9 minute read
Professors and
By: Sara Cahill Staff Writer
Professors and Education Degrees
Advertisement
We can all agree that education is an important concept for selfdevelopment and is a driving component of our economy. Our society thrives on people who pursue education for their jobs, whether those jobs stem from attending college, trade schools, the military or other forms of training. Getting an education is especially important for people pursuing the education field. I am in my third year of courses at USF where I study secondary education and English. I have been introduced to a plethora of teaching strategies and techniques that would take hours on end to describe. Each of these strategies has supported research to enhance student learning and help them along their educational journey. I have recently been taught about aligning learning targets and assessments to state standards and how to provide bridges from the classroom to students’ lives to increase motivation. Altogether, these skills are used in the field and have positive responses when it comes to creating a cultivating learning environment. However, at the highest level of education, it is not required for professors to obtain an education degree. This, of course, does not discredit them for their rigorous studies in their fields because as a minimum requirement, professors need to have a master’s degree. However, most go on to get their Ph.D.’s, which can take years to complete, according to Teacher.org. Since I am still a student learning about these concepts, I do find it interesting that an education degree is not required for instructors who are teaching important concepts and strategies to people who are preparing to go into the workforce.
As I poked around the internet, I came across an article written by a College of DuPage professor, Alexander H. Bolyanatz. His article is called “Please Don’t Call Me a ‘Teacher,” which immediately grabbed my attention. He described how the word ‘teacher’ has certain connotations that do not apply to professors. He states, “The state of Illinois does not view me as a teacher, since I have no formal training in fields like pedagogy and learning…I do read. I do read about grit and student success and the neuroscience of developing brains. But I am ill-equipped to consistently provide skilled interventions when students have difficulties with attention, comprehension, and reading deficiencies.” After reading his statement, I wondered if this is a problem in higher education. Is it a concern that professors are not trained like K-12 teachers, especially since they would be trained to help students who have attention and learning deficiencies? As college students, would our learning experience be enhanced if professors were required to have educational backgrounds?
While pondering these thoughts, I decided to reach out to two of my fellow education peers to get their take on this topic. USF junior Eve Odum is studying elementary education with endorsements in special education and middle school English. While Eve has been in many education courses, she also has taken English courses, which are helping her receive her writing minor and a variety of general education courses. When I asked if this topic is a concern to her, she commented, “There is, for the most part, a very distinct difference between the education professors and other professors,
which can be attributed to the education professors’ background in teaching. It becomes a concern to me when professors are not clear about learning targets and throw an overwhelming amount of information at us. In every one of my education courses, the learning targets for each day are posted or discussed at the beginning of class. This helps me focus my attention better on the information presented.”
While considering her learning experience in college, Eve supported the idea of professors having training on research-based teaching strategies and being knowledgeable on student learning. She continued with, “Professors that do not have a background in education have a tendency to overload students with academic readings, busy-work and long lectures. It can be hard for students to pick out key information when this happens. I know for me, I have retained the most information from classes that involve more student participation whether that be from discussions, small group activities or higher-order thinking. Pairing lessons down to main ideas and utilizing formative assessments and closures could provide more takeaways for students. Assessments can help guide instruction because it shows if students are grasping concepts and if they are not, it highlights the areas that need to be reviewed again.”
Along with Eve, I asked USF sophomore Sarah Deffenbaugh if she has any concerns about professors not having education degrees and if it has had an impact on her learning experience. She commented, “It is not a concern to me. I have learned so much from all of my classes, and I never felt as though I was ‘lacking’ or missing out because my professors do not have an education degree. Something that I have learned is that college is about self-driven learning. The professors’ main goal is to provide information to you and it is important for them to be proficient in the subject matter. It is up to us as students to take that information and apply it to our studies and understanding of a topic. If professors had training like k-12 teachers do, it might help them present it in a more understandable way, but I have never really struggled with professors who do not have an education degree.”
