The Conceptual Framework for the
Wofford College Teacher Preparation Program
The conceptual framework for Wofford College’s Teacher Education Program is
the scaffold that supports and guides the development, execution, and
evaluation of all aspects of our program and reflects our concept of a
liberally educated teacher who provides leadership within the school community
and who models a commitment to life-long learning.
The Vision
The Unit envisions its
candidates as knowledgeable and committed to providing instruction within
positive learning environments that meets the needs of diverse student
populations. These candidates, as leaders in their school communities, are
guided by a professional code of ethical behavior and a commitment to life-long
learning.
The Mission
In support of the mission
of Wofford College to provide a superior liberal arts education that fosters a
commitment to excellence in character, scholarly performance, leadership, and
life-long learning, the mission of the Unit mirrors that of the College. The
Unit is committed to preparing teacher candidates who excel in scholarly
performance, demonstrate excellence in character, serve as leaders within both
their professional and civic communities and model their commitment to
life-long learning. Challenging pedagogical coursework supports that of the
liberal arts and academic major requirements. Field and clinical
experiences provide opportunities for teacher candidates to demonstrate their
initial mastery of content, skills, dispositions and ethical leadership to
their educational communities. Candidates’ undergraduate experiences and those
life experiences that follow provide additional opportunities to display
leadership and to model ethical behaviors and commitment to life-long learning.
The Goal of the Teacher Education Program
The
goal of the Teacher Education Program is to produce knowledgeable teachers who demonstrate excellence in character, provide leadership to their schools and communities and model their
commitment to life-long learning.
This goal builds upon the mission statements of Wofford College and the
Unit. It was around this goal that the Unit standards for the knowledge,
skills and dispositions for our teacher candidates were developed. The
following objectives support the
Program’s goal:
- To support the broad liberal
arts background of general knowledge and skills as a basis for the
development of diverse cultural literacy and understanding of our cultural
heritage;
- To support the development of a
depth of knowledge and skills in at least one teaching area of
specialization.
- To provide a sequence of
professional courses and experiences that will form the philosophical,
psychological, sociological, historical, and methodological bases of
teaching and learning and understanding of various cultural,
socio-economic, and ability levels of students in secondary schools;
- To present effective models,
methods, materials, and resources in order that teacher candidates develop
and demonstrate the required pedagogical skills and proficiencies for
teaching and learning;
- To model those personal and
professional dispositions that we expect of our teacher candidates
Teacher candidates who complete Wofford’s Teacher Education
Program will know the content they teach, will know how to teach this content
to students, will be successful in teaching a diverse population of students,
will be reflective in their practice, will respect and care about their
students, and will provide leadership to their schools and communities as they
engage in life-long learning.
The Knowledge Bases
The Unit’s Philosophy of Teacher
Preparation
Only the educated are free.Epictetus (Discourses, Book II, Chapter I)
The Unit’s conceptual framework is strengthened by its firm
grounding in scholarship. This section details some of the recent literature
and research that support and inform the components of our conceptual
framework: scholarship, ethical behavior, leadership, and life-long learning.
Working from a coherent philosophical basis provides a comprehensive point of
view from which consistency of actions arises (Dewey, 1916) and enables us to
think clearly about what we believe about teaching and learning. We examine
critically the foundations of our program to reflect upon who we are, what we
are doing, why we are doing it, and how we justify these decisions. It is
important that our teacher preparation program prepare candidates for what they
need to know and be able to do in an information technology society that is
both global and diverse. All components of the professional
education curriculum must contribute to the development of an integrated and
coherent philosophical conception of teaching.
Scholarly Performance
- Liberal Arts Foundation
- Academic Content Knowledge
- Professional and Pedagogical
Knowledge and Skills
The
Unit’s definition of scholarly performance refers to knowledge in the Liberal
Arts, the academic content, and professional education. The
development of a strong knowledge base and skills from which our candidates can
draw, both in the classroom and in the larger educational environment, has been
a guiding principle of our teacher education program. The idea of a
liberally educated teacher has anchored teacher preparation at Wofford College
for many years and also reflects the College’s commitment to liberal education.
All Unit faculty are committed to the belief that well-rounded, successful
teachers should be exposed to a variety of disciplines and modes of thinking. A
liberal arts education is about knowledge and information that the teacher does
not teach directly but which influences teaching (Murray & Porter, 1996)
and includes facts, concepts, ideas and principles that lead to deeper
transferable understandings (Hamsa, 1998). “All professionals use knowledge in
their work, but teaching is actually about knowledge. The reform of
undergraduate education toward dedication to the tenets of liberal education is
essential to improving teacher education”(The Holmes Group, 1986).
