Teaching The Teachers: A Profile of the Education Department

By Phyllis Hanlon

In years past, school systems around the country focused almost exclusively on the three R's-reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. Changing times, however, are bringing a variety of other concerns into the academic picture. Shrinking education budgets, out-of-date buildings, overcrowded classrooms, youth violence, racial and cultural tension, as well as federally mandated testing regulations, have placed both students and teachers in a precarious position. Holy Cross and its education department have stepped up to the blackboard, eager and willing to accept the challenge of meeting the needs of today's student.

Although small in size-with only five faculty members-the education department has made a significant impression on the student body at Holy Cross and also on the city of Worcester. Joseph H. Maguire, associate professor and chair of the department as well as assistant dean, notes that in the '70s and '80s the focus of Holy Cross had shifted to liberal studies. "Students, however, were finding ways to get into teaching in spite of not having a teaching program available here," he says. In 1995, the College reinstated the Teacher Certification Program (TCP) based on the Jesuit ideals of faith and knowledge integrated with social awareness and responsibility to the global community.

Holy Cross invited John P. Collins, retired superintendent of schools of nearby Shrewsbury, Mass., to become director of the TCP. His experience as an administrator in the school system and his role as director of the Professional Development Center at Worcester State College ensured a solid foundation for the program at Holy Cross. The following year, Collins moved into the role of associate director of the TCP and classroom lecturer at Holy Cross. At that time, David Lizotte became director; he is now responsible for oversight of the entire program, from the initial evaluation and application to the pre-practica and student-teaching experiences.  Lizotte also conducts a weekly seminar on-site at Worcester's Burncoat High School that allows interns a chance to discuss, vent and brainstorm issues and problems that arise in the classroom. Currently, 50 students are involved in some way with the education program, and 17 are expected to graduate this May with full teaching credentials.

As declared in its department mission statement, Holy Cross aims to prepare its students to become competent, compassionate teachers.  The academic aspect of the education program instills intellectual strength and competency. Students concentrate in a major area of study and also take three education courses to supplement their knowledge in the teaching field. 

Denis J. Cleary '71, a member of the faculty at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, Concord, Mass., teaches one course in the spring and one in the fall. "Typically, the worst teaching in a school takes place in the education department," Cleary says. "That's not the case at Holy Cross. The school is bringing in practitioners from the field, and that's a very smart thing to do."

Besides teaching Philosophy of Education and Principles of Methods of Teaching- two-of-the-three primary courses in the education program-Cleary makes himself available to students at all hours. "Many of the students call me at home to discuss lesson plans, discipline problems in the classroom-or just for fun," he says. "Sometimes they try a new method in a class. They're excited when it works and want to share their excitement."

Cleary noted the "gigantic need for teachers in the next five years." In his opinion, Holy Cross has the capability of filling that need with well-qualified graduates. "This could be a potentially extraordinary moment in Holy Cross's history," he says.

To promote awareness of critical issues such as cultural and social inequality, tolerance and the importance of integrating moral and ethical development with intellectual growth, the College has established a collaborative educational effort with Burncoat High School. This association fosters an understanding of and compassion for the plight of a diverse school population and provides benefits to both the College and the community. 

Maguire praises this collaboration for a number of reasons. "For one thing, it's easy for our students to get to Burncoat from Holy Cross," he says. "Additionally, Burncoat has every issue an urban school can have." Holy Cross interns are faced with situations and circumstances that prevail in the "real world." Maguire also applauds the core of dedicated Burncoat faculty who serve as "cooperating" teachers or mentors. "These men and women are devoted to helping develop future teachers with skills and good habits," he says. "They understand and love teaching."

The Burncoat/Holy Cross collaborative, initiated in 1998, stems from an idea called Professional Development School, according to Lizotte. "This program focuses on learning across a continuum," he says. "We have established a learning environment where resources from both institutions are shared." Holy Cross students develop the sense that they are responsible for the Burncoat students' learning, he notes, even though the cooperating teacher still has legal responsibility for the class. Student teachers are given the option to enrich or adapt the curriculum under the guidance of their cooperating teachers.