With Eve and Sarah’s responses in mind, I realized that college grants students a chance to understand how they learn and their preferred ways of learning. In the grand scheme of things, I cannot say with certainty that there is a “correct” way to teach and learn. However, with having professors and students collaborating on goals to excel in a subject and learning from one another, the opportunities for personal growth and deepening understanding are endless.
Stay You
Because You're Worth It
“New year, new me.” This mantra has been used throughout the centuries to encourage self-improvement at the start of each new year. Self-care is essential in maintaining mental and physical health, yet keeping New Year’s resolutions are extremely difficult. The common pattern is committing for a week or so and then breaking resolutions due to them being too challenging to maintain. We want to improve ourselves, yet are willing to give up after a few days. According to the New York Post, “80 percent of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions.” Is the mantra “New year, new me” worth repeating year after year knowing that New Year’s resolutions are often not kept? I will describe the pros and cons of using this phrase to aid in self-improvement at the start of each year.
Self-improvement is always important. The mantra “New year, new me” does encourage self-improvement, so it must be a good thing, right? According to the Leadership Skills List, benefits of self-improvement include “increased self-awareness and confidence, future success and a healthier and happier you.” With each new year, we dream of becoming a new and improved version of ourselves. But why do we so often fail to do so? As USF sophomore Sam Raspopovich states, “Some people take the new year to better themselves while others use this saying but do not act upon it.” I would argue that wanting to be a new version of ourselves is the reason we fail, since we need to remain true to who we are. We can focus on self-improvement, but we do not need to become a new version of ourselves. Rather, we must come to love the person we currently are, flaws and all. We are all imperfect beings, so there is no reason to become a new person. There is a reason, however, to love the person you currently are, for you are wonderful just the way you are.
On another note, we all strive to be happy, so development is a must. If we remain stagnant, we often deprive ourselves of many wonderful opportunities in life. For example, if we are shy, we might miss out on meeting wonderful people. This does not mean that we need to change who we are completely but we can challenge ourselves to overcome our shyness by going outside of our comfort zone. In a way, this new year provides us with a new beginning. If we recognize something that we do not like about ourselves, we have the chance to start anew. With each new year comes a new canvas to paint. Rather than being stuck in one chapter, we can write a new ending for our story. New Year’s is a blessing for this reason, since we always wish for new beginnings, especially after times of trial and hardship. We must take advantage of these chances to start anew.
On the other side of the argument, the mantra “New Year, new me” can be viewed as a statement that should never be repeated. As an individual who struggles with anxiety, hearing the statement “New year, new me” often provokes anxiety. Society often leads us to feel pressured to be someone completely different in the new year. We are often encouraged to change our diets, exercise more, and learn to be more outgoing and happier among many other improvements. However, we often fail to see what we really want. It is so easy to only do what is expected of us and let society guide our lives. Humans are only capable of changing so much and becoming a better person is a lifelong process. It is not something that can occur in a year’s time. We can make a lot of progress each year but there is only so much room for improvement. Do not rush the process. Take the time you need to become the person you are meant to be!
To conclude, we so often feel the need to improve all areas of our lives but fail to do so due to the constant pressures we face each day, especially at the start of each year. We need to become who we want to become, not a new person. Rather than seeing the new year as an opportunity to change entirely, it must be embraced as a continuous opportunity to nurture the person we already are. As USF senior Anna Nguyen believes, “It is important to remember that you can make a change anytime throughout the year.” Rather than rushing the process, we must treasure each tiny step of growth. The person we are becoming can be molded and inspired by new things throughout the entire year, not just at the beginning of each year. We do not need to become someone different to meet the expectations and pressures that society demands. Discovering who we are is a process, and it is more than okay if it takes a longtime. As Alex DiRoma from Odyssey states, “You are in control of your own self-improvement journey. No one else.” Take the time you need to become the person you have always dreamed of being. Do not rush your journey for others. You are doing just fine where you are and will reach your goals with time. Do not feel the need to rush the process. The person you are is beautiful and you do not need to change for anyone. Your differences make you strong. You are worth fighting for each new year. Stay you because you are worth it!
