FORGET everything you've heard about the black pants, and throw your pastel polo shirts out the window. These earthly possessions will not help you find acceptance at the University. Instead, to truly fit in with your first-year buddies, you'll be required to choose a course of studies prefaced with a "pre." Countless students enter as pre-Med, pre-Comm, pre-Law. Very few first years will admit to being pre-Ed. However, if you are considering a career in education, the sooner you apply to the Education School, the better off you'll be.
Graduates of the University's Ed School are some of the most prepared and most competitive in the field. The opportunity to leave the University with not only a bachelor's from the College, but a simultaneous Masters in Teaching, is something future teachers at many major universities across the country only can dream about. Some schools of education, such as the top-notch program at Michigan State University, keep their future teachers in school for five years, to have them graduate with only a bachelor's degree. At the University, students who plan their schedule well can graduate from the Ed School in four and a half years with a graduate degree under their belt.
Granted, the Ed School is not a glamorous place. You will not be wowed by the facilities or the majority of your required education courses. In fact, once you enter the Ed School at the beginning of your second year - provided you meet the first-year spring application deadline - you may seriously consider dropping out.
I faced that dilemma. I was frustrated with the simplicity of the material covered in my education classes. I was annoyed with the restrictions Ed School classes place on your course schedule. I was bothered by the lack of communication between the Ed School and the College. I felt like I was getting cheated out of my college tuition.
But the Ed School, more than any other college within the University, is not about the here and now. To stay motivated in the Ed School, you must look beyond the present and focus on the end result.
It is difficult to make monumental change in the Ed School during the four or five short years spent there. Most of the problems within the Ed School are not the fault of the professors or the students. Education schools across the nation are steeped in bureaucracy as they struggle to meet state-mandated guidelines for teacher education and certification. Just as in any school at the University, the key to making the most of your time in the Ed School is taking the initiative.
Push your way into your advisor's office. Even though your advisors within the Ed School probably will change after your second year, the sooner you can map out your program of studies, the more you can tailor your schedule to fit your goals as a future teacher.
Push your way into upper-level education courses. Many of the classes you'll be required to take your second and third year will be either based on common sense or a review of basic psychological concepts you probably have studied already. Taking a couple graduate-level electives will put you in smaller classes with current teachers as your fellow students. The real-world perspective such peers bring to the classroom will be some of the most practical information you can hear as a future teacher.
Be realistic in your expectations, realizing that you will not change the Ed School over night. At the same time, don't be afraid to speak up when you notice problems within the school. Communication is a fundamental source of frustration within the Ed School, and it is time for students to improve lines of communication between themselves, professors and administrators.
No matter what you do, do not take the passive approach to your education outside the classroom. Read e-mails sent out to the Ed School mailing list, and pay particular attention to summer job opportunities. If you seek out education-related summer employment, the experiences you will have during the summertime will be the driving force to keep you coming back to the Ed School in the fall.
We are entering a pivotal period in our nation's education history, with the ominous teacher shortage taking over school districts nationwide. Now is the perfect time for intelligent, talented individuals to enter the profession, as new initiatives and incentives programs for teachers are gaining popularity. Though alternative teacher certification programs may sound appealing, nothing compares to a first-year teacher with a Masters in Teaching. Students should take advantage of the Ed School's program, remembering that although the courses seem painful now, they represent the best available path to entering the profession.
(Stephanie Batten is a Cavalier Daily columnist. She can be reached at sbatten@cavalierdaily.com.)
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