It is important to allow our teacher candidates the
opportunity to develop the kind of multidisciplinary learning that a liberal
arts education provides. Therefore, we require extensive coursework in
the academic disciplines outside of our program to allow for the development of
a breadth of knowledge. Our program is supported in this endeavor by the
comprehensive requirements of our institution for all undergraduates. (Please
refer to the Wofford College Catalogue for details about these requirements).
The professional education literature base also recognizes
the different kinds of knowledge that teachers should possess. Each
type of knowledge is essential for teacher preparation: (1) content
knowledge or knowledge of the subject matter to be taught (Jetton &
Alexander, 1997); (2) pedagogical-content knowledge (Shulman, 1986) which
enables the teacher to take the content knowledge and help others understand
it; (3) professional knowledge (Borko and Putman, 1996) which is pedagogical
knowledge of the general variety and (4) knowledge of learners and
learning.
We believe that all
faculty are involved in the preparation of teachers, whether it be in the core,
the major, or the elective curriculum, as well as those faculty who teach
pedagogy and foundations courses. The institution supports this belief. The
chief duty required of all faculty is to teach effectively the content of their
courses. Faculty are also charged with being well-informed on current research
and new teaching methodologies, developing students’ creative and critical
thinking abilities, and serving as mentors to their students. As
such, we view ourselves as models who embody intellectual curiosity,
independence of thought, maturity of judgment, self-discipline, and moral
character. Learning occurs through several avenues, and the teacher serves as
both a knowledgeable authority and a facilitator of learning. In the process of
teaching the content, learning must become meaningful. College faculty help
teacher candidates construct meaning of what is taught and make it a part of
their own knowledge base. This happens in the classroom, in the laboratory, in
the field experiences, in professional conversations, discussions and
workshops. Faculty also model scholarly performance in their respective
fields. They engage in continued research and provide positive contributions to
the communities they serve. Faculty are expected to model ethical behaviors
both within and outside the classroom (Faculty Handbook).
As part of their
professional knowledge base, we expect our teacher candidates to understand how
our educational heritage influenced our democratic way of life. As George
Counts (1946) proudly stated, “We have in our heritage the source of a great
education” (p. 17). Our teacher candidates are knowledgeable about the
educational heritage of our country and the significant people, events, trends
and issues that have influenced this history. In this belief we echo Boyd
Bode’s concern that there is a strong connection between education and
democracy as a way of life,
.
. . if we desire to remain a democratic people we must
reexamine
and reinterpret the meaning of democracy.
[Democracy]
involves the whole mass of traditional beliefs
and
attitudes and practices, so as to become the basis
for
a distinctive way of life. (Bode, 1943, pp. vii-viii)
We expect our teacher
candidates to demonstrate their commitment to the belief that all children can
learn. To meet the needs of increasingly diverse classrooms, our
program provides candidates with a strong foundation in the variety and
implementation of the best and most current research-based pedagogical
strategies. Candidates recognize that each student learns differently and at
varying rates and they must demonstrate their ability to differentiate
instruction. This focus on research-based strategies is also a point of
emphasis in the recent reauthorization of The
Elementary andSecondary Education Act, The No Child Left Behind Act
(2002).
Our teacher
candidates are knowledgeable in their academic content areas.
The required rigorous courses of study are designed to provide depth and
breadth in a specific content area. As teaching and learning models, candidates
demonstrate different ways of knowing, representing and formulating their
content to make it comprehensible to others (Shulman, 1986). Teacher candidates
who are knowledgeable in their content area are better able to “emphasize
conceptual understandings, detect student preconceptions, exploit opportunities
for fruitful digressions during teaching, and to interpret insightful student
comments (Dill, 1990). Teacher candidates must have
amassed a large fund of knowledge to meet the NCLB definition of a highly
qualified teacher and to pass the South Carolina licensure
requirements.
Teacher candidates
are held accountable on the Praxis exams for basic skills in reading, writing
and mathematics as well as academic content, which includes knowledge of facts,
figures, dates, and names. Therefore, we feel responsible for helping our
candidates commit this type of knowledge to memory. While Freire (1970, 1985)
criticized an emphasis on students as storehouses of content, or “banking
education” (1970), no one expects our candidates to simply receive, memorize,
and repeat information. Nor are the candidates willing to accept this level of
learning from their students.
