Official downplays effects of possible reforms
While possible education reforms aimed at teachers will have some impact on Franklin’s education program, the head of academic affairs said he doesn’t believe the necessary changes at Franklin will be as major as some needed at other institutions. "A lot of the [secondary education majors] have a major in the content area anyway, so that’s not a huge change for our students," said David Brailow, the vice president for academic affairs. However, elementary education majors may have to add a minor in their content area, and the education curriculum may undergo some changes if the Rule Revisions for Educator Preparation and Accountability gains approval. "Our faculty has been pretty active. They’ve been to all the informational meetings, public hearings – all that stuff," Brailow said. Although Franklin’s education chair Beth Moore declined to comment on the issue until REPA becomes a reality, Brailow said because Franklin is a liberal arts college, there has been more focus on all areas of study, which allows changes and transitions to be a bit easier. "As I see it, their view is that this is pretty compatible with our program and really doesn’t have a large impact. It’ll have some impact, but it’ll be easy to adapt to, and we don’t really object to the changes that much," Brailow said. No matter what the outcome is, freshman Sarah Vance is set in her career choice. "They’re trying to make less requirements to become a teacher, but the standards for actually teaching need to be higher so the kids become more educated, so it just depends on how the vote goes," she said. "Either way, I’m still going to be a teacher." Cam Savage, a spokesman for state superintendent Tony Bennett, said there have been some mixed opinions highlighted by three public hearings across Indiana. Even so, the REPA still moves forward. The next step will be a vote by the Professional Standards Board. The reform will most likely come to a vote by the end of the year, Savage said, and the new rules for licensing would go into effect in July 2010. A time allotment for colleges and universities to change their curriculum would be allowed, and students graduating before 2011 would not be affected by the REPA changes.
