Well, we held yet another interesting and valuable event here at Fordham on December 2.? The topic at hand was a crucial one: Are Education Schools Amenable to Reform?
Our top-notch panel of experts discussed the state of teacher preparation in America today, what should happen going forward and whether or not it actually will happen. Part of the discussion focused on Fordham's report, Cracks In the Ivory Tower? The Views of Education Professors Circa 2010. Our ?panelists were: Deborah Loewenberg Ball, Dean, University of Michigan School of Education; James G. Cibulka, President, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; Steve Farkas, President, Farkas Duffett Research Group and co-author of Cracks in the Ivory Tower?; David Imig, President Emeritus, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; and Kate Walsh, President, National Council on Teacher Quality. Fordham's Chester Finn moderated the event. He noted the importance of the topic, before introducing the panel and kicking it to Steve, who presented some of the more promising findings from Cracks in the Ivory Tower.
Below are a few highlights from the event, paraphrasing just a little of what was said. (Thanks to Mike and others, who ?tweeted? throughout, #edschools).
Farkas: 73% of ed profs support holding ed schools accountable for their graduates; 63% support the idea of Teach For America; 12% of ed profs are hard-core reformers, while 13% are defenders of the status quo.
Cibulka: Our system ? or non-system ? is indefensible. ?.Teacher prep needs a clinical model, like docs. ?Encouraging signs from Fordham's survey.
Walsh: We are very concerned about the lack of selectivity in ed schools. Even at prestigious universities.
Imig: No one is satisfied with the current state of teacher education.
Ball: We are at an uncommon moment in our opportunity to change?.. We need fewer reports. Stop talking and start doing.
?Amy Fagan & Joe Portnoy