I was a Poli-Sci and History major in college. My senior year, I made the decision to obtain a teaching certificate. I wasn’t certain what I was going to do, so I decided that I could teach a few years while I sorted it out. 

One of my first Education classes was Audio Visual Resources. We learned such mystical skills as using a laminator, threading a movie projector, producing copies on a mimeograph machine, and manipulating a film strip. Even at the time, these technologies seemed dated. I couldn’t believe that I was paying tuition for this. That was an easy A. I had other Education classes that were relevant and challenging, but I secured my teaching certificate without too much sweat and promptly forgot about my preparation experiences once I got my first teaching job.  

Many educators have similar stories. I’ve heard many a colleague describe their teacher preparation majors as a series of irrelevant hopes that they had to jump through. And this, dear reader, is where Dr. Traci Tuttle makes a dramatic entrance. Traci is the Education Department Chair at Muskingum University. 

Traci totally understands frustrations with educator preparation programs. She experienced them too. Consequently, she’s highly motivated to create a different experience for the Education majors at Muskingum. In this episode she talks about this some, but what really motivates her is her objective to foster partnerships with K-12 educators. I believe she gets this because she spent many years as a K-12 teacher. 

You’re going to enjoy this convo and hopefully it will inspire you to seek out a partnership with an institution of higher learning. 

Episode Template

The Problem:

There needs to be more collaboration between Institutions of higher learning and K-12 educators.

The Solution:

Facilitate this collaboration by reaching out to an institution of higher learning. 

What you can do Tomorrow:

• Craft a letter of introduction and include an invitation to collaborate.
• Send this invitation to a number of institutions of higher learning. 
• Inform your principal that you would like to mentor a student teacher and your class is open for field experiences. 

Every time I invite visitors to my class, I grow as a teacher. Every time that I’ve visited a learning environment, I grew as a teacher.

Good luck tomorrow engaging your kids.  

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