Teacher Features

Showcasing Events of the Union College Education Program

We have 4 Elementary and 3 Secondary teachers graduating from the Union College Education Program in December. They are:

The education department at Union College hosted the Phi Delta Kappa UNL Chapter 15 meeting on October 8, 2008. A sumptuous dinner was served in the Atrium.

After the meal a panel discussion was conducted by 20 teachers/administrators from seven countries in the Woods Auditorium. They shared information about the educational system in their countries.

Nearly 110 elementary and secondary education majors from Concordia University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Union College attended the event. Jessi Whitson, an elementary education major from Union, won the raffle for one year membership to PDK.

Erin Gruwell, co-author of The Freedom Writers, visited our campus on November 13, 2008. As the inspiration for the motion picture Freedom Writers, she presented “Becoming a Catalyst for Change” at the College View SDA Church that evening.

Earlier in the day, the Education Club members were privileged to be invited to a reception for her where they were able to talk with her personally and ask questions. They also were asked to be ushers at the evening presentation and were included in the VIP seating.

Read more about Erin Gruwell on the News and Publications section of the Union College website.

Demy Sigowa, son of Moses & Aida Sigowa, one of our fifth graders will travel to Washington, D.C. this week to participate in the People to People World Leadership Forum.

He will travel to Capitol Hill to the Smithsonian Institute, and from Colonial Williamsburg to the Nation Museum of American History. Demy will join 30 to 40 other participants from around the world to participate in small-group discussions and exercises to experience first-hand how successful leaders develop strategies, make decisions, build consensus and foster change.

The program is coordinated by People to People Student Ambassador Programs to fulfill the vision Dwight D. Eisenhower had for fostering world citizenship when he founded People to People during his presidency in 1956. If you would like to learn more, please click onto http://www.studentambassadors.org/default.asp.

We’re very proud of Demy!

Dr. Joseph R. Allison, the Chair of the Division of Human Development at Union College, which includes the Education Program, just returned from an annual visit to Canadian University College where he met with the School of Education faculty to review and discuss the events leading to the end of this collaborative venture.

The original partnership began in 1979 and since 1997, Union College and our sister college Canadian University College in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada, have conducted a joint program for education majors whereby the graduates from the Canadian campus receive transcripts from Union College in order to obtain Nebraska State Teacher’s Certificates. This collaboration qualified those graduates after 1997, who applied, to request a Letter of Professional Standing in the Canadian Province where they desired to teach.

This 29 year agreement between Union College and Canadian University College comes to an end in April 2007 when the last students under the program graduate.

A new agreement between the Canadian government and Canadian University College now allows graduates from that college to obtain certificates directly from the province where they will teach.

On November 19, two elementary education seniors took their Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment exam. This two hour exam covers material that teachers across the nation are required to know in order to be considered Highly Qualified Teachers under the “No Child Left Behind” program.

The Professional Education courses at Union College prepare students in the areas covered by this exam in the methods courses, practicum experiences and evaluations, lesson plans, teacher work samples, portfolios and student teaching placements.

Good scores on the Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment exam and graduating from a National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) approved program assures prospective employers that graduates from the Union College Education Program will be highly qualified. This gives our students the best chance for successful placement.

Even though Thanksgiving break began on the previous Friday, four education majors stayed by to take their Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) this week. Passing the three tests in Reading, Math and Writing is required of all sophomore education majors at Union College before becoming a candidate for full acceptance into the education program and enrolling in upper division professional education courses.

The PPST will be given again in April at Union College for those who need to pass it before Fall 2008 registration. Another option for students who haven’t taken it or need to re-take a portion of it, is to contact the Sylvan Learning Center in any major city and arrange to take it at their facility. If scores do not meet the Nebraska State Department of Education requirements, students must re-take the test until scores meet the standards or drop education as their major.

Around 60 education students attended a Pizza dinner sponsored by the Mid-America Union Conference (MAUC) on Monday, November 12. The Education Superintendents and Academy Principals presented the benefits of teaching in their area and answered questions about the elementary and secondary schools in their conference. The students were treated to pizza, salad and cookies, then listened to presentations by Dr. Allison, Chair of the Education Department at Union College and Ron Russell, MAUC Education Superintendent. The attendees then moved in groups, from one table to the next, to listen to presentations by the Nebraska/Kansas, Dakota, Rocky Mountain, Iowa/Missouri and Minnesota Conference representatives.