DATE: Thursday, October 23, 1997            TAG: 9710230533

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   86 lines

DESPITE STUDY, PROFESSORS CALL TEACHERS WELL-EDUCATED

Roughly three-quarters of education professors harbor serious doubts about the capabilities of some of their students, the future teachers of America, according to a report by the Public Agenda Foundation.

But local education professors say there are enough safeguards - from grade requirements to standardized tests - to ensure that few rotten apples make it to the chalkboard.

``I think we're doing a better job than we have done in previous instances,'' Donna B. Evans, dean of Old Dominion University's Darden College of Education, said Wednesday. ``The standards are pretty rigorous, despite people who say they're baby courses.''

In the Public Agenda survey of 900 professors, 75 percent said too many prospective teachers have trouble writing essays free of mistakes in grammar and spelling.

In addition, 72 percent said they often or sometimes have a student they doubt will become a good teacher.

And 86 percent think college education programs need to do a better job of weeding out students.

The report, released Tuesday, raises questions about the quality of teachers at a time when the public and politicians are increasingly worried about the quality of education youngsters are receiving.

A state study earlier this month found that 30 percent of South Hampton Roads public high school graduates need to take remedial courses at Virginia's state-supported colleges.

The professors' viewpoints are ``a signal that they don't have the confidence that their goals will be realized in the real world, given the corps of recruits that they work with,'' said Steve Farkas, co-author of the report and vice president of Public Agenda. The organization is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group aimed at helping citizens understand policy issues and helping leaders understand the public's point of view.

Marian Flickinger, president of the Norfolk Federation of Teachers, said Wednesday that she believes most teachers are ``outstanding,'' but ``I still think there's a portion that need to improve their skills.''

She thinks both universities and school systems should work harder to ensure that youngsters get top-notch teachers.

Flickinger said she has been lobbying the Norfolk school system to restructure the supervision of student-teachers. Instead of one teacher overseeing the student, she'd like to see a carefully selected panel of teachers, who might better spot deficiencies.

Locally, education professors say that they sometimes encounter students with problems but that there are enough safeguards to ensure that only well-qualified students graduate.

``Some of the teachers that we have often make mistakes in spelling and sometimes grammar, but it doesn't mean they will not become good teachers,'' said Shirley S. Winstead, director of student teaching at Norfolk State University. Those students, she said, are referred to the university's language laboratory and often tutored by their peers.

The checks that education students must pass in South Hampton Roads include:

Grade requirements to enter and to stay in education programs. They vary between a 2.5 - midway between a B and C - and a 3.0, a B. At ODU, the 2.5 requirement to get into the Darden College of Education is tougher than those of any other college, Evans said.

Standardized tests on subjects such as grammar and math. At Virginia Wesleyan College, students must pass such an exam generally in their junior year or they cannot continue in the program, said Lin Logan, an associate professor of education.

But Winstead and Alan Arroyo, Regent University's dean of the School of Education, said good grades aren't the only foundation of a good teacher. ``Does this person have a heart for teaching?'' Arroyo asked. ``If you can't build a relationship with a student, they can have a 4.0 from Harvard and not be good teachers.''

How do you weed out those students? One way, at ODU, is to give them a degree but not recommend teacher certification. That, Evans said, allows them to pursue a career, but not in teaching.

In Virginia Beach, the quality-control checks for teacher applicants include essays they must write about education issues.

``You want to make sure the person whom you want to hire is conversant in written and spoken English, that they can convey a thought from beginning to end,'' said Eddie P. Antoine II, acting director of human resources for the school system.

Antoine said the influx of adults going into teaching has improved the quality of applicants: ``They are folks who have had some experience dealing with life. They are more dedicated than we would have seen before.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

Donna B. Evans, dean, ODU's Darden College of Education KEYWORDS: STUDY EDUCATION

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