We proceed from a
constructivist point of view. The concept can be traced back to Plato’s belief
that knowledge is formed within the learner. Effective teachers facilitate the
construction of meaning through careful questioning, inquiry and social
interactions. As educators we must empower students to critically examine their
world through discussions with others equally equipped for the task and develop
an understanding of the relevance of the information to their lives. The
school, then, becomes a community of learners, a paradigm based on a synthesis
of contemporary research, best practice, and assumptions resulting from the
emphasis on reflective practice (Lambert, 1995). It is through this process of
critical examination and praxis, defined by Freire (1970) as “reflection and
action upon the world in order to transform it “ (p.33), that positive change
can be developed, considered, and acted upon. Our teacher candidates understand
the significance of such critical examination and praxis as they empower
students to participate in the crucial processes that are mandatory if our democratic
way of life is to be maintained and guaranteed.
Research by Marzano
(2003) and Darling-Hammond (2000, 2001) indicates that a teacher’s pedagogical
knowledge is associated with higher student achievement. Teachers must be able
to interpret learners’ statements and actions and shape productive experiences
for them. To do this requires knowledge of adolescent development and an
understanding of how to support growth in various domains—cognitive, social,
physical, and emotional. Teaching in ways that connect with students also
requires an understanding of differences that may arise from culture, family
experiences, developed intelligences and approaches to learning. Our teacher
candidates must be able to work effectively with diverse student populations,
colleagues, and the larger community. Effective teachers facilitate
learning and realize the power inherent in this pursuit as they help others
cross the bridges that link their present realities to future possibilities.
Such facilitation demands far more of teachers than their traditional roles
were defined.
Regarding the demands
placed on teachers as facilitators, Ayers (1993) writes,
Teaching is instructing, advising, counseling, organizing,
assessing, guiding, goading, showing, managing, modeling,
coaching,
disciplining, prodding, preaching, persuading
proselytizing, listening, interacting, nursing, and inspiring.
Teachers must be experts, generalists, psychologists and cops,
rabbis and priests, judges, and gurus. (pp. 4-5)
Our teacher
candidates understand that learning is a highly individualistic endeavor.
Facilitating the learning process requires that teachers empower students to
connect and accommodate new ideas with previous paradigms and mental
constructions. Attempting to
simplify the teaching-learning dynamic destroys its essence and renders it an
absurd reduction and oversimplification. Excellence in performance is evidenced
when our teacher candidates plan, select, execute and assess content that helps
students develop intellectual insights they can use to make better decisions.
Our candidates serve as effective models who promote critical thinking and
independent problem solving. They understand the role that intrinsic motivation
plays in learning and plan instruction that actively involves students in the
learning process. They recognize, however, that students must assume the role
of self-regulated learners who take responsibility for their own
learning.
According to Brooks and Brooks (1999) the effective teacher
searches for students’ understandings of concepts, and then structures
opportunities for students to refine or revise these understandings by posing
contradictions, presenting new information, asking questions, encouraging
research, and/or engaging students in inquiries designed to challenge current
concepts. (p. ix). Teachers should appreciate the multiple perspectives that
their students bring to learning. As facilitators of learning, the message of
teachers who seek to empower their students is this: You can change your life.
The empowering teacher has a vision of what could be, but is not yet. Social
justice requires the heightening of awareness of both teachers and students. In
making a difference in students, in the ways they construct their paradigms for
change, democracy, justice and equal opportunity, our teacher candidates become
facilitators who help their students navigate their own search for empowerment.
Excellence
in Character
- Professional and Ethical
Conduct
- Respect for Others and the
Profession
In addition to providing candidates with the knowledge and
skills to teach their content, preparing them for the interactions that will
define their professional lives is also an important aspect of their
professional preparation. The Unit has
identified characteristics of the professional behaviors and ethical principles
and respect for others and the profession as the hallmarks of excellence in
character that the program helps candidates to master. Goodlad and others
posit that teaching is a moral endeavor (Goodlad, 1990; DeRoche 1990). Teachers
must serve as role models of good character. They must acknowledge,
accept and welcome the diversity of their student populations. They do not
discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national
origin, socioeconomic status or sexual orientation.
