As South Carolina and other states demand better teachers to boost student achievement, some critics say education programs should be more rigorous, more comprehensive and more hands-on. They say admission standards are too low and courses aren't relevant to real-life classrooms. School officials disagree. I think we have a very strong quality of beginning teachers. Education students usually divide their schedules between regular academic courses and specialized ones that deal with the theories and methods of teaching.
Students also spend significant time in classrooms.
Between sophomore and junior years they observe teachers in action, and as seniors they have at least a semester of student teaching. Some experts believe schools of education should stress content - more math, more history. USC, like many schools nationwide, now requires education majors also to major in a content area. She said she knows the math required by South Carolina standards, but probably not enough to teach eighth grade. Other experts say more emphasis is needed on the art of teaching and dealing with students.