The Harvard Graduate School of Education's Teacher Education Program (TEP)prepares individuals to become middle or secondary school classroom teachers in urban settings. This intensive eleven-month masters program combines classwork and fieldwork to bring together theory and practice. The Program leads to Massachusetts teacher licensure at the secondary level.
There are two components of TEP: the MidCareer Math and Science (MCMS) program and the Teaching and Curriculum (TAC) program. MCMS prepares math and science professionals (exclusively) who want to become secondary math and science teachers. TAC prepares all other candidates, i.e. recent and not-so-recent college graduates, liberal arts concentrators, mid-career humanities candidates.
Jocelyn Chadwick, a faculty member in the Teacher Education Program, puts it in real terms:
"While many in government today talk much about educating the Nation's youth -- no one left behind -- there is very little walk to that talk. Here in our TEP program, we are actually walking the talk. We begin by asking ourselves what kind of teachers do we want to exit our program and enter into the world of urban teaching. We design our courses with the urban student focus guiding our every decision of activity, assignment, theory and pedagogy. We carefully mentor and model for our interns the effective role of the urban teacher. And, perhaps, more importantly, we empower our interns with voice and passion for their craft and their mission. Finally, we do not see the intensive HGSE year as the terminal stop in their journey; rather, we encourage sustained contact and communication."
