Before she became the teacher education adviser, Janet Young remembers what it was like being a student striving to become a teacher.
“What I relate to the most is how lost I felt. I didn’t know what to do and where to go. I took classes that I didn’t need and when I got to the university, they were actually sitting there, crossing out classes on my transcript,” Young said. “And it was killing me. It was like ‘You didn’t need to take this, you didn’t need to take this.’ I don’t want my students to go through that.”
The first step to getting such questions answered is to take an elevator to the third floor of the Art B Building.
The Teacher Education Program (TEP), which serves more than 850 students, provides counseling, workshops that are designed to help students pass the CBEST, and usage of the teacher resource room.
The program serves as a lighthouse to guide prospective teachers into the university of their choice.
“This program is meant to help prepare students to become teachers. It is designed to offer them early experiences in the classroom so they can determine if they do indeed want to become a teacher or not,” Young said. “It is designed to get them ready to transfer.”
The hopes of TEP are to give students the opportunity to get early field work, to help them pass all of their early division classes, and to complete their education classes. They strive to help students have a high enough GPA, pass the CBEST and get them prepared to go to the university of their choice.
TEP, recognized by CSU Dominguez Hills, Long Beach and other universities, was started five years ago after requesting and receiving a Title V grant.
“They like our two counselors, Sheryl Crown and Madeline… It is valuable to call in and get time for your appointments because they usually book up a week or two in advance,” Minerva Montes, TEP secretary, said.
“They (students) are obviously enjoying the program, because they are calling and coming in for their appointments.”
Another big benefit to students is the use of the teacher resource room located in Room ArtB313.
With smiley-faced stars and happy faces hanging from the walls, the room provides students with computers, a laminator and books like “The Snail Trail” and “The Pig from the Pond.”
These are books teachers might not find at Schauerman Library.
“It’s (TEP) really good. There are a lot of books in here that you can check out. There is a lot of material you can use, not only for this class, but for other assignments that are due. I really like it,” Sonia Arrieta, liberal studies major, said.
Rita Romero, child development major, another prospective teacher, knows that these books will be useful where she is going to teach.
“Actually I am going to be a pre-school teacher,” she said. “I am going to be working with little ones between two and four years old because I enjoy it. I like to listen to the kids and I am patient.”
TEP, like so many other programs on campus, might not be available within the next couple of years due to budget cuts.
“Initially when we wrote the grant, it was expected that the college would pick up the tab, but with the budget cuts so drastic, there is not a promise that the college will be able to do that,” Young said.
Young said that she and other faculty members are toing to be working hard on a new proposal grant early in February .
“We do find ourselves worrying about it (being canceled),” Young said. “We are trying to seek out other options and we are going to be working on another grant proposal and try to keep the program going.”