At the Burncoat School, Holy Cross student teachers become enmeshed in all aspects of the school system. "The intern does lesson planning, assessment-the full spectrum," says Lizotte. "There is a great need to try to create a program that will give understanding and provide a foundation for these students." The program requirements are intended to produce teachers with the greatest advantages upon graduation. During the pre-practica stages, the student observes and absorbs information as well as the high school atmosphere, from the perspective of administrators and classroom teachers as well as cafeteria workers and custodians. The actual internship brings the participants one step further into the world of teaching. Maguire notes that these students are thrust into the reality of high school teaching. "They are among the only students on campus who get up at 5:30 in the morning," he says. "They have to be on deck at 7 a.m. every day for a whole semester."

Thomas Gibbons, a former English teacher at the high school, serves as academic liaison for the Burncoat/Holy Cross collaborative. He eases the transition for the Holy Cross students, many of whom come from a background and educational environment vastly different from what they encounter or experience at Burncoat. "We talk about school protocol, whether a student has had a bad day or a good lesson, everyday things," he says. His support extends to giving advice at the weekly seminar, which is conducted by Lizotte. During these sessions, both Lizotte and Gibbons are available for interactive dialogue regarding the intricacies and difficulties of teaching. Gibbons also addresses the nature of the professional culture of the school, including such mundane issues as copy machine access, locker room keys and cafeteria duty rotation. 

In his attempts to provide an all-inclusive academic experience, Gibbons draws Holy Cross students into the Burncoat environment through joint extracurricular activities such as cheerleading workshops, academic meetings and community outreach programs. Lizotte says students are encouraged and expected to take part in tutoring, coaching and other after-school activities, in addition to spending time in the classroom.

Even though he is no longer directly involved with the TCP, Collins' influence on the program is still felt. He is an active member of the education department and teaches the Middle School course. He cites the strength behind the liberal arts education as one of the keys to its success. "Holy Cross offers its students all the necessary courses without the fluff," he says. "Having a liberal arts background is absolutely essential." According to Collins, Holy Cross faculty create a strong foundation for students who enter the teaching program.

Additionally, Collins expresses his admiration for the students who complete the intensive teaching program with its internship and heavy course load, especially in his class. "I have an elaborate syllabus. This is a demanding course," he says. "The students are excellent, though. They are mature kids who do the work without complaint." He attributes 90 percent of the success of the teaching program to the students, "the raw material" in the equation. Joining the faculty, with its "diversity of experience," the students are part of the Holy Cross team that is producing top-quality teachers for the future. 

Kelly Mahoney '01 is one of those students who have contributed greatly to the program. She completed her practice teaching hours at Burncoat last fall when she taught math to all four grade levels. The experience was wonderful and an eye-opener, according to Mahoney. "I learned a lot from the students there," she says, "more than they probably learned from me." The veteran teachers at Burncoat inspired her and reaffirmed her desire to teach, she says.

History major Brent Otto '01 notes that Holy Cross interns have a markedly different experience from student-teachers attending other colleges. He cites an example he witnessed during his internship at Burncoat. "A student teacher from another school was all alone, with no support network and no continuity," he says. "She was doing her practice teaching piecemeal." Since Holy Cross students have the opportunity of spending considerable time at the school before beginning to teach and then devoting an entire semester in the classroom, their internship is much more valuable.

Lizotte emphasizes that applicants are not automatically accepted into the program simply because they have a strong desire to teach. Sometimes it takes a bit of convincing before a student is allowed entry. Tiffany DeCoff '01 is a case in point. As goalie for the school's soccer team and a star pitcher for the softball team, DeCoff was carrying a full schedule that allowed little or no room for a teaching internship. In fact, she was told during her first year to choose between teaching or sports. "I pleaded with Professor Lizotte for the opportunity to do both," she says. He was reluctant, knowing the amount of work involved, but decided to give her a chance. DeCoff admits to being nervous at first, but her determination won in the end. In spite of her hectic schedule, DeCoff feels she gained tremendous insight from the experience. "Books are good," she says, "but there's no better way to learn the dos and don'ts of teaching than by doing it."

