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Lessons in teaching: High school students get hands-on experience
Saturday, May 17, 2008
HAMILTON — Like thousands of high school graduates, Patrick Bourne will soon receive his diploma and move on to his future — college and a career in education.
The Hamilton High School football player has known for years that he wanted to coach when he graduated and had thought about teaching.
Senior Patrick Bourne is in his second year with Hamilton High School's Teacher Academy. He is considering going into coaching as well as into the classroom. But it wasn't until Molly Merz, instructor of the HHS Teacher Academy, approached him about making education his career, that he thought to himself, "Yeah, I can do that."
Enrollment in the Teacher Academy has given him a glimpse into the world of teaching and taught him "what goes on behind the scenes," Bourne said.
Teacher Academy offers a rigorous curriculum, which addresses child development, the history of education and the role of education in today's society.
The academy as well as other programs offered at the Hamilton High School Career Technical Education program do an "excellent job of preparing students to enter college," said Herb Dietz, CTE director. "One hundred percent of our teacher academy grads are entering college in the fall and we are very proud of that."
The academy is one of 11 career fields offered through the Hamilton High School Career Technical Education program — including Carpentry and Construction, Cosmetology, Tech Prep Engineering Design, Diversified Health Occupations, Entertainment Marketing and Broadcasting Arts and Automotive Service Technology.
"Big Blue is giving every student more career programs and choices and they are encouraged to do what they really want to do," Merz said.
Program encourages urban teaching
Hamilton High School senior Patrick Bourne said he plans to teach in an urban school after graduating from college.
He believes he can make a difference.
"People will look at me and see a strong black person and their kids will know they can be a teacher or anything they want to be," Bourne said. "I want kids to be successful ... and not go back to the street."
According to statistics from the National Education Association, Bourne may make a bigger impression than he realizes.
Students of minority races make up 40 percent of kindergarten through 12th-grade students nationwide.
The study shows that if Hispanic and black students have a teacher of the same race or ethnicity, they score higher in reading and mathematics. However, minorities make up only about 16 percent of teachers — a number area educators are working to increase through the Urban Cohort Program.
Created two years ago, it links teachers and juniors and seniors from local high schools with Miami University's School of Education and Allied Professions.
Helping schools fill an urgent need to attract more people into the teaching profession and building a more diverse and culturally sensitive teaching force are goals of the program.
"Urban settings are broadening," said Ray Terrell, professor of educational leadership at Miami. "What we are finding is that school districts such as Hamilton and Lakota are changing demographics with a greater influence of students of color and second language students ... populations other than typical white students."
The program encourages urban students to become teachers and prepares teachers to work in an urban school setting, said Molly Merz, instructor of the Hamilton High School Teacher Academy, and includes programs that introduce students to residence hall living and college-level courses.
Students who have attended the summer bridge program say it "was a very interesting and eye-opening experience."
The Urban Cohort Program also offers the opportunity for area Teacher Academy instructors "to network, share ideas and discuss some of the pressing issues in education today," Merz said.
Teachers meet with Miami faculty to discuss the reality of "what goes in their world and what we need to do to prepare our future teachers to be effective in that world," Terrell said.
When recruiting students, he said, "we make it clear they will never be rich, but they will make a better-than-average wage and be able to live very comfortably ... and they will make an impact on changing lives."
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2158 or lebbing@coxohio.com.
