Charles Hancock, a professor of foreign and second language education at Ohio State University, shakes the hands of students at the Rural / Urban Collaborative Institute.

ATHENS, Ohio (October 31, 2008) – The Patton College of Education hosted the first annual Rural / Urban Collaborative Institute on October 10, 2008.  The event brought together faculty, students, teachers and administrators from Ohio University, The Ohio State University, Columbus City Schools, Logan-Hocking Middle School and Southern Local Schools, providing a necessary link between the two universities and local schools in rural Appalachia and urban Columbus.

“I am excited about the collaborative,” said Linda J. Rica, Associate Dean of Ohio University Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education.  “It will provide future teacher-leaders with an experience that stretches across cultures (rural and urban), and will help prepare students for their roles as teachers in an ever-changing world.  As the landscape of teaching shifts, we too need to shift and ensure that our students are ready to enter any environment with confidence and competence.”

Students look on at the first annual Rural / Urban Collaborative Institute.

The Rural / Urban Collaborative began as an idea to bring rural and urban communities together with man goal of preparing preservice teachers to teach anywhere.  Students at Ohio University and The Ohio State University will be provided with urbanand field experiences because of the Rural / Urban Collaborative.

Kristen Cooper, a junior Middle Childhood Education major at Ohio University expressed the impact that the Rural / Urban Collaborative had on her saying that, “I wanted a different classroom perspective and that’s what I got.  I grew up in a suburban district and had observed here in Athens at rural schools, but I have yet to observe and participate in a true urban classroom setting.  The Institute made me realize that there are a lot of similarities between rural and urban school districts, even though I had initially thought they were vastly different.”

coe sophomore Latia Taylor engages in conversation at the Rural / Urban Collaborative Institute.

The Collaborative will prepare students to enter any teaching environment within the changing landscape of teaching.  Latia Taylor, a sophomore Special Education major at Ohio University explained the importance learning to teach in different environments.  “Rural and urban schools need teachers the most and are among the least funded, so teachers need to be creative and use their imaginations during lesson planning.  Some students don’t receive the education they deserve because the teachers are not properly prepared.  The Institute helped me realize that I need to be ready to teach in every environment,” Taylor said.

The Collaborative will also help students to foster a deeper awareness of how to examine, understand and assess a variety of cultural experiences and issues, whether they be based on gender, race, class, or locality (urban – rural – and suburban).

“The Institute offered incredible insights for preservice educators into the challenges, the strategies and the joys of teaching in rural and urban settings.  The teacher panel was extremely helpful in providing real, practical information that adds to our teaching philosophies,” Andrew McBride, a Master’s of Education student in the Middle Childhood Program at The Ohio State University, said when explaining the impact that the Institute had on him.

STORY BY MORGAN LYLES

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