chatboard - Teachers.Net

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

AZ Teachers

MEMBERS

7 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

Arizona Teachers Chatboard

If you are in Tucson..

by avoid the Pima community college program

Nov 18, 2013

ima is currently completely re-vamping their program "because of common core and the new requirements placed on teachers" and they will have a new program in about 2-3 years..you can not enroll as a new student in the K-12 certification program at this time. I happen to think this is all a smokescreen..their program has been a miserable failure and that--not the common core-- is why they are re-vamping it. If they were making an honest attempt to fix problems I'd say great..admit their are issues and fix them. But I doubt they are.

Here is my background with Pima: 1) I had one good teacher in a face to face class; he said he wouldn't stay at Pima if it's online and now it is. Most teachers just slap 100s on everything and ignore you... I guess that's good if you just want to get the class done, but you won't learn anything. I happen to think education theory is largely bogus--and thus it really hardly matters what the teachers do/don't do in their classes-- BUT when you stude...See Moreima is currently completely re-vamping their program "because of common core and the new requirements placed on teachers" and they will have a new program in about 2-3 years..you can not enroll as a new student in the K-12 certification program at this time. I happen to think this is all a smokescreen..their program has been a miserable failure and that--not the common core-- is why they are re-vamping it. If they were making an honest attempt to fix problems I'd say great..admit their are issues and fix them. But I doubt they are.

Here is my background with Pima: 1) I had one good teacher in a face to face class; he said he wouldn't stay at Pima if it's online and now it is. Most teachers just slap 100s on everything and ignore you... I guess that's good if you just want to get the class done, but you won't learn anything. I happen to think education theory is largely bogus--and thus it really hardly matters what the teachers do/don't do in their classes-- BUT when you student teach you'll find out you didn't learn to "play the game" correctly in terms of writing lesson plans and so on.

2) There are numerous problems: 1) Required assignments are undoable..we had to make a make a list of websites where there was information on assessments; fine so far. But we had to "find copies of formal assessments (i.e. tests like the AIMS) and include the assessment" in the list.

2) One professor gave everyone Cs to Fs on all work, encouraged you to re-do it but then usually dropped the grade when you did. She did have a few students "who are doing fine" because (according to her) "they have knowledge of the standards based curricula". But I told her "I want to meet your standards..and the first time" she was hostile. She had her own way of writing objectives and she wouldn't accept "the students will classify foods in Spanish by food group" as valid because "that is an ACTIVITY".

3) A teacher requested a student for observation hours but then flat out told me she didn't want a student-- not "you" but any student.

Expect no help!! In #2 they refused to help me until I had a final grade for the class and in #3 I asked to be moved--because this was a 7 am start time school a full hour from my house--and I got an irate response.

But the fun starts once you student teach... Principals complain we aren't prepared and should not be there.

I got a multi-page note calling me an f--king b--ch and the principal did nothing..neither did Pima. (The principal forbid me to tell anyone.)

A teacher who taught special education students threatened to file a grievance against me for writing up a student with NO IEP (i.e. no plan to help him read) for reading a test out loud with a peer; my teacher supported her. Pima did nothing.

I had a placement with 5 unrelated preps, no textbooks and a teacher who flat out refused to tell me what content to teach. I'm in Spanish and this was Spanish for natives; I'm not a native and there is no reason I'd know what to teach natives. The teacher admitted she couldn't help me because behavior was so out of control but refused to either let me write up kids or talk to the principal..and you guessed it :) Pima did nothing.

I was removed from secondary because I failed student teaching. 5 years later I decided to try K-8. I had 3 years experience as a K-8 aide. I was re-admitted and directly told it was fine that I'd been removed from secondary--and I could even student teach in secondary and be 1-12 certified. That was wrong. Now you have to pass algebra--you didn't when I was in secondary--and the 1-8 NES (formerly AEPA) tests; so I did. Prepping told several months and of course between test fees and algebra tutoring I spent $500. ONE DAY before my file said I was scheduled to start classes an administrator noticed this letter in my file..so I can't re-enroll. Sorry. You shouldn't have been told you could..I agree. But you were. Sorry. These people had seen me in the office dropping off paperwork to get admitted and I'd asked them how long a teacher had to have been teaching to have me "because a teacher at my job will take me as a student teacher-- but she hasn't been a teacher long". (Plus my file had a start date in it!) So THEY should have noticed I was planning to start classes. I appealed twice and lost.. so that's it and there is nothing I could do but get a lawyer. But honestly I said THANK GOD at this point!!

Pima itself is in a MAJOR crisis. The University of Arizona will no longer take Pima credits and it looks very likely their accreditation will be cut. I have no idea what that means, but it could well mean your certification isn't valid.

Stay away. It appears appealing because it's cheaper and likely faster, but it's not worth it.

Comment

(1)

report post