High School Students Learn What It's Like to Be a Teacher

Crystal Hernandez, center, works with high school students interested in teaching careers. Students build a Web site as part of the program.

MILWAUKEE - High school students get a chance to explore what the classroom is like from the other side of the desk in a two-week summer program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Urban Teacher World Pre-College Program, June 17 to 28, gives the students a chance to explore teaching as a career, says Barbara Logan, academic advisor in UWM's School of Education.

The students, primarily high school sophomores, will get a chance to try out new technology as they build a class Web site with a virtual museum to showcase their work.

Along the way, they'll learn how to do research, create and analyze films, take pictures with a digital camera and develop lesson plans. Milwaukee Public Schools teacher Eugene Garrison will join Logan in teaching the students. Guest lecturer Beverly Cross, professor of education, will talk about teaching careers at a university. On Tuesday, June 18, students will hear about life in the classroom from a panel of teachers.

After learning how to use university resources during the first week of class, the students will take a field trip on Saturday, June 22, to the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry to gather information and photos for their lesson plans. A fringe benefit of that trip, says Logan, is that students will learn about careers as museum educators.

The students also will tour Milwaukee Area Technical College, and learn about the CUTEP program, which helps potential teachers who start with an associate degree complete their coursework for the bachelor's degree.

The program is in its third year. "Our goal is to introduce students to teaching as a career, and help them understand how teachers can use new technology to bring knowledge into their classrooms," says Logan.

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