Each semester at Slippery Rock University, we host a panel of administrators to speak to education majors about job search issues. One semester, a student asked, 鈥淪hould we use education buzzwords in our interview answers?鈥�
One administrator answered, 鈥淵es, but know what they mean and use them in the appropriate context.鈥�
As a future educator, it is never too soon to research, understand, and relate to the professional issues in education. That means also using educational terminology in your conversations with peers, professors, teachers, and administrators. You should learn what the latest issues are in your education classes. But you will also learn them during your field and student teaching experiences by listening to teachers and administrators. If you hear teachers talking about issues and are unaware of what they are talking about, ask them for more information and take the time to research on your own.
You do not need to know the minute details of Every Student Succeeds Act, but you better know how this national legislation will impact school districts and your future teaching career. It is highly unlikely that you will be quizzed during an interview on what a particular acronym stands for, 鈥淵ou have two seconds; what does ELL stand for?鈥� But you will be asked, 鈥淗ow will you accommodate your lessons for ELL students?鈥�
The contains an article on page 35 titled Know the New Education Reform Initiatives. Yet, this article only touches on some of the issues, terms, and acronyms you need to know. And one of the initiatives in this article, 鈥淩ace to the Top (RTTT),鈥� is a program under President Obama. Does it still exist with President Obama no longer in office? That鈥檚 what you, as a future educator, should know.
If you haven鈥檛 been paying attention to professional issues when they are discussed in your education classes because you are thinking, 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 pertain to me,鈥� then you have some catching up to do. Education is a profession, and like all professions it has knowledge and standards that its practitioners should know and adhere to. Buzzwords should become a standard part of your professional language and practice.
By John F. Snyder
Associate Director of Career Education and Development
Slippery Rock University of PA