The Collegian Weekly: The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff
Make it easier to bring classics to the public
Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: Opinion
When the state of Michigan mandated all schools nationally accredit their teacher certification programs by 2013, Hillsdale declined. Due to a lack of funds and personnel, the class of '13 will be the last to graduate recommended for certification to teach in public schools without having to turn to Spring Arbor University.
Starting this academic year, to prepare graduates to teach in private schools, Hillsdale offers a classical education minor.
Erin Davis-Valdez, '01, who has been teaching in a classical Christian school for seven years, sees this as a positive thing for the program.
Davis-Valdez said that Hillsdale's classical education minor will make Hillsdale graduates more attractive to classical schools, which, she said, greatly need teachers.
"Hillsdale's got the unique position that they don't have to teach the same education classes as other schools do, and are really are producing students that classical schools are demanding right now," she said.
Graduating from a college with a classical education minor would give Hillsdale's graduates the upper hand finding jobs at classical schools. Even before the minor, Hillsdale, as a liberal arts college free to offer different classes than public universities, graduated excellent candidates to teach classical schools.
The unique lessons Hillsdale teaches its students certainly have value. Therefore, Hillsdale should seek to spread the reach of this knowledge outside private, classical schools and into the public schools- where most children learn. 2008's Statistical Abstract of the United States predicted only 11 percent of elementary and high school students would be enrolled in private schools that fall.
Certainly, the other 89 percent could benefit from a classically educated teacher. After all, public schools are hurting to hire good teachers, too. The Detroit News ran an article last week, "More minorities leaving Detroit," about families moving their children out of the city because of problems with its public schools.
Although Hillsdale may not have the money or personnel to jump into the complicated accreditation process right now, it is certainly something it should pursue in the future, to make it easier for education majors to teach more students. It would be an investment not only in the education majors it teaches, but also in their future students.
Starting this academic year, to prepare graduates to teach in private schools, Hillsdale offers a classical education minor.
Erin Davis-Valdez, '01, who has been teaching in a classical Christian school for seven years, sees this as a positive thing for the program.
Davis-Valdez said that Hillsdale's classical education minor will make Hillsdale graduates more attractive to classical schools, which, she said, greatly need teachers.
"Hillsdale's got the unique position that they don't have to teach the same education classes as other schools do, and are really are producing students that classical schools are demanding right now," she said.
Graduating from a college with a classical education minor would give Hillsdale's graduates the upper hand finding jobs at classical schools. Even before the minor, Hillsdale, as a liberal arts college free to offer different classes than public universities, graduated excellent candidates to teach classical schools.
The unique lessons Hillsdale teaches its students certainly have value. Therefore, Hillsdale should seek to spread the reach of this knowledge outside private, classical schools and into the public schools- where most children learn. 2008's Statistical Abstract of the United States predicted only 11 percent of elementary and high school students would be enrolled in private schools that fall.
Certainly, the other 89 percent could benefit from a classically educated teacher. After all, public schools are hurting to hire good teachers, too. The Detroit News ran an article last week, "More minorities leaving Detroit," about families moving their children out of the city because of problems with its public schools.
Although Hillsdale may not have the money or personnel to jump into the complicated accreditation process right now, it is certainly something it should pursue in the future, to make it easier for education majors to teach more students. It would be an investment not only in the education majors it teaches, but also in their future students.
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Joy Pavelski
posted 9/28/09 @ 12:51 PM EST
Well-sourced and developed ideas; you could improve a bit on style. "The unique lessons Hillsdale teaches its students certainly have value"? Really? Where ARE those nouns and verbs?
Okay, I'm getting back to work now. (Continued…)
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