College of Education
Previous issues of Monday Report are at http://www.emich.edu/coe/monday. Send items and comments to vpolite@emich.edu.
FROM THE DESK OF THE DEAN
The College of Education, like other teacher preparation programs in Michigan, will need to spend some focused energy during the next couple of academic years rethinking the preparation of professional educators in response to the high reform efforts. There is rigorous dialog underway throughout the state focused on reforming high school graduation requirements led by Dr. Michael Flanagan, State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Michigan Department of Education. The under girding assumptions of the high reforms are: 1) all children can learn, and 2) the state is failing to adequately prepare students for a work world increasingly driven by new technologies. The major focuses of the reform movement are on assessing current high school graduation requirements and deciding upon a much more demanding academic preparation for high school students in the state. We have known for many years that algebra is a gatekeeper preparation for those who would adequately prepare for a wide variety of career options. Requiring algebra for all high school students is one likely outcome of the reform along with additional required concentration in the sciences.
Several state models of reform are under consideration: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Indiana, Oregon, and Arkansas. For example, Indiana has a rigorous academic curriculum for all high school students in mathematics and sciences that require a signed parent’s permission to select other curriculum options. As the state grapples with the direction it will take in reforming high school curricula, the institutions of higher education will need to quickly consider the implications of the reform movement for preparing the next generation of teachers, administrators and counselors who will implement the reforms.
The College is also concerned with addressing three additional concerns that impact the state: 1) the achievement gap in the state, 2) creating an educational pipeline that is highly diverse, and 3) preparing more men for careers as teachers. During the remainder of this academic year, groups of committed faculty will seek possible funding sources that will aid in the development of three initiatives.
The first initiative is Mentoring Men for Michigan’s Classrooms (M3C). The project will address the declining number of men currently serving as teachers in the state. The percent of men presently teaching in the state is now less than 20 percent. The dearth of men in classrooms is felt most seriously in the urban enclaves of the state where boys will rarely, if ever, interact with highly qualified male teachers.
The second initiative is a policy study of Minority Student Achievement in Michigan. The “achievement gap” is a matter of race and class. Across the U.S. and particularly within Michigan, a gap in academic achievement persists between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts. There is a need to better understand the achievement gap and its impact on the work of the College of Education in the preparation of professional educators.
Finally, we are committed to insuring that the College of Education continues to produce a diverse teacher workforce for the state. This commitment requires active recruitment and retention of minority students.
FACULTY NOTES
Dr. Elizabeth Broughton and Dr. Ron Williamson, Department of Leadership and Counseling, presented “Creative Connections between School Counselors and Administrators” at the Michigan Counseling Association Conference on October 17th held in Traverse City. The presentation focused on their research related to school counselors and administrators.
Dr. Elizabeth Broughton, Department of Leadership and Counseling, presented at the Michigan College Personnel Association’s conference held on October 24th in Lansing on “Writing for Publication: Capitalizing on a Shared Knowledge Base.”
Dr. Yvonne Callaway and Dr. Perry Francis, Department of Leadership and Counseling, conducted a Counseling Program Orientation session with the new Counseling Cohort at EMU Detroit on October 15, 2005. Counseling Students, Kanaya Dinkins, Dietra Jones, Choi Shorter, and Nicole Walker were present and provided peer advising.
Dr. Irene Mass Ametrano, Department of Leadership and Counseling, was awarded a 2005 Intercollegiate Grant from the Michigan Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. She will work with Dr. Diane Parfitt of Oakland University to develop a module for training future limited licensed professional counselors (LLPCs) to be consumers of supervision.
Dr. Suzanne Hobson, Department of Leadership and Counseling, presented a paper at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, PA titled Human Rights Training for the Professional School Counselor: Perspectives from the Field. Hobson, S.M. & Carlson, L.A. (2005, October).
Dr. Perry Francis, Department of Leadership and Counseling, presented at a roundtable discussion at the 2005 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Convention in Pittsburgh, PA October 20-23rd. The roundtable discussion was titled Post-Graduate Supervisee Ethical Behavior: Implications for Practice and Education. Abrahams, S. & Francis, P.C. (2005).
Dr. Yvonne Callaway, Department of Leadership and Counseling, participated as a “judge” for the master’s level case study competition at the Michigan College Personnel Association (MCPA) in Lansing, on Sunday, October 23, 2005.
Dr. Dibya Choudhuri, Department of Leadership and Counseling, along with Dr. Betsy Morgan, Department of Foreign Languages and Bilingual Studies led a cultural simulation program for International Week, Thursday, October 27, 2005.
Dr. James Barott, Dr. James Berry and Dr. Jackie Tracy, Department of Leadership & Counseling, attended the fall annual meeting of the Michigan Association of Professor’s of Educational Administration on October 26, 2005. Their proposal for EMU to host the Annual Educational Leadership Research Symposium for MAPEA was accepted. The research symposium will be held in the J.W. Porter College of Education Building on Friday, March 31, 2006.
