While helping out in an elementary-school classroom last year, James Beach said he watched kids’ eyes light up when they learned something new, which inspired him to teach after graduation.
“A lot of classes I’ve had in the past, teachers just read to you. I want to try to make (school) more meaningful and more exciting,” said Beach, a third-year biology student, who taught elementary-school students through a University of California systemwide teacher-preparation program.
The program ““ called California Teach ““ pledges to produce 1,000 credentialed math and science teachers with degrees from a UC campus each year until 2010.
Approximately 80 UCLA students have participated in the California Teach program since the first class was offered last year.
“The program was designed to let undergraduates explore teaching as a career, get experience in the field, and begin prerequisites for most credential programs,” said Arlene Russell, faculty director of UCLA California Teach.
At UCLA, the California Teach program created two classes in which math and science students observe elementary or middle-school classrooms for four hours each week and attend a weekly seminar. UCLA students are paired with and work closely with a mentor teacher throughout the quarter to create a lesson plan that each student teaches at the end.
“The California Teach program appeal is being able to explore what grade level I want to teach,” Beach said.
Beach first came to UCLA with the idea of being a premed student but was turned off by the competitiveness of the classes, he said. He decided to become a teacher after participating in the California Teach program and being able to get students interested and excited about science, he said.
“What’s nice is to actually get to interact with the class and teach lessons,” Beach said.
By taking the California Teach classes, students earn credit toward their undergraduate math or science degree and gain experience. Students can begin taking graduate coursework their senior year to begin the teaching-credential process, said Russell.
Students finish their bachelor’s degrees and receive a preliminary teaching credential by the end of summer after their graduation, she said.
California Teach was first implemented throughout the UC in January 2006 under the sponsorship of Gov. Schwarzenegger and UC President Robert Dynes. Prior to California Teach, the UC did not officially sponsor any specific teacher-preparation programs.
“The University of California for the first time has recognized that it has (a) responsibility to prepare teachers for math and science positions,” said Fred Eiserling, associate dean of the UCLA Division of Life Sciences.
Eiserling said the recent concern was a welcome change in the direction of the UC.
“It was possible for both our faculty and administration to ignore the very great need for (math and science) teachers because many thought it was not our job to do that,” Eiserling said.
All incoming freshmen in 2005 and 2006 received letters signed by Schwarzenegger and Dynes informing them of the program, said physics Professor William Layton.
The state of California defines teachers as “highly qualified” if an individual holds a bachelor’s degree and either holds a credential or is working toward a credential, according to California’s Teaching Force 2006, a report by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.
The center also reported that though California has made progress in its goals to produce qualified teachers, approximately 8,000 teachers in 2005-2006 were teaching with emergency permits or waivers. These teachers are not considered highly qualified under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Eiserling stressed the importance of supporting and training students so they will be qualified to teach future generations.
“If we continue the way we are now, the high-tech industry in California will have to hire foreign workers because we don’t have a sufficient number of well-trained math and science students to qualify for high-tech jobs,” Eiserling said.
“That’s pretty scary,” he said.