1. There is simply no substitute. Study BSC's official undergraduate/graduate catalogue. Have you the current issue? Or, if you prefer, an online copy...
2. You'll get a sense of the "big picture" of teacher education at our college by exploring briefly the many undergraduate and graduate programs housed in the School of Education and Allied Studies. Start on page 138 of the catalogue. Teacher preparation at BSC is complex and multi-dimensional, you'll agree!
3. Our department, Secondary Education and Professional Programs (SEPP), should draw much of your current focus. Turn to page 166, please, and begin.
4. For the present, you'll want to read about our undergraduate programs in secondary education. Put those interesting graduate programs aside.
5. We in SEPP team with certain academic departments and offer specialized teacher certification (licensure) programs. You'll find the set on page 167 in the catalogue. Is your major listed?
6. Major courses, cognates? Locate your major department's specifications. Don't miss a thing! Verify the courses required for your major with your major advisor.
7. Catch your breath. Then turn to secondary education. Your interest, of course, is in our minor. Description starts on page 166.
8. You'll note that ED210, Introduction to Teaching, is to be completed first. No exceptions! Our entry course will help you learn about teaching as a profession and provide solid answers to many questions (e.g., Am I really "cut out" to be a teacher? How long does it take to become one? How much do they earn? What is the MDOE?) You have questions, don't you?
9. Can you take a second education course the same time you take ED210? Yes you can...as long as it's ED235, Learning and Motivation. No other!
Repeat: ED235 is the only other secondary education course you can take concurrently with ED210.
Invitation: I teach ED235. While at my webpage, why not investigate how I teach it. This will give you an idea of a typical course in the secondary education minor.
Lots of work in ED235, you conclude? You bet! All our courses are like that. They are challenging, relevant, professional. You wouldn't want it any other way, would you?
10. You'll have to declare a minor in secondary education. This is a formal procedure. Refer to page 37 (catalogue) for a technical discussion of what constitutes a "minor" at BSC.
11. Contact Mrs. Morrison, SEPP secretary, in declaring the minor. Her office is in Room 222 of Hart Hall. Among other things, she will identify your secondary education advisor.
12. Soon, if you haven't already, you must take and pass the Communication and Literacy portion of the Massachusetts Tests for Educational Licensure. That's MTEL for short.
Beginning in September, candidates for educator licenses will have five opportunities annually to take MTEL, up from four.
Test dates for Fall 2003 and Spring 2004 are Sept. 13, Nov. 22, Feb. 28, 2004, May 15, 2004, and July 24, 2004. For more on the tests, visit the Department of Education website or call the Massachusetts Department of Education at (781) 338-6600, or the Massachusetts Tests of Educator Licensure at (413) 256-2892.
13. You're making good progress! Apply for and be admitted to the Professional Education Program in the School of Education and Allied Studies. Turn to page 141 in your catalogue and study (yes, study!) the criteria for admission. Bookmark these pages and refer to them often.
By the way, you'll be assisted in this application process during ED210. This is another reason why we insist you take this course first!
14. Keep going! Complete your undergraduate degree requirements and remaining secondary education courses. Busy, aren't you?
15. Back to MTEL: Take and pass the content part. Then...
16. Student teaching is on the horizon! (But first you must undergo the student teaching application process!)
17. Travel to the Student Teaching Office of the School of Education and Allied Studies in Hart Hall and get what you need.
Student teaching in the Spring, 2004? Submit application materials by September 30, 2003.
Student teaching in the Fall, 2004? Submit your application materials by February 1, 2004.
Don't forget!
18. It's finally "happening"! You're ready to teach! Apply for an initial teaching license! Oops...there's another form to complete. And it must be signed by your academic advisor. Get it from Ms. Tanguay at the Student Teaching Office, School of Education and Allied Studies (Hart Hall). Complete it fully (of course) and get it in on time!
19. Teach! Strut your stuff! Knock 'em dead!
20. And think about a professional license! Perhaps you'd like to revisit BSC's catalogue, this time perusing its fine graduate programs...I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship! (Rick in Casablanca, 1942)
- With High Regards!
Dr. Raymond ZuWallack Professor and Chairperson, SEPP