Toronto Teachers College - Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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TEACHER-TRAINING AT NEWLAND PARK COLLEGE Apart from the short courses for mature students, OF EDUCATION It was in the late afternoon ofa mellow September day that l made mywayto Newland Park. After driving through winding, truncated roads hedged in by dense thickets, we came rather suddenly upon the entrance to the college which stands in a beautiful park amidst the attractive suburban countryside of south Bucking- kamshiref' We continued down the delightful avenue of trees which has obviously seen many comings and goings and varieties of residents during the passing years, on either side lay lush,green meadows where cattle quietly grazed and, in the distance, stood the elegant, eighteenth century mansion which houses the main administrative offices, common rooms, tutorial offices and the Chapel. ln the surrounding gardens and woodland, temporary wooden buildings provide accommodation for students' hostels, lecture and tutorial rooms, the library, laboratories, gym- nasiurn, art and craft rooms, reading rooms, student recreational rooms and the Dining Hall. The college provides the advantages of a quiet rural settingwithin easy reach of London and its many cultural and educational amenities and of access for teaching practice to a variety of rural and urban schools ofall types. Newland Park College of Education is maintained by the Buckinghamshire Education Committee and isa member college of the Institute of Education of Read- ing University. The college admits chiefly men as resident or day students and a few married women residing locally as day students. The college provides Three Year Courses to qualify students for the Teacher's Certificate of the Reading University Institute of Education, which recommends students who successfully complete their courses to the Secretary of State for Education and Science as Qualified Teachers. Students who qualify at the college to take a Four- Year Course are examined by the University of Read- ing for the degree of B.Ed. ln Britain there are two main ways inwhich people become teachers. They either go to a university and get a degree or they take a three-year course in a teacher-training college.Thereare two kinds ofteacher- training colleges: the general one as at Newland Park or the specialist college which concentrates on training teachers for particular subjects such as physical education, music, drama, home economics, etc, In the general colleges, a teacher's training is made up of four interrelated elements. First, there is a student's own personal education, colleges differ but in most of them a student chooses one or two subjects and takes them to as high an academic level as he can. He starts at A. level and probably reaches something like the standard of a pass degree. Second, training colleges study Education -they study children and young people as they grow up, how they think, how they feel and how they learn. They also study society and the underlying ideas about the education of children in it. This part of the course includesa certain amount of history, philosophy, psychology and sociology. Third, the the students learn about teaching methods and the theoretical basis of teaching par- ticular skills and subjects. Fourth, a large part of the course is taken up with practical work in schools. the Three-Year Course provides the focal point for teacher-training at Newland Park. lt is designed to train teachers for secondary and primary schools, these are subdivided again into groups training for lnfant, Junior and Junior-Secondary age ranges. The training course in every instance comprises two ele- ments: Professional Education which involves Theory and Practice of Education, and General Courses. The latter include: Curriculum Courses: English, Mathe- matics and Physical Education. jiil Four Optional One- Year Curriculum courses: art, crafts, drama, music, religious knowledge, rural studies, social studies, etc. jiiil Special Subjects at Main Level: studies in concen- tration one subject selected from Biology, Chemistry, Divinity, English Literature, History, Geography, Physics, Mathematics, etc. jivl Optional Courses designed to widen the students' interests and know- ledge in fields not directly related totheir main subject course. These are chosen from areas such as: Environmental Studies selected from either historical, geographical or sociological subjects. Creative Activities such as photography, puppetry, crafts, theatrical design, etc. Subjects from Human Culture such as language, folk lore, etc. Science in the Modern World concerning the applica- tion of Mathematics, Physics, Biology or Chemistry to everyday living. During the third year at Newland Park, students intending to proceed to a B.Ed. degree take, in addi- tion to the normal course, a special course related to Education and the other subjects they intend to offer for their degree. They must pass examinations with Credit or a higher distinction in their Main subject, in Theory of Education, inthe Practice of Educa- tion, as well as in the special course they are studying in order to qualify for the fourth year of training. Where possible, arrangements are made for students to attend courses at the University and, at the end of the fourth year of training, candidates sit Final University Examinations. Scholastic life at Newland Park differs markedly from that at Toronto Teachers' College for several obvious reasons: the more or less isolated, pastoral setting requires initiative and energy on the part of the students in planning their own recreation, the three-year residential training period permits a more leisurely time for reflection and for the maturing of interpersonal relationships, the students are ofone sex and living under somewhat rigorous conditions, and, lastly, the program is designed to explore selected subject areas in depth and to sample another wide variety ofgrelated topics. ln order to meet admission requirements, a student must be, at least eighteen years of age and have a General Certificate of Education indicating passes in a stipulated number of subjects at Secon- dary School level andfor passes at the advanced level in other areas. Increasingly the colleges are demand- ing at least two A. levels for entry and this is the minimum requirement for universities.Thestudent planning to attend Teachers' College applies approxi- mately a year in advance to several colleges of his choice anywhere in Britain, forms, recommendations, Page 22

