Newman University was founded in 1933 with the purpose of training future teachers.
The School of Education and Social Work is continuing the legacy of preparing students to transform society in the Wichita area, throughout Kansas and across the nation still today.
Students in the education department work closely with highly trained and experienced professionals who have chosen to share that expertise with them.
However, Associate Professor of Secondary Education Max Frazier said it takes more than just training to make a successful teacher.
“A teacher has to genuinely care about students,” he said. “I can teach a person to write lesson plans, create engaging lessons and administer valid assessments, but I do not know how to teach someone to care about others.”
Among other things, his list of good qualities for educators includes patience, organization and excellent listening skills.
“A good teacher needs to be able to pay attention to a lot of things at the same time, manage a variety of activities and people and genuinely enjoy working with young people,” he said.
“I personally believe that spending your days working with young people of any age is a pretty great way to spend your time — teaching is never boring.”
The most common career obtained with an education degree is, of course, teaching, but there are other options for graduates.
“There are lots of things to do with an education degree and a variety of opportunities if you look around and dream a little bit,” said Frazier.
Students with an education degree can become a classroom teacher, administrator, work in instructional support, sponsor clubs, coach athletics or receive extra training to become a counselor or school psychologist.
Frazier added, “Some people choose to work at the district level in human resources or business operations or as an athletic director. Some might even choose to get advanced training to become superintendents and spend their time working on educational policy and budgets. Others may choose to work overseas in schools serving the military or working with the children of diplomats posted in faraway lands.”
No matter what a student decides to do with their degree, any form of teaching is prone to be rewarding.
Assistant Professor of Education Janet Jump said, “Teaching offers an opportunity to make a significant and lasting contribution to society, to inspire a love of learning and a chance to build a better future.”
of education.
In order to prepare to transform society, students take a variety of important courses before becoming an official educator.
Those courses include educational psychology, which helps people understand how individuals learn, various instructional processes and the different needs of learners.
A methods class helps them understand the specific techniques and processes for helping students learn how to read or work with numbers and math.
Newman University students spend their final semester in the education program student-teaching in a real classroom gaining real-world experience for their future.
Student-teaching is a vital part of the education curriculum and it provides students with invaluable experience in a classroom, a mentor and time to observe and learn in real-time.
“Every class is important and includes the continuous learning of engaging and innovative teaching practices while building an understanding of students as learners,” said Jump.
“At Newman, we are committed to ensuring that our students graduate with a strong foundation in the pedagogy of teaching, as fully prepared as possible to be confident and successful teachers in the classroom.”
Courses at Newman are hands-on and enjoyable in order to motivate future educators to pass on a love of learning to their own students.
Teaching future educators is more than just passing on academic knowledge like how to write lesson plans but also includes how to build positive and collaborative relationships with students, parents and co-workers as well as how to help students reach their potential.
“Teaching is at the heart of making a difference in the lives of children. A teacher can be that mentor and role model that turns learning into a passion for students,” said Jump.
“The students sitting in the chairs of our classrooms today will one day be part of solving global problems. The focus of the School of Education is to educate our students to become competent, caring reflective practitioners who are intellectually and spiritually motivated to transform self, schools and society.”
The Newman University School of Education and Social Work offers a variety of undergraduate degrees in education including a Bachelor of Science in elementary education, secondary education, childhood unified education or social work.
For those looking to further their education, students, including transfer students and adult learners, can enroll in a variety of six education and social work-focused master’s programs and four licensure programs including ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) endorsement, district leadership, reading specialist and building leadership.
Newman University offers flexibility with both online and in-person courses in Western Kansas, Southeast Kansas and in Wichita.
Learn more about Newman University’s education program today!
