How were you prepared to be a teacher? If you’re a teacher of literacy, what supports did you get in the beginning that enabled you to become the teacher you are today? Do you mentor new teachers? Do you have ideas about how they could be supported better? Advocacy around new teacher preparation looks at program quality, the nature of ongoing supports, and issues of equity in the kinds of training educators get depending on where they are located throughout the country.
This is an issue that is likely to be represented in the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act, so it’s featured in a recommendation in the 2015 NCTE Education Policy Platform: “Develop or implement innovative approaches for preservice and early career teachers that incorporate sustained mentorships to connect academic and theoretical knowledge with practical application within diverse settings.”
Get informed:
- See the NCTE Guideline on Preparing Teachers with Knowledge of Children’s and Adolescent Literature.
- Learn about the Coalition for Teaching Quality, of which NCTE is a contributing member.
- Read the CCCC Position Statement on the Preparation and Professional Development of Teachers of Writing.
- See how the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) has adopted the NCTE program standards for undergraduate programs for Initial Preparation of Teachers of Secondary English Language Arts.