LIFELONG LEARNING III: TEACHER INTERNSHIP

Teachers, unlike other professionals in our society, go immediately from a purely theoretical academic background in a college or university to their initial teaching positions without any significant on-the-job training.

There are now no true intern programs, only "pseudo programs," few of which require previous preparation in teaching. Those which do require prior preparation include only conventional courses plus student teaching.

The result of the traditional approach to pre-service education is that the problems of the beginning teacher are overwhelming. The early years of teaching are frequently the most turbulent, frustrating, and painful ones. New teachers entering the classroom are confronted with staggering difficulties in immediately taking over full responsibilities, without proper preparation, and usually without support. In an elementary school, the teacher is responsible for 30 or more children all day for the entire year. In the secondary school, the teacher may face as many as 150 students in five different classes each day all year long. These are the same assignments expected of an experienced teacher. Coupled with the pressures of extra-curricular assignments, young teachers begin their careers drastically under trained and terribly overburdened.

The result is that the teaching profession has an inordinately high dropout rate. An estimated 10 percent of the nation's trained personnel leave teaching each year, feeling that they have failed. Now that the teacher short­age is over, we have a unique opportunity to utilize available teachers and teacher candidates to develop a much-needed new plan for entrance into the profession and for the improvement of teacher training. The American Federation of Teachers calls for the development of a genuine internship, one that would occur in real life teaching situations, similar to those in other professions.

No teacher should become permanently certified or be given full charge of a classroom unless and until a program of internship has been completed. Specifically, beginning teachers should go through a period of up to three years where they do not have full responsibility for a classroom. Over that period of time they should have the opportunity to work with experienced teachers who would demonstrate various teaching styles and methodologies, exposing the interns to different curricular approaches and providing them with continuous feedback. Other activities in which interns should be engaged are observations at all levels, attendance at school board meetings, working with other school personnel such as guidance counselors and social workers, and participation in curriculum development. The internship program, involving cooperation with colleges and universities, would also enable experienced teachers to work along with researchers and other colleagues in higher education in important needed research in teacher effectiveness.

Further, we support the positions that:

• The internship period should be preceded by a well-defined, systematic program of undergraduate training in the knowledge and skills of teaching.

• The regular teacher with whom the intern works must be given sufficient time and support to work with those under his or her supervision.

• College and university programs also should be concerned with the preparation of supervisory personnel and experienced classroom teachers who work with interns.

• Teacher centers should be established which would serve research needs as well as the needs of teachers on the development of their teaching skills and of experienced teachers in their continuous in-service growth.

• Under no circumstances would interns replace regular teachers.

• The salaries of interns would be negotiated by the local teacher union.

• An initial preparatory certificate would be granted to admit the intern for a probationary period of two years. At the conclusion of this period, permanent certification would be granted to qualified teachers.

This kind of meaningful teacher internship program is vitally needed to improve teacher training, and ultimately to improve instruction in our nation's classrooms.