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etc. are submitted and, if he is considered for a place in the college, further correspondence ensues and personal interviews are arranged, carefully docu- mented dossiers are filed on the early backgroundand academic history of each student. If he is accepted and recognized, the would-be teacher receives free tuition, free board and lodging and a cash grantfor his personal maintenance. Thus, the student body consists of approximately three hundred and fifty young men from Northern lreland, Wales, Scotland or from England, of comparable age butwith infinite variations in ability, interests and background, living under similar conditions, presumably they are all studying to be teachers but many simply take advantage of the educational opportunities offered gratis and then launch into an entirely different career. One of the more noticeable features of college life at Newland Park is the tremendous number of organized group activities, the Theatre and Drama Society is particularly active and, in the autumn, produced an excellent performance of the play The Physicists under the most extraordinary conditions, there is a Debating Society, a Geography Group, a Contemporary Film Society, the Music Society and several highly organized groups for sports such as soccer, rugby, basketball, tennis, canoeing, etc. Because the students are more or less on the spot and because of the continuity of their soiourn there, these organizations are extremely valuable in that they perform recreational and educational functions. After tea in the afternoon or after dinner inthe evening, the students assemble to participate in or to enioy the various activities, bus trips are arranged and visits are made to the concert hall, the theatre, galleries, other educational institutions, etc. I am much impressed by the unhurried and detached approach to education. After a hearty breakfast students peruse their mail in the Junior Common Room, if they have no class, they chator visit the library or engage in something such as sports, crafts, etc. The classes are conducted in temporary wooden structures hidden among the trees. The stu- dents wend their way through mazes and covered paths, they seem oblivious of the gnarled ancient trees, the gleaming rhododendrons, the walled gardens, and the asthmatic old clock that quietly paces the hours for them. All students must ioin the Students' Union which is controlled and operated by the student body with their own elected officials, the Union not only co- ordinates and finances the various students' groups mentioned above but it also appears to be very vocal about all aspects of college life. The students produce a weekly college rag and the tenor and quality of the students' thoughts are reflected here. I quote excerpts from two' 'different editions of Scoop . 'We would like union representation in academic government and student disciplinary matters, greater participation in local, regional and national affairs. 'We should have more educational visits, more lectures in methods. Students have a Social Function Committeewhich appears to be quite enterprizing, dances, concerts, dinners, etc. are arranged on suitable occasions and Page 23 visits are exchanged between colleges. The Students' Union also has a separate recreation hall where different indoor activities such as snooker,table tennis, bridge, etc. is enjoyed. There is a Students' Bar where all kinds of beverages, cigarettes, candy etc. are dispensed. Most of the students dress very casually on the college grounds, a small minority are bearded and unwashed but, in the main, they are similar to Canadian youth. l have beentremendouslyimpressed by their unflagging energy, curiosity and courtesy. One hears here, as in Ontario, the old complaint that what prospective teachers learn in college has often little bearing on the school situation, I suspect that students at Newland Park spend an inordinate amount of time pursuing their Main Level subiects and, since these subiects are basically taught in Grammar Scools by university graduates, one ques- tions the immediate value of such an arrangement. I admit at once that academic excellence is of inestim- able value but, at this stage, l would gatherthat these teachers-in-training need practical help inlearn- ing: various methods of presenting knowledge, ways of intensifying learning, arrangement of an efficient teaching-learning situation. To quote again from the startling Scoop , Teaching practice is the closest part ofthe course to the finished product but much ofwhatis of fundamental importance from this practical part of our training floats under the bridge and is left with the other inadequacies that are shelved. Perhaps more time should be spent in: lil studying the significance of social structures, social groupings, class loyalties and preiudices in relation to educational development of individuals andfof groups of children, fiil developing skills in the art of teaching , most new teachers would not decry some knowledge and practical experience in the basic skills of class management, lesson organization, questioning, visual aids, and transfer of learning. In the training college here the students have approximately six weeks of teaching practice in one room in the same school for sixweeks,this is preceded by two days of observation. One studentworks alone in the room with the regular classroom teacher, he is required to teach four lessons each day. He is expected to prepare and follow a theme ofworkin each subiect area, he seems to be trapped between what the teacher expects as being relevant to her work and what the tutor considers valuable in his class- room experience. Personally l feel that in the teach- ing practice session, the school teacher should be given more responsibility for the student's guidance in school and that the .tutors should concentrate on relating the student's practical experience to his learn- ing inthe course as a whole. The focal point of teacher-training is the process of transmitting human knowledge and culture to succeeding generations in the most effective manner, this cannot be understood and mastered without in- vestigation and practice and an awareness of the processes involved, theory and practice mustbe linked and developed in a comprehensible way. It might be of valueto havezdemonstrations ofvarious methods