Posted by Hank Rubin on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 @ 09:31 PM
"... by almost any standard, many if not most of the nation's 1450 schools, colleges and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom. America's university-based teacher preparation programs need revolutionary change, not evolutionary tinkering. Despite the obstacles to reform, I'm absolutely optimistic that the seeds for real change are being planted and will bear fruit." US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, October 22, 2009 at Teachers College/Columbia University.
If you haven't had a chance to view the Secretary's recent speech at Teachers College, I encourage you to do so [video - transcript]. It's a much more temperate version of his "Bermuda triangle" description of schools, colleges and departments of education ... but it repeats the widely-held theme that the time for deep and transformational change in our teaching and administrative preservice programs is upon us.
The 21CSOE (21
st Century Schools of Education) initiative was begun to encourage and to help local university leaders make this deep and transformational change. As described below:
"Our vision of 21st Century Schools of Education is not simply an evolution of current practice, policy and systems, no tweaking into reform here. Our vision is for revolutionary redesign that can only occur with broad and reflective participation of the scholars, instructors, practitioners, policymakers and full range of stakeholders in the future of America's public education ..."
100-plus deans and senior education faculty have contributed to it so far ... take a moment to share your thoughts:
How can this 21CSOE forum and network help you meet the challenge?