Monday, September 13, 1971
5
By ANN CONNER Kansan Staff Writer
Action; reaction; teacher; student; student teacher. Perhaps no term summarizes so well the exchange of ideas in education as student teachers. Although the student teacher label could describe almost anyone involved in the two-way process of teaching and learning, students who work with education majors who spend several weeks in a Kansas school playing the dual role of firm teacher and unsure student.
Approximately 175 student teachers are enrolled in KU's new 16-week professional semester. The former system which of course includes work on the curriculum of forming a 16-week professional semester combines teaching with course work throughout the semester, according to Karl D. Edwards and others.
"The new program is intended to integrate theory and practice better than can be done if theory and practice are taught separately in a situation divided between campus and school," Edwards said recently.
Another reason for the new program is to provide an experience base for some of the things that have been taught only in a
"For example, courses on understanding school can be more effective if they are taught when the people are in the school than when they are not."
Edwards said these student teachers in the new program are all in Lawrence or Shawnee Mission so that some of the KU staff can drive to their school districts for seminars, large group sessions and individual conferences. Teachers and administrators from the KU staff will be able to get their own 8-credit program is still available at KU, Edwards predicts that it will be phased out in favor of the new 10-credit program.
He said that although student teaching has been required in most states for years, the number of credits required has increased. Teachers who are not certified are required to have S credits of student teaching experience. KU's 10-credit program will enable its graduates in education to meet the requirements.
Edwards said some form of student teaching has always been part of the School of Education's program. KU's first student teachers spend one hour per day at school in a campus setting, and then work on education programs then, student teaching was done only on the secondary level. The next development was the eight-week program in various Kansas school districts on both the elementary and middle schools.
"For more than 20 years we have operated a program which was full-time student teaching for eight weeks and course work on campus for eight weeks," Edwards said. "We pioneered that program in this part of the country."
One of the KU student teachers at Deerfield School in Lawrence, Miss Judy Menzel, Wichita senior, described her reactions as a
"Everything I've had to do. I have to do for the first time. But until you do it, you've not going to know about it."
"This is just a really good group of kids," she said after one of her first classes. "It went a lot easier than I thought. You just start talking and listen to them; pick up what you see. You just kind of like it, and then you figure out how to cover that. All of me at the little questions went down the drain."
Miss Emmert, who was teaching fifth grade, thought student
missing definitely helped her to establish confidence and ability.
"I'm sure you could go out and teach without student teaching first, but it would be like doing an experiment," she said. "You just don't know what teaching is like; there are things involved that you don't even think about."
"I feel that student teaching is a major part of our education. I'm glad that we have it the whole semester because we need it."
One of Miss Emmert's main concerns was keeping well informed on a variety of subjects.
"I never realized how much work it was to plan a lesson," she said. "You have to know a whole lot. I used to lodge at people who had been teaching my class. They knew very much. But there is so much material that you have to get to use saying 'I don't know.' My biggest fear is being dated. It
Miss Emmert said she definitely plans to become an elementary school teacher. Although she regrets the tight job situation, she believes it could have a positive effect by causing more concentration on the quality of teaching.
'Everything I've had to do, I've had to do it for the first time, but until you do it, you're not going to know about it.'
'All of my neat little questions went down the drain.'
Kansan Staff Photos by HANK YOUNG
'It's going a lot easier than I thought. You just start talking and listening to them; pick up what they say. You just kind of play it by ear, relax and take it as it comes. I'm discovering that.'