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	Vol.7, No 71, February 9, 2000
	Teacher education goals being met, CSU report says By Christina L. Esparza Daily Forty-Niner A progress report on a 3-year-old initiative to supply more teachers to the state of California was given to the California State University Board of Trustees. The board heard a report Jan. 27 from Cal State Long Beach President Robert Maxson, the chairman of the commission that proposed the initiative, in which he outlined the programs that have been put in place. "Our goal was to produce more teachers," Maxson said. "And those teachers were of the highest quality." The CSU's Commitment to Prepare High Quality Teachers is a 10-goal initiative proposed by the CSU President's Commission on Teacher Preparation and K-18 Education. The initiative was developed to review the "quality and quantity of teacher education," Maxson said. One of the committee's four main areas of improvement is to increase access to admissions, Maxson said. "We would advertise and we would recruit more teachers," Maxson said. One of the commission's successes has been CalTEACH, an online resource for the recruitment and placement of teachers. CalTEACH has led to a proposal by Gov. Gray Davis that would increase the commission's funding, according to the Board of Trustees press release. "CalTEACH is not only operational, but reported 3.5 million visits to their Web site last year," Maxson said in his speech to the Board of Trustees. Another area the committee wants to improve is curriculum, mainly new ways for teachers to obtain credentials, Maxson said. To allow a student to work on receiving credentials earlier, CSU campuses offer credential programs for undergraduates, Maxson said in his speech. Another way to access credentials is through the Internet, according to the press release. Elementary school teachers teaching with emergency credentials can form groups and attend classes via the Internet and receive their credentials online, Maxson said. However, the new credential options being implemented are not necessarily being welcomed with open arms. "I have mixed feelings about it," said John Attinasi, a professor of teacher education at CSULB. "Teaching is an interpersonal profession. Teachers are tutored in personal contact." If the teachers are tutored in a classroom, it is easy to see if a teacher interacts badly with a student, he said. "You wouldn't know that online." The last two areas of improvement are to maintain high standards in admissions and to collaborate with schools, Maxson said in his speech. To maintain high standards, the Deans of Education proposed common admission standards to the statewide Academic Senate, a body of university faculty members that serve to review curriculum. These standards will both easily determine a qualified applicant for admission and make it easier to transfer from one CSU campus to another, Maxson said in his speech.		Valentine artist a mystery   Sandler to visit campus   CSULB drops land plan   Teacher education goals being met, CSU report says Contributions mean buying politicians Ballad Session offers romantic songs in time for upcoming holiday   Lox's 2nd CD decent attempt for hip-hop group   Imports offer great music in spite of high price Women's team adds players Spring 2000 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach © 2000 All rights reserved.