Closing University Education Schools: A Bad Omen
The University of South Florida (USF) has announced the end of their education school due to a $36.7 million university budget cut. The change will save $6.8 million over two years. They’re using the coronavirus as the reason at a time when teachers are struggling to teach students safely. This loss is a bad omen for public schools and a professional teaching workforce, not just for the State of Florida but for the country.
How many more teacher education schools will close? Who will become teachers in the future? Will there be any real teachers in the future? If Colleges of Education are not valued in a university the size of USF, will education and professional teachers be valued anywhere?
Every reputable university should have a building dedicated to preparing teachers called the College of Education. Those schools must continually question through peer-reviewed research how schools work for students and how to professionally prepare teachers to serve students. While these schools have sometimes been criticized, they have prepared many teachers well.
USF prepared teachers for six decades, and many express sadness about the school’s closure. They’re wondering why the USF administration quickly chose to close the education school after hearing about the cuts.
Without an undergraduate teacher preparation program, the likelihood of students CONTINUE READING: Closing University Education Schools: A Bad Omen