Schools are the
primary institution in our nation charged with providing access to knowledge
and the enculturation of our youth. Effective teachers build positive human
connections with their students (Goodlad, pp. 49-50). They help them become
caring, principled, and responsible individuals (DeRoche, p. vi). We expect our
candidates to conduct themselves in an ethical manner worthy of trust and to
exhibit honesty, responsibility, and personal self-discipline. Greenfield,
referring to school principals, notes that school leaders face a unique set of
ethical demands (Greenfield, 1991). We believe that the same holds true of
teachers. In their classrooms teachers have a responsibility to exercise their
authority in an ethical manner. They take responsibility for establishing a
positive classroom climate and are committed to employing democratic values.
Candidates must be willing to examine and reflect on their choices from
different perspectives and must anticipate the consequences of their choices.
In accordance with the NEA Code of Ethics of the Education Profession our
teacher candidates must demonstrate a commitment to helping each student
realize his/her potential as a worthy and effective member of society (NEA,
Principle I). Teacher candidates are observed during their field experiences
and clinical practice for evidence that they support the well-being of their
students. Their reflective journal entries are also evaluated as to their
support of the well-being of their students.
Candidates are evaluated on their ethical behaviors. They are
expected to model a professional code of ethics –they must be truthful, they
must accept responsibility for their choices, they must
respect student diversity and individual differences as well as the varied
talents and perspectives of their students. Their teaching should help to
foster student self –esteem. Candidates are expected to respect the privacy of
their students and maintain confidentiality in all professional relationships.
We expect our
candidates to model respect toward students and parents, colleagues, and others
within their school community. They must be willing to work collaboratively
with students, fellow teachers, parents and administrators of all backgrounds.
During their undergraduate experiences, we evaluate candidates’ respect for
their peers, the public school faculty and administration and the community
at-large.
Leadership
- Personal Teaching Efficacy
- Professional
Collaboration
- Clear Communication
- Technologically Skilled
A
significant trend in educational reform has been the emergence of teachers as
leaders, not only within their classrooms and the school community at large,
but also at the district, state and national levels. The Unit defines educational leaders as possessing a personal teaching
efficacy who willingly engage in professional collaboration, who understand the
importance of clear communication and keep abreast of new ideas and
understandings in the field. Educational leaders understand the need to remain
current in the application of technology to instruction and model this
application.
“Classroom
teachers at all levels are assuming greater roles of responsibility and
leadership” (McCay, Hamilton, & Riley, 2001). The Unit believes
that effective practitioners seek ways to become leaders in the improvement of
their classrooms and the teaching profession and we have included exposure to
the knowledge and skills candidates will need to develop into ethical leaders
at their schools. Various courses, including the introductory foundations
course, the methods courses, the clinical practice seminar and the field
experiences include exposure to a broad range of educational issues (such as
the historical, philosophical, sociological influences on education) and ethical
questions (such as current legal and policy issues). Kouzes and Posner
(1987) define leadership as “the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle
for shared aspirations”( p. 30). Teachers who hold strong beliefs in a positive
purpose and a willingness to express this conviction make effective leaders.
Teachers as leaders also model a positive personal teaching efficacy—their
belief that they are capable of helping all students succeed regardless of
their background knowledge or
ability (Bruning et al, 1999;
Eggen, 2001). They take responsibility for the success or failure of their own
instruction (Lee, 2000). High efficacy teachers use more curriculum materials
and change instructional strategies to accommodate differences in students’
learning styles. (Poole, Okeafor, & Sloan, 1989). Stipek also found that
teachers contribute to students’ desires to learn and to take responsibility
for their learning (Stipek, 1996). Others have also found a high correlation
between motivation and achievement (McDermott, Mordell, & Stoltzfus, 2001;
Wang , Haertel & Walberg, 1993; Weinstein, 1998). We expect our
candidates to hold high expectations for all students and communicate these
expectations by engaging and supporting students in mastering a relevant and challenging
academic curriculum. We expect them to create safe classrooms and learning
environments where students feel safe to express their thinking without the
fear of embarrassment. We observe their praise of students for increased
competence and their persistence with low achievers
Leaders who are
inclusive in their approach to instruction possess a disposition that values
and supports the variety of backgrounds and special needs exhibited by our
candidates’ students. “If .... children are to be effectively taught ,
educators must be prepared to address the substantial diversity and experiences
children bring with them to school – the wide range of languages, cultures,
exceptionalities, learning styles, talents, and intelligences that in turn
requires an equally wide and varied repertoire of teaching strategies”
(Darling-Hammond, Wise, and Klein, 1999). To prepare candidates for
inclusive classrooms, the Unit, as well as the entire college community,
recognize that to meet this challenge, we must constantly review and strengthen
our program’s approach to the issue of inclusion based on emerging scholarship
in the field and on feedback from candidates and faculty.
