The People Behind TC
Teachers College was founded in 1887 by the philanthropist Grace Hoadley Dodge and philosopher Nicholas Murray Butler to provide a new kind of schooling for the teachers of the poor children of New York, one that combined a humanitarian concern to help others with a scientific approach to human development.
The founders early recognized that professional teachers need reliable knowledge about the conditions under which children learn most effectively. As a result, the College's program from the first included such fundamental subjects as educational psychology and educational sociology.
The founders also insisted that education must be combined with clear ideas about ethics and the nature of a good society; consequently programs were developed in the history of education and in comparative education.
As the number of school children increased during the twentieth century, the problems of managing the schools became ever more complex. The College took on the challenge and instituted programs of study in areas of administration, economics and politics. Other programs developed in such emerging fields as counseling, curriculum development and school health care.
More recently, the College has been contending with the difficult problems of urban education, reaffirming its original mission in providing a new kind of education for those left most in need by society or circumstance. The College continues its collaborative research with urban and suburban school systems that strengthen teaching in such fundamental areas as reading, writing, science, mathematics and the arts; prepares leaders to develop and administer psychological and health care programs in schools, hospitals and community agencies; and advances technology for the classroom, developing new teaching software and keeping teachers abreast of new developments.
Provost Thomas James Notes Difficult Job Market for Teachers
In an interview on CNN's American Morning, Provost and Dean Thomas James says the economy is experiencing "the deepest dip" in demand for teachers "since World War II," but some teachers are still in demand. Published: 6/28/2010
Editor of Hechinger Report Weighs in on Race to the Top
In the March 30 edition of U.S. News and World Report, Richard Colvin Assesses the Contest Results. Published: 4/9/2010
Bilingual Speech Pathology Team Appears on WABC's Tiempo
Jessica Salas, a Speech Language Pathology graduate student; Angela Livingston, a Speech Language Pathology graduate; and Catherine Crowley, a lecturer and coordinator of the program, talk to Tiempo's Joe Torres about the critical need for bilingual speech pathologists. Published: 3/30/2010
Educational Budget Cuts: Unconscionable - And Unconstitutional
Writing in The Huffington Post, Michael Rebell, Executive Director of The Campaign for Educational Equity, based at Teachers College, argues that children's right to a quality education, as guaranteed by state constitutions, does not evaporate in times of fiscal crisis. Published: 2/24/2010
In the Classroom: 100 7th Graders Invade Books-A-Million
The Reading and Writing Workshop that was developed by Teachers College, Columbia University aims to use students' interests and creativity as the foundation for teaching curriculum standards. Marianne Schand a 7th grade reading teacher at Hunter Middle School uses the program to "light a fire and passion for reading-'"one of life's greatest joys! And to teach the skills as they read selections of their own choice from the classroom library." Published: 2/17/2010
Dwindling stimulus money might cost schools jobs
Federal stimulus money may have only provided a one-year safety net for some New York school employees. Published: 2/16/2010