Tage J^our, Tfie
Dr. Chesky Strives to Build Teachers
By: Dr. John Chesky
Director of Teacher Education
A recent Newsweek article, "The Failure of Teacher Educa
tion," quoted the Carnegie Foundation as saying the primary
problem in teacher education is that 'The wrong people are
studying the wrong things in the wrong places." The teacher
education program at M-AC will counter this argument by
having the right people studying the right things in the right
places.
We will promote a strong teacher education program-a
program filled with the right people, studying the right things
in the right places-first and foremost, through the promotion
of our programmatic theme. The Teacher as Christ Centered
Communicator. The gist of this theme is that M-AC is
committed to producing quality teachers-liberally educated,
content knowledgeable, articulate,
methodologically sotmd, and Christ-
centered-in three areas:
Elementary Education (K-6)
Secondary English 99-12)
Secondary History-Social
Studies (9-12)
The gist of our programmatic
theme is that we believe that to be
effective, a teacher must, first, be
prepared through a thorough and well-integrated liberal arts
core, including background in a foreign language.
Second, we believe that teachers should possess a major
in an area outside of education and be broadly and deeply
prepared in that content area. The English student is prepared
through a B.A. in English, the Flistory student through a B.S.
in History-Social Studies, and the Elementary student through
a B.A. in Liberal Arts.
Third, we believe that teachers ought to be articulate. Our
program, therefore, emphasizes communication skills: writ
ing, speaking, listening, reading and viewing. In almost
every course students will write and be given feedback on the
content, as well as the style of their writing.
Students will also be given opportunities to speak in front
of groups. In addition, we have
plentiful field experiences in
the public and private schools
where students help and teach.
We also have courses in meth
ods where students learn and
practice the principles of clas
sical and modern rhetoric in
communication.
gist of our programmatic
theme is that we believe that to
be effective, a teacher must,
first, be prepared through a
\^horough liberal arts core...."
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And finally, we believe that a
trait of Montreat-Anderson
teachers ought to be a deep
sense of caring for their stu
dents. Thus, since a central
feature of the College is its Christ-centered perspective, and
since the central characteristics of Christ's life were talking
and walking in love, we believe out students will develop—
as well as see modeled in their professors—a love for others.
To accomplish this, we must recruit the right students,
have them study the right things, and have them study in the
right places.
The Right Students
To improve teacher education and our schools, M-AC
has adopted rigorous standards for admission into teacher
education programs.
The following list of entry requirements demonstrates
our commitment to recruiting excellent students and should
serve to help M-AC students know what is required for entry:
1. Students must first complete ED 202, Introduction to
Teaching and Schools. Student must
be in good academic standing in the
College and have sophomore status to
take the course.
2. During Ed 202 the student must file
an "Application to the Education Cur
riculum," with verification of his or
her GPA and with approval of the
department coordinator from his or
her major department.
3. During Ed 202 the student must successfully complete an
interview with the Director of Teacher Education, Dr. John
Chesky.
4. The student must have a
sophomore year.
5. During the summer following the sophomore year, the
student must take and pass the General Knowledge (GK-641)
and Communication Skills (CS-643) portions of the National
Teacher's Examination (NTE).
6. After the sophomore year, the Director of Teacher Educa
tion will notify the student who has met the above criteria that
he or she is accepted into the teacher education curriculum.
7. If a student is deficient in any of the areas outlined above,
the student will be notified that he or she may continue at his
or her own risk for one semester in the program. If the student
makes up the deficiency, he or she will be notified that he or
she has been accepted into the program.
8. If, however, the student fails to make up the deficiency, his
or her application will then be rejected. This student will not
be allowed to take professional education courses.
We can assume, then, that these standards will help
improve the quality of candidates entering our teacher educa
tion program. Nonetheless, the program of studies itself must
be challenging. Thus, we must study the right things.
Studying the Right Things
The second area of concern in teacher education, accord
ing to the Newsweek article, is that education students do not
See "Education" on page five
2.5 GPA by the end of the