It is not easy being a teacher. Long hours, hard work, low pay and a lack of support are some of the speed bumps that teachers experience on a regular basis.
Anthony Dixon ’01
The College of Charleston’s Educator Preparation Program will address some of these issues when hosting the forum “Beyond Minimally Adequate: The Teacher’s Voice for Change.” The program will be held this Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in room 101 of the Rita Liddy Hollings Science Center starting at 5:30 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.
Alumnus Anthony Dixon ’01, principal of Philip Simmons High School in Berkeley County, South Carolina, will moderate the forum. He says these conversations are important.
“One of the biggest challenges for teachers today is their loss of voice,” says Dixon. “The voice of the teacher needs to be regarded. Teachers are trained professionals and their input is important and should be valued.”
Dixon will be joined by several teachers and administrators during the panel discussion, including Sean Polgar ’17, an elementary school teacher in Summerville, South Carolina, who majored in early childhood education, and Kalila Wilson ’14 (M.Ed.), interim assistant principal at Burke High School in downtown Charleston. The group hopes to find solutions to some of the problems plaguing public education in the state.
“We are excited to provide a platform for our local educators to share their voices,” says Frances Welch, dean of the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance. “We hope our community realizes our teachers need to be respected, appreciated, and have their voices heard.”
The School of Education, Health, and Human Performance’s Department of Teacher Education prepares teachers to meet the educational needs of children and youth in the areas of early childhood, elementary, foreign language, middle level, secondary and special education. The curriculum involves coursework on campus as well as field experiences and clinical practice in diverse school settings.
Featured image: A student in the College’s Elementary Engineers summer camp talks with a teacher about his project.
