Sample 11th Edition Sample 11th Edition | Page 4

Preface
The Teacher Cadet Program, administered by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, &
Advancement (CERRA), is a highly effective high school recruitment program aimed at attracting each
state’s “best and brightest” students to the teaching profession. Its mission is to “encourage academically
able students who possess exemplary interpersonal and leadership skills to consider teaching as a
career,” and it provides the opportunity for schools and districts to identify and recruit “homegrown”
teachers and educators.
The Teacher Cadet Program began as a pilot project in South Carolina in 1985 when four high schools, in
partnership with four colleges, agreed to experiment with a high school-based teacher recruitment
program. This progressive effort was built on the belief that bright, young people can be attracted to
teaching careers if they are given the opportunity to study education and teaching in a challenging
classroom environment.
The successful pilot program attracted 28 high schools and 15 colleges in 1986-87. Teachers and college
faculty members worked together to develop curriculum materials in keeping with a broad outline
prescribed by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement (formerly known as the
South Carolina Center for Teacher Recruitment), the program’s sponsor. As the Center and its policy board
looked toward 1987-1988 and the projected expansion of the Teacher Cadet program, it became apparent
that a model curriculum was needed.
The Center invited Dr. Ken Bower, professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood
Education at the College of Charleston, to develop a full-scale, two-semester curriculum. With the help of
two Charleston-area Teacher Cadet instructors, Jan Black and Virginia Ward, as well as contributions from
teachers in the Cadet network, Dr. Bower produced the first edition of Experiencing Education in 1987.
Dr. Bower died on December 25, 2002, at the age of 58. During his career, he was avidly committed to
public school students and the adults who work with them.
In South Carolina, the Teacher Cadet Program has grown from 54 high schools in 1987-88 to over 170
high schools today. In addition, the network currently includes 22 College Partners that provide support
services and college credit for all of the high schools. Having been adopted in 38 states across the United
States, to date, Experiencing Education continues to attract and prepare the best and brightest pre-
collegiate students for a career in the teaching profession.
The following are major changes in the eleventh edition of Experiencing Education:
v the publication of the text in a professional format that is easier to read, color-coded by overarching
units, and divided into chapters that mirror all other secondary textbooks
v alignment with standards and descriptors recently modified by the curriculum committee (Standards
emphasize the knowledge and skills teachers need for the PRAXIS as well as for National Board©
certification.)
v standards alignment matrix illustrating the program’s 40 rigorous standards, cross-walked with
standards set forth by Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), Council for the Accreditation of
Educator Preparation (CAEP), the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC),
and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
v the addition of an introductory section of instructor resources with guidelines and tips on enrollment,
c