The Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) held its first annual meeting in February 1920 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the 100 years since its inception, ATE has led advocacy in issues related to teacher education. The leaders of today continue to be on the cutting edge of other major issues in research and practice in teaching and teacher…

Nel Noddings, Lee Jacks Professor of Education, Emerita, at Stanford University, agrees with Professors Lapsley and Woodbury that moral aims are central to education. She has argued that the main aim of education is to produce better people--better in "all aspects of a complete life: moral, physical, social, vocational, aesthetic,…

Ryan Woodbury, doctoral student in the developmental psychology program at the University of Notre Dame, and Daniel Lapsley, ACE Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Senior Academic Advisor for the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame, advance further conversation on how best to prepare educators for the moral work of…

Richard Milner, and Lori Delale-O'Connor offer their remarks on Daniel Lapsley & Ryan Woodbury's commentary (available in this v38 n3 2016 issue of "Action in Teacher Education") entitled "Moral Character Development for Teacher Education." They begin the conversation by commenting that Lapsley and Woodbury raise some…

In "Moral-Character Development for Teacher Education," Daniel Lapsley and Ryan Woodbury argue that teacher education licensure and accreditation standards largely ignore matters of values, character, and morality. "The moral-character formation of children," they note, "is the instructional objective that dare not speak…

In this response to Donald A. Myers's "The Teacher as a Service Professional" (2008 [this issue]), the author suggests that teacher educators should not buy into Myers's concept because such would sell them short and be counterproductive to the advancement of the teaching profession. Teacher educators must not give up their struggle to advance the…

This response to Myers's concept of the teacher as a service professional considers each of his positions in analogy form. With support from the literature from education and elsewhere, the article maintains that teaching is a profession and that it matters greatly to teachers and society that it be strengthened as such. Examples are offered…

It has been generally accepted that teaching does not meet the criteria of a profession, at least as exemplified by the more mature professions of medicine and law (Abbott, 1988; Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002; Etzioni, 1969; Howsam, Corrigan, Denemark, & Nash, 1976). Teaching is most often referred to as a semiprofession; Myers's (2008 [this…

In this article the author responds briefly to the three authors who reviewed his manuscript. Furthermore, he states that the service model that he proposed was not a compromise or a lesser goal for teachers than professional status; it was a more accurate and uplifting goal. The teacher as a service professional could have widespread support…

The print and electronic media approach the reporting of educational issues with negative simplicity depicting those in charge as unethical, incompetent, and engaged in some form of coverup. Examples of biased headlines followed by the real issues are given. (Author/MT)

Though television stereotypes of teachers have changed over the past 30 years, only the broader aspects have been altered. The stereotype is described, and a call for redefinition of the teacher is issued. (MT)

Teaching and learning comprise an identifiable subject matter that is intrinsically important, but, in general, is disgracefully ignored by liberal arts curricula. Teacher education programs should not tolerate being relegated to second-class academic citizenship because of specious claims about different properties of knowledge. (CB)

A fable illustrates the characteristics of four types of learners who are differentiated by a specific learning need (obligation, stimulation, competence, or personalization) and points out the need for teachers to recognize individual differences among students and treat them according to their individual style. (CB)

An educational researcher considers the impact of the increasing tendency of states to mandate single instructional models and enforce them through teacher assessment, concluding that teachers should have a repertoire of instructional options and the professional judgment to choose wisely from among those options. (CB)

Teachers should be more comprehensively involved in process of school reform than current reports suggest if schools and teaching are to be improved. Teachers can be more involved through pedagogical roles where they model teaching excellence; mentoring roles for new teacher induction; assisting roles for continuing education of peers; research…