One of the most important strategies of the President’s blueprint for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is its focus on one simple but transformative premise: great teachers matter. Decades of research indicates that the single most important school-based factor in a child’s education is the quality of the teaching he or she gets in the classroom. The quality of the training, development and professional practice an aspiring teacher receives throughout his or her pre-service program will impact the teacher’s future effectiveness, ability to persevere, persist and thrive in the classroom, and, ultimately, the amount of student learning that occurs in the classroom.
A new video produced by the U.S. Department of Education spotlights an institution that has a proven strategy for instilling new teacher candidates with the knowledge, skills, resources and fortitude to lead and succeed in the 21st century classroom. At Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., home of the National Teachers Hall of Fame, the Teachers College is the crown jewel of the school. The hallmark of the Teachers College experience is its involvement with 34 professional development schools – public schools that are modeled after teaching hospitals – where teacher education students do much of their learning in real world situations, working with faculty and public school teachers.
Graduates of the Teachers College are highly sought-after by school districts because of their depth of knowledge and thoroughness of training and experience they bring to the classroom. Each beginning teacher comes to the hiring district with a guarantee and, in the 18 years of the program, only five teachers have been referred for remediation. Ninety-two percent of ESU teachers remain in the classroom for more than five years—almost twice the national average—and principals rate alumni highly on a wide range of knowledge and skills.
For more information on Emporia State University’s Teachers College, visit: http://www.emporia.edu/teach/
Click here for an alternate version of the video with an accessible player.
Music provided by Andrew Bird.
Todd May
Office of Communications and Outreach
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Let’s face the truth education starts at home then in the preschool, the fundation is most important when coming to a child’s education. I work as a preschool teacher which I am the owner of. Putting in the time needed and having the skills to cultivat young minds for success. I have 3 year’s old reading and writing at a fifth grade leave. My plan was and is to combine Westen and Easten culture. At the Amazing Learning Center in Randolph Mass, there is no failures.
Confidence is low because no matter how smart you are or how much you wish to give to your country, there is always an obstacle in the form of a test score, a certification requirement, a fee or an ideology that has to first be followed for you to secure the American dream. Obstacle after obstacle in placed in the way by government, academia or politicians so that you can never quite use your God-given talent.
Sandra, I am from Kansas and that is happening here also. I am a 3rd year teacher (going into my 4th) and was very worried about losing my job this year because of budget cuts. It’s not just in Texas but nationwide that we see this. Even though the Government is trying to change the perception of teaching around the nation, it won’t happen until legislators see us as valuable and teachers recieve the pay that we deserve. But we must all do the best we can. Best of luck!
It’s refreshing to hear that quality teachers are still being ‘cultivated’ and ‘honored’ as a valuable element to the future of our nation. Texas seems to be headed in the opposite direction. As a Master Reading Teacher, I am being directed back into the classroom this fall in an effort to save my job. I also teach part time at a local college, and know that students are being directed ‘away’ from education jobs. Our current legislators have not listened to us this session, as observed by their deep budget cuts, including permission to disregard seniority, cut or ‘roll back’ our salaries and benefits. I find myself turning the other cheek, rather than standing up for my rights and beliefs, as I am still 8 years away from retirement.