Refocus Questions from Chapter 1 of “Foundations of Education,” 12th edition (Wadsworth)
January 19, 2015
Context: I want to teach professional development for the construction industry and I am motivated by a strong desire to improve workforce satisfaction and enthusiasm in an honorable field that is deeply connected to humanity. Construction engineering and management focus primarily on the science of building while neglecting to develop the people who exercise the skills that make it all come together. Instead of burning out the workforce by forcing productivity through the exploitation of existing talent, we should see productivity as a byproduct of employee satisfaction and aspiration. I believe that by creating career pathways and developing empathetic leaders for the construction industry, we can overcome the debilitating productivity slump that currently plagues us. The crafts themselves are leaned through experience in the field; I want to develop classroom components to train leaders and supervisors through high school Career/Technical Education and certificate/degree programs at the community college level.
Page 3 Refocus Question: How do your reasons for becoming a teacher compare with those of the teachers surveyed? Does your list rank the reasons in the same order? What other reasons might you add to this list?
1) I want to help construction workers find satisfaction in their labor and develop aspiration so they can advance their careers – I want to improve the industry as a whole by improving its people.
2) The influences of teachers and mentors who have positively impacted my life inspire me to teach – I want to share in the honor of changing lives!
3) Since I injured my back and can no longer perform in the field, I want to extend my expertise to the advancement of the construction industry through teaching.
4) Regardless of the setting, the challenge of engaging students intrigues me – I deal with engagement issues in training apprentices…
5) Construction education offers me an alternative career to the physical labor I can no longer endure.
Page 5 Refocus Question: What do you think might make teaching a more attractive career option for today’s college students, minority and nonminority? If you are a member of a minority group, what attracts you to teaching? How will you prepare to work with students who may have a different ethnic or socioeconomic background from your own?
Instead of talking about making teaching a more attractive career, first I will discuss what makes it unattractive: Students are soured against teaching careers by negative attitudes from their own teachers; the media is full of doom-and-gloom about the future of teaching jobs and how teachers are overworked and under paid; administrative and political agendas make teaching an unnecessarily overwhelming profession; some students are turned against teaching because their parents were unsupportive and overly critical of their teachers; maybe other students feel like they are inadequate or that they are not “teacher material” – possibly because of demographic social expectations.
I think that positive publicity – positive marketing – regarding the honor of teaching is key to making it an attractive career. Regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or any other demographic marker, teachers who are role models will impress their students and make their profession shine!
Working in construction, I have the privilege of engaging a very broad demographic. I see individuals, not races or classes of people. I am interested in people and cultures, and I like to learn about cultures other than my own. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to nurture learning, and everyone has the potential to learn – it’s my job to engage each student. I respect people for who they are, and understanding where they come from gives me an advantage in engaging them. With this perspective, I do not anticipate difficulty in relating to diversity.
Page 7 Refocus Question: Are you preparing to enter a high-demand teaching specialty? If not, what can you do to improve your employment prospects?
Human resource development and higher education for the construction workforce are definitely not in high demand! They should be, but they are not – mostly because construction work is thought of as hands-on work that is learned through apprenticeships and field-exposure. Although higher education is important to the upper levels of the industry, there are very few educational programs aimed at the workforce itself. With such a strong emphasis on productivity, the workforce has been reduced to a line-item resource and the people who carry the industry on their backs are plugging away at dead-end jobs with no upward mobility. Contractors don’t have time for employee development; construction is a “man’s world” where you either swim or sink. Low barriers to entry make construction a catch-all career (dare I use that word? – it’s just a job!) for many people who do not have the opportunity for a better living. Others enter the trades because they believe it is a stable career – but they plateau somewhere between apprentice and journeyman where they eventually burn out. I believe that education can break this trend and increase productivity while rejuvenating the construction workforce by creating career pathways from laborer to management.
The challenge I face is that my teaching specialty is greatly needed but it does not yet exist. My heaviest task is promoting awareness: First, the industry needs to recognize the need for education. Secondly, the schools need to realize the need in the industry. And ultimately, the industry needs to support the program through advisory boards so the schools can specifically meet the needs of the industry. I am already working with both entities to get this process started. I have a lot of work to do!
Page 9 Refocus Question: What salary do you expect to earn in your first teaching position?
