Stephen Mahaley (mahaley@mail.duke.edu)
Mon, 26 Jul 1999 13:48:41 -0400
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 13:48:41 -0400 From: Stephen Mahaley <mahaley@mail.duke.edu> Subject: University/P.S. partnerships
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I would like to suggest that universities with schools of education
enter into active partnerships with the public schools in their area.
We have all heard and talked about the vaccuum that exists between what
is presented and taught in schools of education and what the real
experience is for the newly trained teacher. I do not mean to be
hypercritical: I am confident that there are some fantastic programs
going on out there that work to make the theoretical practical for those
who wish to become teachers in the public schools. It was my
experience, however, that, beneath a veneer of commitment to the real
cause of public education and relatively superficial university/schools
contact, the folks in the school of education (with ONE exception that I
recall) seemed to prefer to remain insulated from the sounds, smells,
feel and intensity of the average 4th grade classroom.
I support the move to make the teaching degree a graduate degree,
giving would-be teachers more time to concentrate and earn a degree in a
subject matter before moving into learning pedagogy. Perhaps with more
focus on teaching itself, schools of ed will find the time to leave the
campus and be more involved in the local schools. I'd like to see a lot
more lab school settings in which highly trained/qualified teachers work
with trainees in real classrooms, with spaces for professor's offices,
meeting rooms, etc. It is my feeling that professors of teacher
education should be allowed to focus on real pedagogy and the craft of
good lesson design and implementation, and not have to worry about
drumming us research projects for eventual publication.
Respectfully -
-- Stephen M. Mahaley Distributed Learning Support Specialist Executive Education, Fuqua School of Business mahaley@mail.duke.edu--------------------------------------------------------- Forum website: http://ifets.gmd.de/ Forum's contact person: kinshuk@ieee.org Info on Join/Leave List: http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html ---------------------------------------------------------
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