CONNECT . MOTIVATE . INSPIRE .
“YOU CAN’T SIT BEHIND A DESK”
VISIBILITY AND BLACK ROLE MODELS AT JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY
BY DR. ALICE GINSBERG, DR. MARYBETH GASMAN & DR. ANDRES CASTRO SAMAYOA
M any of us picture of a classroom or sitting behind a desk. Yet, one of the hallmarks of HBCUs is a strong commitment to being visible in the community, including building partnerships with local schools and other community-based professors as either standing in front organizations. This is partially because the majority of HBCU students are drawn from in-state and/or nearby communities and plan to stay and work in those same communities after graduation. Almost half of Jackson State University’s (JSU) students
are local to Mississippi. All aspects of JSU’s teacher education program reflect this dedication to working with and improving the local community and public schools, from the hiring of its professors to candidate recruitment to service-learning mandates to providing induction support for their graduates to offering on-going professional development for in-service teachers. JSU puts a strong emphasis on recruiting future teacher candidates from schools in the local community. Under the auspices of programs such as Teach for
Mississippi, representatives from the JSU teacher education program are creating organizations in local middle and high schools that aim to inspire students to become teachers. Through joining these organizations, local high school students get to live on JSU’s campus over the summer and experience first-hand the culture of higher education and teacher education. JSU’s commitment to connect with the local schools is also reflected in the teacher education program’s early and repeated opportunities
for candidates to work in local K-12 classrooms. For example, when asked how professors challenge teacher candidates, one professor responded: “Real life situations, letting the students see that, yes, you have this textbook in front of you and all this theory that’s in it, but let’s see what’s practical. Let’s go out into the field and see what really is taking place.” Early exposure to real- time classroom teaching provides an opportunity for candidates to see what teaching feels like. It also provides them with a chance to experience what it feels like to serve
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