Preparing 21st Century Teachers Rachel Lawrence remembers when the heads of 30 children turned toward her as she stepped into a real classroom for the first time. The looks on their faces begged an overwhelming question —
“Are you my teacher?” But Lawrence wasn’t a teacher then. She was a freshman in her first semester at High Point University following a path her professors crafted intentionally for education majors. “I remember asking myself, ‘Can I actually manage a classroom?’” says Lawrence, an Ohio native who graduated in 2012. “But over time I became comfortable with that challenge. Getting in the classroom early validated that this was something I wanted to do.” HPU’s Stout School of Education has a mission to prepare 21st century educational leaders. That means exposing future teachers to the demands of public education early in their academic careers. It starts with a freshman practicum — two years earlier than most universities put education majors inside of real classrooms. The experiential element continues in their sophomore year, followed by student teaching in their junior and senior years. 40
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