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.

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!

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.

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.

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.