Source: Mount Saint Vincent University
http://www.msvu.ca/MediaCentre/Releases/2006/Sep06/060906.asp First-Time Teachers Start School TooSeptember 6, 2006 September 6, 2006, Halifax – For the first time in over 30 years, Nova Scotian schools
are experiencing a major influx of new teachers, as those hired during the
last major teacher shortage in the 1970s retire. Many newly-graduated
teachers will face a classroom of eager, and sometimes not so eager, faces
this week. Are they ready? "Teaching in the 21st century is a complex challenge," says Professor Robert
Berard, Director of Teacher Education, Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU)
Faculty of Education. "Teachers manage a student population of greater
social, cultural and intellectual diversity than ever before. They must be
adept at a variety of techniques to accommodate a range of learning styles
in an inclusive classroom." Professor Berard also states, "Parents expect teachers to be well-prepared
academically. Stronger provincial certification requirements and admissions
standards in teacher education programs in Nova Scotia, including the
selective and rigorous two-year postgraduate Bachelor of Education programs
at MSVU, have gone a long way to meet that expectation." Tammy Cleveland, a 2006 MSVU Education graduate, will start teaching English
at Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School in Yarmouth, NS today. She
says, "I feel really scared and also excited about beginning my new career
as a ‘real’ teacher. My education prepared me to teach my subjects. I may be
biased but I do think that MSVU is the best teacher program there is. The
practicum and seminars prepared me for the realities of being in a school.
Everything we learned was incredibly useful and it’s kind of become second
nature to me. But I don’t think that I fully really understood the magnitude
of the task before me until my second practicum." Many people are going back to the teaching profession after working in
another field or career. Dawn White served a term as MSVU’s elementary
program co-ordinator before returning to her classroom this fall at Oxford
School in Halifax. She spoke with some of her former MSVU BEd students who
are now teaching in the region. "Those I spoke with stressed the importance of getting support from and
collaborating with other teachers," says Dawn. "By networking with other
teachers they bring a little bit of every teacher into the class and can
resolve problems more quickly." One of her students said, "I think taking a
two-year program with an extended practicum gave me a much larger and more
diverse ‘instructor tool kit’, as well as an instant network of other
teachers to draw upon." New teachers learn quickly that they must also commit to lifelong learning.
Many are pursuing graduate level degrees that contribute not only to their
own professional development, but to the improvement of their colleagues and
schools as well. Lori MacKay Carroll, a vice-principal at Michael Wallace School in
Dartmouth, just completed a Master of Education (Educational Foundations)
degree at MSVU. Her major project for the program brought together a variety
of policies, guidelines, forms and resources in a comprehensive guide to
help new teachers make the adjustment to their new positions. New teachers,
she noted, need to be aware of so many things, from the school’s homework
and Internet-use policies, to the development of individual program plans to
the role of school advisory councils. If you are a parent taking a child to school for the first time or a student
starting a new grade or coming to a new school, keep in mind that the person
in front of the classroom may be new too; they’ll be well-prepared to teach,
if just a little nervous at first. Contact:
Anne Stephaniuk
MSVU Public Affairs
Tel: (902) 457-6439
Cell: (902) 441-0505
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