Teacher Preparation - Start with the learner
As I reflect more of the vision of what I was presented with in my teacher preparation and in the courses that I have taught as a professor, the more I realize that although we teach great ideals we really do not spend enough time getting teachers ready for what needs to be done in education today. The practical matters would have been much more helpful as I started my career and I believe our new teachers need a change in focus as well. It took me several years to understand what went on in the classroom was not about me, it was about my students. Everything we talked about in teacher preparation was about me as the teacher and did not focus nearly enough on student needs, growth, or results. I believe that now we are better at explaining those goals to future teachers, however we still have many teachers that joined the profession with entirely different purposes or training. I think it is essential to respect that teaching has developed into a much different endeavor than what mos...