If I begin my track at a Career/Technical school in Virginia, I can expect around thirty-five-thousand dollars a year (according to the salary scale on Jackson River Technical School’s website). A full-time instructor in the VCCS might start out between forty- and fifty-thousand. I am not sure where a program head payband falls… For me, it’s not about the money – as long as I can make ends meet and live comfortably while fulfilling my passion, I will be happy!
Pages 10 & 11 Refocus Question: (Certification questions…)
Virginia does participate in interstate reciprocity for licensed teachers who complete state-approved teacher programs through regionally approved four-year colleges or universities or hold current, valid out-of-state teachers licenses. There are also other forms of reciprocity involving national certification. I am not so much worried about licensure since I am pursuing post-secondary education. I am planning to earn a master’s degree with a minimum of eighteen hours in my concentration, which is required by SACS, the accrediting board of the VCCS, to teach transfer classes.
Page 14 Refocus Question: What trends listed here especially describe your teacher-education program? Do any of the trends describe directions in which you wish your program would head?
“Reflective Teaching,” “Computer and Technology Use,” and “Teaching in Diverse Settings” have all been a great part of my teacher-education program. Other trends I have encountered in my adult education coursework include “Legal Issues and Managing Diversity,” “Cross-Cultural Preparation & Globalization,” “Multigenerational & Older Learners,” and a unique focus on career issues such as career pathways, career recycling, and job-hopping. There has not been much emphasis on teaching students with disabilities in my Occupational/Technical Studies program.
Page 12 Taking Issue: Should we encourage alternative certification programs that bypass traditional teacher-education programs? (Arguments 1&2)
I think that alternative certification should be supported because it provides access to teaching careers for individuals who already have life-experience qualifications and character qualities that are necessary for the job. They shouldn’t have to waste precious time taking redundant coursework. Alternative certification appreciates the value of experience.
Moreover, alternative certification is not a shortcut to a profession in teaching. Virginia’s Career Switcher Program requires applicants to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, verify five years of professional work experience, complete coursework in specified teaching areas, and qualify with passing scores on the professional teacher’s examinations. Additionally, they must undergo intensive training relating to curriculum/instructional methods, Standards of Learning, classroom/behavior management, and human growth and development. Their first year of teaching is done so under close supervision of a mentor. The rigor of alternative certification is not unlike traditional teacher-education!
In the end, a teacher who enters the profession through alternative certification is just as educated as his/her counterparts – and possibly more prepared. Their college coursework might have been different, but they are bringing hands-on experience and an outside perspective. Educators who pursue alternative certification understand their field of study because it is practical to them and not simply theory. Entry through alternative certification is not easy – the teachers who qualify have made tremendous sacrifices, which increases their commitment to excellence.
Reflection on “Tips on Becoming a Teacher”
January 26, 2015
Because I have an idealist/pragmatic outlook, it’s easy for me to get caught up in the romantic virtues of teaching and how it should be done while overlooking the stark realities of teaching as a lifetime profession. But through this article, Mr. Kizlik pulls me back to consider the process of becoming a teacher and the commitment required to be a good one.
I appreciate the emphasis in this article that teacher education programs do not actually teach how to teach but rather, they simply prepare teachers to learn how to teach. I realize that acquired knowledge and certifications are merely stored information and labels, and the real mark of one’s ability is their performance; but how is that performance developed? Experience! Howbeit, we will only perform as well as we are driven.
Somewhere around eighth grade, it dawned on me that education was not about learning stuff; instead, education is about developing the discipline of learning! Knowing how to learn opens the potential to learn anything! This principle has stayed with me. Whether I am teaching my own kids, training an apprentice, or studying my college coursework, the process of learning is more important to me than the actual content – if learning is engaged, the content will stick; otherwise the subject matter becomes pointless, rote information.
I think that understanding my motivation to teach and having a well-defined teaching philosophy will cause me to internalize my preparation. Embracing my aspirations and connecting every element for my preparation to my goal of becoming an instructor will make my teacher education meaningful well beyond the perfunctory satisfaction of certification and licensure requirements. Teachers don’t bestow education – they facilitate learning. I am driven to share my passion for learning because I believe that an appetite for learning – the hunger to know – if nurtured, can change the world!