The University of Maryland (UMD) College of Education (COE) undergraduate elementary education program may be producing graduates unprepared for the classroom, as a rudderless re-design of the literacy program to improve diversity training has dragged on for years, sowing confusion among students and lecturers, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
According to internal emails and individuals involved in the overhauling of the curriculum, new courses have been developed and taught by graduate students with little guidance by their superiors, and a crucial course on how to assess students' reading ability was done away with, replaced with another diversity class.
The plan was to reorganize five existing courses into a four-course block that would "prepare our teacher candidates with the skills and knowledge to teach reading and language arts within the framework of a child's background of experience, ethnicity, language, and culture," according to the initial proposal in 2013.
In a letter dated May 8 addressed to John Bertot, associate provost for faculty affairs, and Benjamin Bederson, associate provost of learning initiatives and executive director of the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center, five soon-to-be graduates wrote they were "worried that we are not completely prepared for the coming fall when we take over our own classrooms."
"Over the past two years most of our elementary education professors have not practiced the things that they have preached to us. They have told us that teaching is not just skin deep," wrote the students. "However, we feel as though their courses are unhelpful and very flimsy. Two years have gone by and we have learned the same topics over and over again."
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ReplyDeleteActivist teachers all colleges produce nowadays.
ReplyDeleteThis has been known for years but the State has allowed these people to work in the educational system.
ReplyDeletewell, good since the kids are unprepared as well. match made in heaven!
ReplyDeleteUnless future-teacher education includes Krav Maga, those poor souls will be unprepared for what awaits them in the classroom!
ReplyDelete"teach reading and language arts within the framework of a child's background of experience, ethnicity, language, and culture..."
ReplyDeleteOf course, there's no expanding of the child's experience, ethnicity, language and culture. Those must remain wholly intact so that when the kid goes home he doesn't insult the family by speaking actual English, or reading aloud what's on the back of a cereal box.
The educational system is tripping all over itself with PC and failing to do its job of actually educating and preparing students to achieve anything but failure and mediocrity.
Huh...Imagine that...UMES giving diploma's to non-qualified people.....Who would have thunk it..???
ReplyDeleteAt least we know there are some teachers that want to actually teach however the PC system and racial attitudenal(is that a real word) parents won't let them. Private schools are the best bet.
ReplyDelete