SED Rejects Teach For America

The increased number of graduates seeking jobs as teachers will not compromise the training standards provided by Boston University’s School of Education, according to SED Dean Douglas Sears.

Higher enrollment in such teaching programs across the country as Teach for America is worrying some educators, who say it lowers teaching standards, according to a Feb. 11 article in The New York Times. Teach for America places graduates in inner-city schools after a summer of training.

Sears said he was skeptical of programs such as Teach for America.

“I think it’s an idea that is very noble, but I’m not so sure it’s going to be successful, given the amount of training such candidates receive,” Sears said. “Over here at the School of Education, we emphasize proficiency in subject matter, and that’s something you need to spend time training our future teachers on.

“Our broad-based training program includes core courses that focus on the philosophical traditions behind education,” Sears said.

Teaching majors also build pre-practicum sessions into their curricula, giving them the classroom experience they need, according to Sears. Freshmen and juniors are required to spend a day per week at urban and suburban schools and continue to do so for a whole term during their senior year. Students are also required to take a literacy test to prepare for certification.

Sears said enrollment for teaching programs has actually fallen at SED.

“We’ve seen enrollment fall, but part of it has to do with higher admissions standards at the expense of revenue, which I happen to think benefits the school in the long run,” Sears said. “We get better and more motivated students filling our classes.

“For a profession like teaching, you have to be personally motivated, not extrinsically, but intrinsically,” Sears said. “I always found it difficult to understand how young people could decide on what they wanted to do at such a young age, but our students here seem to know what they want.”

SED students also said the Teach for America program is flawed.

“I think it’s unfair, because they’re only doing it for the summer,” said Mary McNall, an SED senior majoring in elementary education. “Even though they’re paid pretty poorly, if they’re looking for extrinsic rewards from teaching, they’re going to realize it’s not worth it.

“The training we have here at the school is enough,” McNall said. “But I think more field work is necessary for our programs.”

“Programs like Teach for America have those teachers placed in schools filled with disadvantaged families,” said Mary Donohue, also an SED senior majoring in elementary education. “A lot of people who are confused go into it without knowing what it’s all about.”

McNall agreed some program participants may not be ready for what awaits them.

“It’ll be interesting to see how many of these people will actually survive,” said McNall. “They’re paid pretty poorly. I can’t imagine someone wanting to stay year after year for $20,000. They’re probably not going to know how to handle it. I think it’s a temporary solution to a huge problem.”