A strong interest in history led Christopher Themistos '01 to our nation's capital where he worked in some of the country's educational think tanks. For one semester Themistos served on the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which, at that time, was reorganizing the elementary and secondary educational systems. "It was exciting to see the policy of education being set at that level," he says. A student-teaching practicum at Burncoat, where Themistos is leading U.S. and world history classes, seemed a natural follow-up to the Washington, D.C., experience. 

The educational collaboration with Burncoat has also yielded benefits for some of the teachers at both the high school and middle school levels. In its fourth year, the Teachers as Scholars Program serves as a vehicle that gives the Burncoat teachers a chance to interact with peers and enjoy a pure educational experience away from their own classrooms. Bertram D. Ashe, assistant professor of English and director of African American Studies at Holy Cross, teams up with Carolyn Howe, associate professor of sociology and women's studies, to present this intense two-day, intellectually stimulating experience. The teachers read and discuss culturally diverse literature in an attempt to broaden their personal perspectives and enhance their understanding of multiculturalism in the classroom. "These teachers get to be on the other side for a couple of days," says Gibbons. "They are treated as professionals and are engaged in intellectual discussion." 

Undergraduate student teachers are purposely prohibited from participating in this experience. "It would not be developmentally appropriate to include them in the group," says Lizotte. "It's necessary for the current teachers to have this experience." School administrators are also barred from attending to allow for an open and full dialogue.

Another key program, not directly linked to the education department at Holy Cross but still a vital component, is the Urban Education Semester (UES). Working as part of a consortium with Bates, Brown University, Franklin and Marshall, Swarthmore, Vassar and Wesleyan, Holy Cross offers students the ultimate New York experience-the chance to teach in an inner city school and live in a lively metropolis. Maguire, the school's UES coordinator, says the consortium began as a "way of providing jobs, unpaid and paid, in every imaginable area of the world for students on leave of absence." The original idea has evolved into an exciting opportunity for students to experience life in a big city, attend graduate school and reach urban children in an intensive teaching situation.

During the semester in New York, students take five graduate courses at the Bank Street College of Education while teaming with a master teacher from an inner city elementary school. Lizotte notes that the experience affords students an opportunity to see educational reform in a different format. "Worcester practices traditional methods for the most part," he says. "The UES provides a new perspective, a chance to see some different ways that education is structured." 

Mollie Cura '01, found the experience vastly different from her own academic experience. For one thing, the progressive school in which she taught in no way resembled any of her past educational situations. Unlike traditional schooling, the progressive model eliminates report cards, desks, chalkboards and formality. "Students called us by our first names," she says. Cura taught first graders at the Manhattan School for Children.

Although skeptical of the concept at first, Cura found that class discussions, even at the first grade level, helped children learn the lessons effectively. The most challenging aspect in her case was figuring out how to balance the lessons, since an enormous range of reading levels existed within this one classroom. She noted the high percentage of parental involvement, a factor that she feels aids in the educational process as well.

Now that she is back at Holy Cross, the experience has prompted Cura to keep her foot in the teaching world by tutoring fourth graders at a local middle school.  Although the Worcester school follows the traditional model, she is assimilating her current experience with the New York internship to determine what her own teaching style will resemble in the future.

Mairead Sullivan '02 learned that teaching "is not a 9-to-3 job," as she completed her UES internship at a Jackson Heights/Queens charter school. "I watched my classroom teacher spend hours making phone calls, preparing lessons and meeting with parents," she says. The reality of dealing with social issues as well as academic problems in the classroom has not derailed her plans to teach after graduation.

For Joe Bonillo '02, his UES experience illustrated the need for multiculturalism in the classroom as well as in everyday living. He noted the benefits he gained from dealing with teachers and children in a diverse urban setting. Bonillo also found the opportunity to take graduate courses at the prestigious Bank Street College intense, but rewarding.

Lizotte points out that the Jesuit educational tradition roots itself in the human experience. "The tradition questions that experience and thinks about it," he says. "We are trying to create critical thinkers." By offering ongoing support as well as a variety of collaborative programs and teaching experiences, the education department faculty and administration are building what Lizotte calls an "electric learning environment."

Phyllis Hanlon is a free-lance journalist from Charlton, Mass.

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