The Unit monitors the
personal teaching efficacy of our candidates during their field experiences and
clinical practice. Candidates must believe that they can increase student
learning. They must demonstrate this efficacy as they plan for diversity in
learning, as they maintain high expectations for student participation, and as
they monitor student learning while promoting teamwork and individual
responsibility.
Emerging leaders foster collaboration
to make schools better places for learning. Teachers as leaders demonstrate
through their own behaviors a respect for cultural differences, for those with
different skills and abilities, interests and perspectives. As they teach and
work within their school community, they foster relationships that support
student learning and well being.
Collaboration requires that candidates
possess skills for developing personal and interpersonal relationships. They
show respect for the opinions and values of others. They encourage family,
school and community relationships that support learning. They view
education as paramount to supporting our democratic way of life. In their
schools, these teachers value instructional planning as a collegial activity.
Their instructional plans are open to adjustment and revision based on student
needs and changing circumstances. In their classrooms they demonstrate this value
by structuring learning opportunities that allow their own students to practice
collaboration.
To promote the development of
leadership characteristics, our candidates are provided many opportunities to
collaborate with each other during course work and with their clinical
experience colleagues. From coursework collaboration activities, to student
organizations, to participation in clinical experiences, our candidates benefit
from a number of experiences designed to help them become cooperative members
of educational teams. Our goal is that when these teacher candidates graduate,
they will continue in their role as a teacher leader.
Being
able to work in a collegial environment also requires that candidates develop a
disposition that values and supports the variety of backgrounds and special
needs exhibited by their students. The diversity of our student populations
requires that candidates recognize and value what learners bring to the
learning process. The efforts of Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky support learning
as an interactive process involving the students’ interests and previous
experiences. The constructivist view necessitates a commitment to
interdependence, group skills, sharing knowledge, and gaining valuable
perspectives (Slavin, 1986 and Johnson & Johnson, 1988). Cooperative
learning strategies provide for the social construction of knowledge.
Such strategies also promote democratic values and practices.
Effective leaders
communicate clearly. They recognize the power of language to foster
self-expression, identity, development and learning. Our candidates are
expected to be vigilant about their own oral and written communication skills,
for attention to these skills will increase the clarity of their speech and
serve as the basis for their success with students and other adults within
their communities.
The use of technology
has become an additional resource for teachers and an integral aspect of every
teacher’s life. Candidates demonstrate their ability to use technology in all
program courses and in their clinical practice. The importance of technology
for the classroom teacher goes well beyond the use of word processors and
Internet access; mastery of a variety of technological skills can directly
impact instructional approaches to materials, access to data and resources, and
communication between school, home, and community. Not only must our candidates
be able to master technology skills, they must also demonstrate use of these
skills within the context of their teaching and for interactions with students,
colleagues, and community members.
As undergraduates,
opportunities abound for our teacher candidates to model and practice emerging
leadership skills. Collaboration occurs in class discussions, course projects,
and during field and clinical experiences. The candidate’s teaching efficacy is
observed during field experiences and clinical practice. Additional leadership
skills are developed as candidates participate in on-campus activities and
organizations. Students who have been admitted to the Teacher Education Program
are awarded a one-year membership in the College’s student chapter of SCASCD
which provides an excellent opportunity for collaboration, professional
development and becoming actively involved in the campus community. Other
campus volunteer opportunities in which many of our candidates participate
include the Twin Towers Program, the Bonner Scholars Program, and Community
Service Learning. Students who are selected for the Success Initiative Program
have also sought admission to our program. Additionally, numerous student
organizations involve their members in volunteer service. Our candidates serve
as tutors and mentors to elementary students. Many tutor middle and high school
students.
Lifelong
Learning
- Reflective
Practice
- Professional
Growth
The
Unit considers reflective practice and commitment to professional growth as
representative of our candidates emerging commitment to lifelong learning.
Research recognizing the essential role of teachers’ reflective capacities of
observation, analysis, interpretation, and decision making in professional
practice has been advocated by many (Russell & Munby, 1992; Schon, 1983;
Zeichner & Liston, 1987). Schon (1983) would call this “reflection in
action” and considers reflection an essential element of all professional
practice. If professional
standards are to be raised through the exercise of professional judgment,
teachers must make informed choices. They must stay current on research in both
content and methodology and they must reflect on their practice in order to
improve learning (Shulman, 1986; Darling-Hammond, 1998).