Dr. Shawn Quilter and Christine Lancaster presented Advising Education Majors: How Will Research Inform Practice? at the annual meeting of the National Academic Advising Association in Las Vegas (October 8). This session was awarded sponsorship by the Advising Education Majors Commission because of its quality. Quilter was named chair of the commission’s research committee for 2005-2006.
Dr. Lori Parks presented “Low-Tech Tools for Students with Learning Disabilities” at the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan (LDA) Annual Conference on October 25th, 2005.
Dr. Lori Parks and Dr. Karen Schulte recently represented EMU at the Michigan Association of Learning Disabilities Educators (MALDE) 32nd Fall Conference.
Dr. Don Bennion presented at the Indianapolis Assessment Conference.
Dr. Elizabeth Johnson presented a major workshop in St. Louis at the Midwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, “Pop Culture Pedagogy: Outrageous, Vibrant, and Futuristic 'Best Practice' Strategies to Move Students from Boredom to Stardom”. Dr. Johnson was selected as Area Chair for two newly created divisions entitled “Native Pop Culture” and “Parents/Families and Pop Culture”.
Dr. Vernon C. Polite and Dr. James Earl Davis, (Temple University’s Associate Dean at the College of Education) were awarded a contract to edit a special volume for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) entitled Manly Deeds and Scholarship: Strategies for the Development of Young Black Men
EMERITUS
Dr. Thomas M. Gwaltney received a 2005 State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan at the Annual Meeting of the Society, September 23-25. The citation reads: “A 2005 State History Award is presented by the Historical Society of Michigan, established in 1828, to Dr. Thomas M. Gwaltney for his Outstanding Contributions as an Educator at Eastern Michigan University.”
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Educational Leadership/Student Affairs Master’s students, Adam Herman, Susan Sohn, Erik Farley, and Jennifer Jerew presented a roundtable discussion “dis:ABILITY : Enduring Issues Surrounding Accessibility and Inclusivity for our Students” at the MCPA Conference, in Lansing, October 23-25th.
ALUMNI NEWS
John Young, a 2004 graduate ofEMU's Counseling Program, received the 2005 Counselor of the Year Award from the Michigan Association for Humanistic Education and Development. The award was presented in Traverse City, Michiganat the annual conference of the Michigan Counseling Association on October 17, 2005.
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
John W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education
2005-2006 Speaker Series
Fact Sheet
The John W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education is named in honor of the former EMU President John W. Porter. It is the first endowed chair in the University’s College of Education. The John W. Porter Chair was largely funded by the C.S. Mott Foundation and the MacGregor Foundation. The purpose of these generous contributions to Eastern Michigan University is to appoint a renowned scholar(s) in urban education and to provide innovative leadership for Eastern Michigan University in this field. The chair is designed to actively expand the University’s role in urban school districts in Michigan, with an emphasis on school-community partnerships.
About John W. Porter
John W. Porter is a former EMU president, former state superintendent of schools for Michigan and a distinguished educator.
2005-2006 Speaker Series
Instead of naming one scholar this year, the structure has been reconfigured for the 2005-2006 academic year in order to provide opportunities to interact with a variety of scholars through a “Speaker Series” format. Each department within the College of Education (along with the Health and Physical Education programs within the School of Health Promotion and Human Performance, which is closely involved in the preparation of teacher educators) nominated and selected a scholar to participate in this year’s Speaker Series. The 2005-2006 John W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education Speaker Series presents:
October 27-28
Dr. Donna Y. Ford
Professor of Special Education
Betts Chair of Education and Human Development
Vanderbilt UniversityNovember 3
Dr. Jocelyn Elders
Former U.S. Surgeon General
Distinguished Professor of Public Health
University of Arkansas
November 21-22
Dr. Gary Orfield
Professor of Education
Social Policy Director of the Civil Rights Project
Harvard University
January 26-27
Dr. James Davis
Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Associate Dean
College of Education
Temple University
Previous Chair HoldersSelected Chairs have demonstrated expertise in urban education, are senior scholars/practitioners, have demonstrated experience in urban education, and relate closely to the unique aspects of urban school districts. Previous Chair holders include:
1999-2001
James Comer, M.D., M.P.H.
MauriceFalk Professor of Child Psychiatry
Child Study Center
Yale University School of Medicine2001-2002
Lisa Delpit, Ph.D.
Executive Director/Eminent Scholar
Center for Urban Education and Innovation
Florida State University2002-2003
Nel Noddings, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy and Education
Teachers College
Columbia University
Lee L. Jacks Professor of Child Education Emerita
Stanford University2003-2005
Joyce Epstein, Ph.D.
Director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships
Joint/Part-time appointment as Professor of Sociology
Johns Hopkins UniversityFor More Information
For more information about the John W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education, contact:
Dr. Jaclynn Tracy, Chair
COE JWPorter Distinguished Chair Committee
jtracy@emich.edu
THEME STATEMENTS
Caring professional educators for a diverse and democratic society. (CPED2S) (Initial program)
Inquiry, advocacy, and leadership in education for diverse and democratic society. (Advanced programs)
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