Public Education and the University 1

Abstract

This paper summarizes briefly the historical and tenuous relationship between the public schools and the university. It presents several assumptions concerning what teacher education is and what it might become. Its central conclusion is that teacher preparation should be, foremost, concerned with the development and reinforcement of one's humanistic concerns; secondly, because the process of teaching requires a kind of pedagogical artistry that may be stifled by the drudgery of thoughtless or boring experiences, teachers should be given opportunities to explore and evaluate the basic pedagogical premises, theories, methodologies, and techniques that the literature and clinical experiences make available. That is, for example, curriculum should be studied from an historical rather than a prescriptive perspective. Lastly, basic to this preparation should be deep and continuous clinical involvement which permits the teacher to develop skills as an observer and interpreter of human behavior.