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Don Drouhard is a visiting associate professor of education at The College of Wooster. Since 1993, he has played an integral role in preparing Wooster students to become teachers. Before joining the Wooster faculty, Drouhard gained experience as an elementary teacher at Beall Avenue School, Kean Elementary, and Shreve Elementary. He also served as principal at Grant, Kean, Melrose, and Layton Elementary Schools. He received his bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and his master’s degree from the University of Akron. A member of the Ohio Association of Elementary School Principals, the Wayne-Holmes Association of Elementary School Administrators, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the Wooster Education Association, Drouhard has served as principal at four elementary schools for a total of 16 years during his 30-year tenure. He also received several honors in the field of education, including Outstanding Young Educator and The Best Principal Award.
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The success or failure of America’s school children often falls squarely on the shoulders of the teachers. This begs the question, "Just how well are we preparing the educators of tomorrow?" Don Drouhard, visiting associate professor of education at The College of Wooster and a longtime teacher and administrator in the Wooster City Schools, has seen the process from both sides of the classroom, and he responds to some of the most commonly asked questions on this topic. Are the best and brightest students pursuing careers in education or are they bypassing lesser-paying teaching jobs for more lucrative options? Education today continues to attract those students who have an interest in teaching and working with children. Teachers, like all professionals, enter with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Being the best and the brightest does not always make for the "best" or most effective educator. A true educator must have a love of children, a love of teaching, and a desire to meet the needs of his or her students. Teachers who are graduating today are becoming more independent, global thinkers, thus willing to voice their opinions and teach to bring about change. Do today’s education programs at colleges and universities adequately equip students to become effective teachers? Colleges and universities have become much more aware of courses that must be taught and experiences that must be provided in order to graduate effective teachers. Providing students with practical experience in the classroom during the first year on campus is a critical part of this process. This is the link that connects what is being learned in classes on campus with off-campus teaching. Encouraging discussions concerning issues in education, allowing students to teach micro/mini lessons within the college classroom, presenting lessons with partnership schools, involving them with current programs in education, and selecting carefully reviewed texts for campus classes are a few of the programs that are in use today — especially on The College of Wooster campus. In what ways has the approach to preparing students for a career in education changed in the past decade? The approach that has brought about the greatest change in the past decade is the practical, hands-on approach that is currently provided on our campus, and the trend is becoming more popular. It is also a trend to challenge students to think more critically and with vision. Education professors model what they expect of their students to do as educators. Modeling can be in the form of leading small group discussions, facilitating large group discussions, providing question/answer sessions, using Power Point presentations, or assigning team teaching lessons by the students themselves. How successful have the Praxis Tests been in measuring the projected effectiveness of new teachers? Because Praxis Tests have been in existence for such a short duration, it is difficult to measure their effectiveness. This is actually the first year that entry- year teachers will be accessed by a Praxis III assessor. The Praxis II Test provides one indicator of a student’s understanding of pedagogy and knowledge within a particular grade level or subject matter. True effectiveness of a teacher can only be determined when in the classroom. Thus the Praxis provides only one means of written evaluation/effectiveness for that particular teacher and the district that hires him/her. The best and brightest teachers may pass the Praxis, but they may not be the most effective in the classroom. What types of challenges face today’s young teachers in the classroom that were not present 25 years ago? The greatest challenge today is accountability. Education is changing and teachers and administrators are being held more accountable for the success or failure of their students. The involvement by the State Department of Education plus the interest and growing concern of parents has brought about this challenge. Another challenge is the use of modern technology within the classroom. Teachers must constantly be aware of the advanced approaches to teaching and learning through the use of technology in their classroom. A third challenge is striving to meet the individual needs of each student in the classroom because of all the academic, emotional, and social issues that confront our young people today. Today’s educators are more directly involved with a changing global society that brings with it new and more complex problems and issues. What changes need to be made in the way we prepare students to educate children? One of the changes that needs to be made is for all colleges and universities to provide opportunities for future educators to become independent, in-depth thinkers, thus speaking openly about issues on education and what they, as professional educators, feel is best for their students. This is most effective when the teacher preparation program helps students find connections between research and instruction. With the many moral and social issues that face students and educators, all educators need to graduate with some understanding of the special needs of all children – social, emotional, physical, and academic. However, the most effective approach to preparing students to educate children is to provide them with early, practical, classroom experiences within our public, private, and parochial schools. We need to prepare new teachers to teach children not just teach lessons. Practical application, linked to the study of pedagogy, helps accomplish that. |
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