As I was reflecting on the primary characteristics schools are looking for in beginning teachers as presented at the meeting I attended last week, I have been pondering how best we can prepare students at the undergraduate level to become teachers. Again, what I heard as the most important considerations for beginning teachers......1) The quality of recommendations based on high quality experiences are what most administrators look for first. 2) Evidence on the resume that candidates have been involved with significant experiences where they have developed as people outside of the classroom and show evidence of their love of children at the level where they are applying to teach. 3) Candidates are skilled interpersonally, can work as a part of a team, are flexible, have a good work ethic, have a sense of humor, and want to improve as a teacher and as a person. 4) Candidates have a passion and love for the subject they will be teaching. 5) Candidates have a clear set of ethics, are honest, have a high level of acceptance of other opinions and points of view, and are kind.
So what is it that we can do at Luther to best prepare you for these lofty expectations? First, we need to talk about these aspects of good teaching and to include you, the students and future teachers, in this conversation. Hopefully, your first quality experience in your overall experience at Luther as hoped for in point #1. Is what will be expected of you as teachers being modeled for you at Luther? Second, we need to provide a range of experiences that you can choose to be a part. Of course, you are also responsible for creating your own quality experiences and for becoming involved with the opportunities available. Third, we need to be sure that you have experience and see people who are skilled interpersonally. Do people with whom you associate go the extra mile to do the right thing? Fourth, do the professors generate a passion and love for the subject they are teaching or is it seen as more of a chore or way to make a living? Fifth, are the people in the Luther community honest and accepting of others?
What are some ideas you might have to further enhance your preparation to become a teacher?
posted by Associate Professor of Education, Luther College @ 4:15 PM
2 Comments:
It is hard to say what will best prepare us to be teachers out in the real world. I believe that no matter what we learn in the classroom or while student teaching with someone supervising us, it is hard to really be prepared to be on our own. Until we have a class that is truly our own, it is hard to know how to handle discipline issues, how to motivate students, and how to keep control of a class. When we student teach, the students still are not completely ours and other rules and standards are already established that are not our own. In the end, I think there are some things we will never be able to learn until we are finally on our own. Then we will really be able to see what we know and how to make it work.
Agreed. You will learn more in your first year as a teacher than your previous four years as a student. Saying that, how do we best prepare beginning teachers so you are as prepared as possible? What is the value, if any, for teacher preparation programs? (maybe just to keep guys like me busy and out of trouble!)
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