While many college students change their concentrations many times, there are always a few who know exactly what they want to do. For such students interested in being secondary school teachers, the Undergraduate Teacher Education Program offers undergraduates the chance to receive teaching certification recognized by 44 states by the time they graduate.
The program is very small - this year, seven students are participating.
"I think (a UTEP participant) has to be someone who wants to professionalize in college and someone who is focused on being a teacher," said biology UTEP Marti Kamlet '05.
Completion of the program requires taking five education courses and devoting the summer after junior year and one semester of senior year to teaching. UTEP is not a concentration; students must concentrate in one of the areas offering teacher certification - currently biology, English or history. Students apply to the program during the fall semester of junior year.
Next year, engineering will be offered for the first time as an area in which students can receive certification. Associate Professor of Engineering Janet Blume, who will be the clinical professor for the engineering program, called the new engineering UTEP "a good alternative career path for engineers." At the high school level, she said, the integration of engineering into the classroom will "produce kids who are able to understand and use technology."
The program emphasizes the link between the theory and practice of teaching. During the summer before their senior year, teams of UTEPs teach local high school students enrolled in a summer program run by Brown while taking ED 206: "Literature Across the Curriculum," which allows students to evaluate and improve their teaching as they go along.
During a student-teaching semester of their senior year, UTEPs teach two classes at a local school while concurrently taking ED 108: "Analysis of Teaching."
"We love the idea of students appreciating that the way that you learn is trying things out, getting feedback, and going back and trying again; we want them to apply this idea (of feedback as a positive thing) in their own teaching," Landay said.
UTEPs said they find that working with kids and building relationships is the most enjoyable part of teaching.
"The only reason I want to go into teaching is that I want to hang out with kids all day," said English UTEP Ryan O'Grady '05.
Kamlet said her favorite part of teaching is learning to understand her students' perspectives and explaining new concepts in a way they can understand.
However, building relationships can also be the most complicated part of teaching, as UTEPs must learn to assert their authority over students who are sometimes only four years younger than themselves.
"There is something about being an authoritative figure and have the power to give grades that makes it a lot more complicated than I originally thought," said history UTEP Judah Lakin '05.
Kamlet said, "There are a lot in things in which you have to draw a line between yourself and the students."
Kamlet downplayed the challenge of age difference, saying that as long as she dresses and acts like a teacher, her students treat her as one.
Throughout the process, students work closely with a clinical professor from their department. Clinical professors both teach the education courses and advise students along the way.
According to Eileen Landay, the clinical professor for English, the small size makes Brown's program unique, allowing it to remain focused and individualized, with students working "mainly under the direction of one person." This close relationship between students and clinical professors allows students to have a large degree of guidance.
Kamlet said her clinical professor was a valuable resource. "He was a teacher, so he has perspective on teaching, and he can offer good insights into how to teach. He is also just very supportive," she said.
While most UTEPs say they enjoy the program, it involves a lot of commitment and extra time. During their teaching semester, UTEPs spend Monday through Friday at school until 3 p.m. or later and are also expected to complete class work and prepare for the next day's class.
"In school I used to feel like I was really busy all the time, and I was, but this is just a whole new level of work," Lakin said.
"When you're doing your student teaching semester, you don't really feel like a Brown student," O'Grady said.
Also, because the program takes up a lot of time in students' schedules, it does not allow students to do as much course work in their area of concentration. However, it allows focused students to professionalize early, and it also lets participants save money on an extra year of college - other teacher certification programs, at Brown and elsewhere, require a fifth year.
Kamlet said she does not feel limited by the requirements of UTEP because she still has the opportunity to continue coursework in biology in the form of a master's degree.
"I wanted to have a real skill in addition to a liberal arts education," she said.
