I am a history sec ed major and I just feel like venting to anyone who will listen, and hopefully respond! I was just admitted to the RCOE at the end of fall semester. My advisors have been history advisors and for the most part, they have been clueless as to what I need to do regarding RCOE. I now find myself feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. I feel like the departments need to correspond more in order to help us out. As a secondary person, I feel like I have been overlooked in the grand scheme of things and I feel like more emphasis is placed on elementary education rather than secondary levels. I'm just curious to know if anyone else has had a similar experience!

Brandi:
I too am completely clueless about the goings on in the RCOE. I was a transfer student and was never even assigned an advisor, so I had to find one myself. Luckily Jeffery Bortz pointed me in the direction of someone who might possibly have a clue. I was admitted into the RCOE in December and I too feel like secondary ed students are being put on the back burner. Eh, what are we to do?

Although I am an elementary education major, I agree with you guys that much, much more emphasis is placed on el ed rather then secondary. I don't know how to help you guys out, but I think it is obvious that your statement is true.

I am a secondary education major and I agree as well. I feel as if I am lost when certain topics are brought up about the educational department. I feel like this diffently needs to be addressed.

I too feel the sting of the emphasis placed on elementary education. I have only had a few classes where I actually learned to "teach" the material and not just listen to interesting things to do with your students. Most of the advisors I have had have not been able to help me out that much and I find myself a year from graduation feeling grossly unprepared to enter the teaching arena.

My advisors are also clueless about the goings on of RCOE. Most of the information I know is because I happen to know some elementary education majors, or I see a flyer up somewhere on campus. I agree that someone should do something to insure some inter department cooperation and training on what is needed by each department in order to finish our teaching degrees.

Yeah, the advisors for the history department defintly don't know what's going on, even though if you ask the ROCE people they tell you to talk to your history advisor. You have to love the classic 'run around.' I don't mind the bit about more emphasis on elementary levels, but I DO need to know how to actually teach. I have classes in the ROCE that have absolutely nothing to do with their titles much less on how to actually construct a lesson plan, or how to manage the kids in your class. Its great if the teaching fellows learn this on a retreat, but for the rest of us, we have no clue and have to figure it all out on our own![/code]

I agree that secondary educators are overlooked. I once had a teacher tell me there is no way to be able to teach someone how to teach someone else. It is very hard and I know a worry with many of us. In block the basically give suggestions but no one can possibly teach you how to teach.

i agree with you, Darcy, I am an elementary edu. major, we have all kinds of classes that are supposed to help us teach, and our advisors are all in RCOE, but I have heard of numerous complaints from secondary english people not knowing what is going on at all. like Darcy said, i am not sure how to solve the problem, but i am willing to complain to anyone who will listen to me, maybe that's what it will take Brandi to answer your question.