The Unit believes
that conscientious teachers recognize their professional responsibility for
engaging in appropriate professional practices and practice self-reflection as
a means to improve professional judgment. Candidates maintain reflective
journals during all field and clinical experiences. Dewey’s description
that “learning requires trained observation...to select which elements are the
causal conditions of learning, which are influential, and which are secondary
or irrelevant are applicable to the leader-practitioner (Dewey, 1974, p.181).
Teachers who engage
in reflective practice think critically about pedagogy, subject matter, and the
needs and backgrounds of all students. They use research, theory and law and
the wisdom of practice to guide decision making. The ability to think
critically about their work requires that candidates systematically reflect on
the learning environments they create where the importance of students working
individually and cooperatively is emphasized and where the effective use of
technology to enhance learning is used judiciously. Reflective practice requires
that candidates analyze their practices within the classroom and the broader
boundaries of the school and community. The reflective record of this ability
is through journal writing and discussion. Thus, we require that our candidates
develop the habit of conscious reflection through the reflective journals
required for each field and clinical experience.
Learning should not
stop once a teacher candidate receives licensure. Teachers as responsible
professionals demonstrate that learning is valued when they model their
commitment to self-directed life-long learning and seek out opportunities to
improve, to grow, and to change (Fullen, 1993). Life-long learners engage in
professional discourse about subject matter knowledge and students’ learning of
the discipline.
Borko &
Putman (1995) found that personal knowledge systems deepen as teachers engage
in lifelong learning and the Unit faculty feel a strong commitment to model
lifelong learning. Faculty attend and present at professional conferences and
workshops, they hold memberships in various professional and civic
organizations and frequently serve as officers, they use technology to improve
their teaching, they engage in research and implement effective instructional
and assessment strategies. Our candidates demonstrate their commitment to
lifelong learning as undergraduate students who participate in various
opportunities for growth. They continue to update and improve their
technology skills. They attend workshops and conferences as available, and they
read professional journals to learn about curriculum changes, instructional
strategies and teaching resources. During clinical practice candidates begin to
work with parents to learn more about their children and to help shape
supportive experiences at school and home. Candidates also engage in
collaboration and professional development with their peers and college
faculty. This collaboration not only happens in the teacher preparation unit, but is an integral requirement
for many academic departments when students take part in the senior reading
programs, when they collaborate with faculty on research papers and
presentations and when they participate in summer institutes.
The Unit believes
that the teaching profession can be strengthened through constant monitoring of
our candidates’ commitments to lifelong learning after graduation. Therefore,
program graduates are surveyed at the end of their first year of teaching
requesting information on their perception of their professional preparation
and their personal commitment to lifelong learning. Questionnaires regarding
candidates’ knowledge, preparation and dispositions are also sent to the
candidates’ employers to verify that we are preparing highly qualified
teachers. Professional discourse that fosters analysis, collegiality and
communication about teaching practices which extend through induction into the
early years of practice will certainly exert a positive influence on the
quality of our teaching force.
Our teacher
candidates learn best by studying, doing, and reflecting; by collaborating with
peers and teachers; by closely observing students and their work, and by
sharing what they have learned. Indeed, we expect our candidates to demonstrate
an enthusiastic commitment to all facets of the teaching and learning process.
William Ayers
(1993) refers to becoming an effective teacher as a “heroic quest” stating,
One
must navigate a sea of turbulent and troubled waters,
overcome
a seemingly endless sea of obstacles, and face danger
and
challenge (often alone), on the way toward an uncertain
reward.
Teaching is not for the faint-hearted; courage and
imagination
are needed to move from myth to reality (p. 10).
John Dewey thought of
democracy, not as a set of ideological principles, but as a continuing
commitment, on the part of every American, to promote the empowerment of others
to realize and develop the intelligence and talents regardless of their varying
levels of ability. It is within this same spirit that the Unit operates.
We willingly undertake the initial professional preparation of teacher
candidates who are fully aware that teaching is far more complex, layered, and
rich than the direct delivery of an imposed and static curriculum. Our
teacher candidates’ notions of the big picture of the ends and means of
American education are cultivated and nurtured toward a full understanding of
social justice as an essential goal of the educational initiatives and
interests of the 21st century.