Major Spotlight: Urban Teaching
Surprise! This major is actually *technically* a minor! However, it’s essentially a major and is Barnard’s teaching certification program, which I think is a hidden gem. Do you care about educational justice? Do you want to graduate Barnard with a teaching license? This program might be for you!
Barnard’s Urban Teaching Program is technically a minor under the larger Education Department. However, the “minor” title is mostly for logistical reasons; when you’re being hired as a teacher, schools want you to have a major other than Education, so you have a base of content knowledge to teach. In this program, you select the age range you want to be certified in, either elementary (K-6) or secondary (7-12). For secondary, you select the subject you want to be certified in: ELA, Science, Math, History, or a Foreign Language. You take classes with your cohort, including both elementary and secondary educators, as well as different subjects, so you get a sense of what teaching looks across different ages and subjects.
The requirements look slightly different for Elementary and Secondary, and you can look at the most updated requirements on their website. However, generally, you’ll take at least one class in psychology (I took developmental psychology), and you’ll complete your content core. For secondary, this is usually your major, and for elementary, it’s a set of requirements in a few departments. I’m getting my certification in secondary ELA, so my English major counts for my content core. Along with those classes, you have an introductory class in education, and a set of 5 courses that are paired with fieldwork.
I love that this program combines educational theory with fieldwork—the practical, on-the-ground reality of our education system. Starting my freshman spring, I was a student teacher at a middle school in the Bronx, and I’ve taught at two other schools since. You start out your student teaching in teams, and then your Junior and Senior year you get full-year placements with a specific teacher. I’ve loved my time as a student teacher, and I think it’s one of the best experiences I’ve gotten at Barnard. There’s nothing that beats teaching a lesson that goes really well; that beats developing relationships with students, teachers, and a community outside of Barnard.
Another awesome part of the minor is the tight-knit community. By your junior fall, your Urban Teaching courses are just the students in your graduation year, which gives you four semesters to bond as a cohort. I started a year early, so I got to experience two cohorts, and I can confidently say the Barnard Urban Teachers are among the coolest people at this school.
What’s unique about Barnard’s teaching certificate program?
Barnard’s Education department centers educational justice in a way that I think is incredibly special. We focus on disrupting patterns of inequality in schooling, and all of our pedagogy, inquiry, and fieldwork is grounded in justice. I believe we’re able to critically understand the current state of education, while also considering what tangible change in teaching looks like.
Also, this program is an undergraduate program! Many teaching certifications happen through a graduate school degree program. I’m very glad I’ll graduate being able to immediately teach in NYC’s public schools, and I won’t have to pursue another degree right away. I’ve been able to double major in English and Human Rights, so I’ve received both the liberal arts education and a tangible, hireable certification.
What are some of my favorite Urban Teaching classes?
Arts and Humanities in the City: In this class (open to non-Urban Teachers as well), we studied arts, ELA, and history education, and how these fields can be taught in an exciting, interdisciplinary way, centering critical literacy and digital storytelling. I taught lessons on protest art, giving speeches, and making change.
Multicultural Secondary Pedagogies: This class was a crash course on how to best practice culturally affirming teaching, planning lessons that will activate students’ prior knowledge and allow them to be their full selves in the classroom. We also learned about how our teaching can best support disabled students and ENL students.
Critical Inquiry in Urban Teaching: In this class, we all developed our own inquiry projects in our fieldwork placements. We learned about student data, research in the classroom, and assessments. I did a research project on teaching creative writing, and how that can supplement a set curriculum, support students’ identities, and overall be a site of joy.
Final Thoughts
For anyone looking to become a certified teacher, I would highly recommend this program. It is admittedly a lot of work, and I will flag that in your senior spring, you student teach full time (so Monday through Friday from around 8 to 2:30pm). However, if you’re up for the teaching hours, this program is a delight. We learn from the best, kindest, smartest professors, and we’re able to work in the best profession ever!