him (we have 3 practicums before our full time student teaching) and really- thats all that REALLY prepares you for the realities of the classroom. Sure, there was a lot I had to learn when I started teaching but I wonder if we can ever FULLY prepare teachers- things are still shocking and challenging me after 4 years...and I bet they still will after 20. I am interested in making teacher prep programs more effective though definitely. I have thought about going to help my old college with some of their stuff but I just haven't had time in my busy life haha.
I went to Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. I am glad to see my college on the list. I feel as though I was prepared in many areas. I think they forgot to tell me about the amount of paperwork, test scores and AIP's, and things that I need to keep up with. I live in Arkansas and at the U of A you have to go through the masters program or their nontraditional program to be able to teach. I graduated in four years with no masters and can teach. We also had to choose three different schools to do an internship in a small, medium and large. Different grades and subjects also. So I hope I helped. Crystal
:) This is my first comment here!! I'm in my 5th year of teaching and I'm 27 y.o. I live in The Woodlands, TX and I teach third grade.
I went to Oklahoma State University for undergrad Elem. Edu. and University of Central Oklahoma for M.Ed. in Bilingual/TESOL. BOTH are NCATE accredited and I made sure of this early on only because my parents are both educators and knew about this stuff. :) It was a BIG BIG deal at OSU when I was in undergrad because they were going through the NCATE review process during those years (apparently in the early 90's they lost it temp. due to portfolios being weak). Anyways I think it is an excellent idea, but it usally turns out to be paperwork heavy. I was married to an OSU professor and keeping and getting accredited is hard work for depts that are usually understaffed.
I want to add that I felt VERY prepared when I left college to teach, even though I was young. We had a student teaching abroad program and I student taught in Costa Rica at an excellent international school. I felt like if I could teach 46 ELLs I could do anything. :)
I LOVE YOUR BLOG
My experience may be a little interesting to some but it's becoming commonplace in Louisiana. I received a BS in Criminal Justice from McNeese State University (they are on the list)worked a year post college then went back to McNeese for Alternative Certification. www.teachlouisiana.net will tell you more about it. Basically, I'm taking all of my education classes in 2 semesters and will be considered an intern for the first year that I teach or there is the option to student teach for one semester but most Alt Certs don't do that. I know I'm going to struggle my first year. I'm one semester through the program and it does a pretty good job considering it's all lightening fast. Hope this helps!
I decided to get my M.Ed in Literacy and Language (from Salem College, NC) right out of graduating from Undergrad. In Undergrad (Elon University, NC) I majored in Elementary Education and Special Education (mainly in the area of specific learning disabilities). And although I though my education in undergrad was "good", I didn't feel prepared enough. I wanted to know more. I feel that there is a HUGE amount of information to learn in just 4 years of undergrad; General courses take up close to 2 of the 4 years of courses. Practicums and student teaching are good experiences if you are in good environments). I don't fault my undergrad university for my feelings of being unprepared. I feel as though they tried to teach (and cram) as much information as possible in a short amount of time. Getting my M.Ed. was wonderful because I worked for 2 years on just one (big) area: literacy... literacy and language. I was able to focus just on that piece of the puzzle.
For undergrad I went to the University of Miami and majored in Secondary Education in English (which came with an ESOL endorsement) and English (Creative Writing Track). I feel like my program, though NOT currently on the list but I know we were in the past, was great. I agree with others that it was my semester in associate teaching (practicum) that really prepared me to be a teacher. Prior to that, we had to do 20-30 hrs a semester teaching at various schools around the University and that helped too. For grad school, I am currently getting my Master's of Curriculum and Instruction in English at Florida International University which IS on the list, but I hate it! Nothing I have done has been relevant or worthwhile. In Miami, there are a TON of students for whom English is not their first language. I think my undergrad at UM did a great job of preparing me for that. We even had one semester where we spent 20 hrs in an ESOL classroom.
Hope that helps!
What an interesting post! I went to Keene State College and it is accredited. I went there for my undergrad. I think they did the best they could with their work and I would have loved it if we could do a year long student teaching program to get the full experience of the full school year and all it entails. I just don't know how much you can really learn if you are entering the classroom in the second half of the school year when the teacher has set the standards. It is harder to do your own thing... Other than that the professors were awesome and there was so much experience there!
Oh, and I have something for you! :-)
Hello. My name is Ashley. This is my first comment! I have been following your blog for a while now. My boyfriend was a computer science major in college and he encouraged me to start reading blogs this past summer. He is always saying how there's so much you can learn from people. He's right. I enjoy reading your posts- more so than any other blog I have found. They are always insightful and interesting, and I often see myself in your words.
To answer your questions (I felt compelled to), I am currently a junior attending St. Bonaventure University in New York. I am majoring in Elementary and Special Education. My university is on the list! Yay! SBU is well known for its suberb education program. I really cannot say whether or not the program has adequately prepared me to teach linguistically and culturally diverse students... though, I'm sure I will find out once I have finished my undergraduate work and land myself my first teaching position. I do feel that my university's education program is wonderful and has prepared me in other areas. Through SBU's education program, I have been in the classroom since my freshman year. Before I student teach next fall, I will have over 1000 hours of experience under my belt. I know of some colleges where students don't set foot in a classroom until they student teach! Crazy! Currently, I'm interning in a first grade classroom at a small school in Pennsylvania. I'm loving every minute of it! Though, I agree with what a few others have said, no matter where you go to college or how prestigious the program may be that you are in... you are never really fully prepared for the realities that lie ahead in the classroom. I think that goes for any major. Many things you have to discover on your own. College only provides you with the tools necessary to begin your life-long journey... I know I still have a lot to learn and I'm excited about that!
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