AN EARLY START

How did they make this transition? The simple answer is
an undergraduate teacher preparation program. But thanks
to the programs of the Center for Future Educators at The
College of New Jersey, many early-career members have had
additional learning and support in high school and college.
WHAT IS THE CENTER FOR FUTURE
EDUCATORS?
The Center for Future Educators (CFE) at The College of
New Jersey was established in 2010 and is funded by NJEA.
Its mission is to inspire, encourage and recruit high school
and middle school students who are considering teaching as
a career. CFE achieves these and other goals through three
main programs: the New Jersey Future Educators Association,
the Tomorrow’s Teachers high school course elective,
and the Urban Teacher Academy at The College of New Jersey.
“These programs are critical to early identification and
nurturing of young people who have a passion for teaching,”
says CFE Executive Director Larry Fieber. “Teaching
requires not only specific, well-honed skills in pedagogical
techniques and deep content knowledge, it also requires
a special kind of dedication to the betterment of society
through the development of young people in whose hands
we place our futures.”
CFE especially seeks future educators interested in teaching
in high poverty and hard-to-staff schools and/or high
shortage subject areas such as math, science, special education,
world languages, technology, bilingual and English as a
second language.
“We want to get students on track early to successful educational
programs at the post-secondary level,” adds Fieber.
“Through STEM teaching we can keep our country competitive
in high-tech, complex fields; world language and
bilingual education help us gain understanding of ourselves
and our neighbors in our increasingly complex and global
society.”
NEW JERSEY FUTURE EDUCATORS OF AMERICA
The New Jersey Future Educators Association (NJFEA) currently
has 60 high school chapters. Chapters elect their own
officers and must have an advisor. NJFEA supports Educators
Rising, formerly the national Future Educators Association.
“
It is OK if you don’t have teaching all figured out — nobody does. Lessons will go off the rails and
some days will go much better than others. What is important is that you constantly strive to
improve. Use those less-than-stellar days to grow as a teacher. I guarantee that your appreciation
for sleep will greatly increase, but that is all part of what makes teaching the most amazing job in
the world.
Daniel Kaplan | BERNARDS HIGH SCHOOL
By the time he was in high school, Daniel Kaplan
knew he wanted to teach. So he joined his school’s
Future Educators Association (NJFEA) chapter
because he was eager to learn about becoming an
effective educator.
“NJFEA presented me with a perfect opportunity
to do that,” says Kaplan. “It gave me a chance to
figure out what it meant to teach and collaborate
with others who shared my passion.”
Today Kaplan shares his passion with his colleagues
and students at Bernards High School in
Bernardsville where he teaches social studies.
Although Kaplan’s high school did not offer a
Tomorrow’s Teacher course, he heard about the
Urban Teacher Academy through NJFEA. He credits
the academy with reaffirming his career choice.
“The Urban Teacher Academy provided me with
a multitude of valuable lessons, but most of all it
introduced the idea that children are children everywhere,”
says Kaplan. “I learned about classroom
management and planning lessons, but more than
that, I learned that your students each have their
own, unique situations that directly impacts their
performance in school. Knowing your students is
absolutely pivotal.”
Kaplan attended The College of New Jersey,
where he became a member of the New Jersey
Student Education Association (NJSEA).
“I attended as many NJSEA meetings as I could,”
Kaplan recalls. “NJSEA provided me with a less formal
environment to talk about current educational
trends. Education classes are great, but sometimes
it’s refreshing to just chat with some friends about
teaching.”
Kaplan also credits NJSEA with helping him understand
the structure of public education in New
Jersey.
“NJSEA introduced me to the union. There is a
lot to familiarize yourself with at your first job, and
NJSEA shortened that list for me because I already
understood the importance of NJEA.”
The first-year teacher knows he has a lot to learn,
but is convinced that NJFEA and NJSEA gave him a
head start.
“These programs allowed me to start refining my
philosophy at a young age,” Kaplan believes. “That
is not to say that I have it all figured out — not by
a long shot — but NJFEA definitely helped me to
feel more prepared when I finally walked into a
classroom for the first time.”
JANUARY 2016 21