FACTS: Noah came to Harvard's Learning and Teaching Doctoral program after ten years at an alternative public middle school in New York City's East Harlem. "Teaching in urban schools is about discovering yourself and nurturing children who are curious about the world, wonderfully talented and yearning for creative and thoughtful teachers." He has taught Humanities to 7th graders, English, to high school students and successfully integrated art history into all his lessons. Noah also spent nearly a decade working as a cooperating teacher with The Program in Early Adolescence at Bank Street College of Education, where he also received his Masters degree. "I am a passionate advocate for small progressive middle schools in urban settings and for teacher education that unites theory and practice. My teaching and research interests are focused around democratic classroom theory and methods, as well as Social Emotional Education in middle school settings."
As a TEP advisor, Noah observes and visits with each of his interns at their school sites on a weekly basis. "We also meet together for a two-hour weekly conference group, which gives us a forum where we can reflect on all aspects of the intern's teaching experience." They discuss different teaching methods, articles and resources, and talk about interactions with students. "We also share a snack and talk about whatever students need to discuss to feel good and make thoughtful choices in their teaching."
THE INSIDE SCOOP: "I love the intensity of Harvard's Teacher Education program. Advisors spend a lot of time working with interns and I think that this kind of attention and nurturance produces young teachers with a vision for themselves and for education as a whole."
"I believe urban schools and their communities are too often portrayed in hurtful and distorted ways. One of our jobs in the Urban Education program is to help interns discover how wonderfully alive and welcoming urban schools and communities can be."
"The Harvard program allows interns to get deeply involved with students and teachers at urban schools. This close connection allows interns to discover students as the curious, joyful, and talented young people and learn to provide the kinds of nurturance and caring that they need to learn and grow."