I loved the University of Maine at Farmington... wait... let me rephrase. I still love the University of Maine at Farmington. I graduated with a K-8 teaching certificate in December 2005, ready to explore the wide world of teaching. My professors were spectacular, both as educators and as people. I had leaned everything I needed to know about teaching through my theory classes and my practicum and my student teaching. If I could go back in time and go through my undergraduate courses all over again there would be nothing I would change... well... almost nothing.
I'm not sure how much has changed since 2005, but when I graduated there were not many classes focusing specifically on middle level education. Actually I think there was one to be exact. While you could go through the elementary program and get the K-8 certificate, or through the secondary program and get the 7-12 certificate, nothing really focused on middle level education. I continue to wonder about this. The longer I teach at the middle grades, the more I realize that they really are their own entity. I'm beginning to think that we should start treating them like that from the beginning... from education of our teachers.
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3 comments:
I, too, am a former "Beaver." My undergraduate days, however, were long ago, but in many respects, it sounds as if your experience was not much different from mine. A K-8 certificate is an awfully large range for a teaching certificate, and where some of us are much better with early adolescents, others have the touch with the little ones. I do believe that committed teachers find the level at which they are most effective, but it does take time. It does take practical experience in the classroom and the interaction with students and colleagues to "settle" into the right fit.
I have heard great things about UMF! K-8 is a large range, but it is great for finding a job. I don't see Maine switching to a middle level education program anytime soon, and it makes me wonder if maybe the middle level certification is a dying trend?
It is always difficult to change a structure that has been in place for a long time...and that is the same with Maine's old-fashioned K-8/7-12 teacher certification. It is more convenient for the adults running the system that is for sure...but it is not necessarily best for the young adolescents (especially) who are ignored by the system.
So, why do we continue to have a system that doesn't work for one of the three levels? Simple. Lack of inertia and lack of anyone (at least recently) advocating for middle level certification.
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