Teacher education plan concerns UUP members

SUNY’s new “action plan” for teacher education begins this fall, setting into motion several controversial measures.

The Provost’s Advisory Council on Teacher Education developed the plan, and the SUNY trustees have voted to support it. The UUP Teacher Education Task Force reviewed a draft last year.

Among the UUP concerns: The advisory council’s push for combined bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and a requirement that future teachers major in a “central content” area.

“What’s also a big disappointment is there was very little consultation with faculty at the college and university level,’’ said Nancy Schniedewind, a professor of education at SUNY New Paltz who serves on the UUP Teacher Education Task Force.

UUP Vice President for Academics Phillip Smith agreed, saying that less-than-adequate faculty input could undermine the plan’s objectives. However, he did credit the council for placing an emphasis on urban education. “It meets and important need,” Smith said. “That’s where the severe teacher shortages are.”

Hubert Keen, chair of the Provost’s Advisory Council on Teacher Education, said the council addressed many critical needs.

“Although equivalent reforms probably exist on individual campuses around the country, this may affect more prospective teachers than in any other state or system,” he said.

Sheila Cohen, an associate professor of education at SUNY Cortland and another UUP Teacher Education Task Force member, praised parts of the plan, including greater classroom time for student teachers. But Cohen, like others, is still critical of the advisory council’s plan to develop a “guarantee statement” — an assurance that every graduate of SUNY’s teacher education program is fully prepared.

“It is not clear to me how the policy regarding ‘guarantees’ or ‘quality assurances’ is to be implemented, and I remain concerned about this initiative,” Cohen said.

— Darryl McGrath