Source: Larry Scharmann, 785-532-6938
News release prepared by: Sheila Ellis, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu
Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007
K-STATE SET TO GRADUATE LARGEST CLASS OF MATH TEACHERS IN A DECADE
MANHATTAN -- In today's high-tech world, many students interested in mathematics may be drawn to the computer and engineering fields, said Tyler Stubenhofer, a senior in math education at Kansas State University.
"There is so much development in those areas that it overshadows the timeless job of teaching math," said Stubenhofer, who, come May 2008, will be part of the largest graduating class of mathematics teachers at K-State in the last decade.
K-State has been the leader in producing the most teachers in Kansas for a number of years, said Larry Scharmann, professor and chair of the department of secondary education. According to Scharmann, K-State's College of Education will award degrees in May 2008 to 31 students who will be certified to teach mathematics.
But the need for mathematics teachers in Kansas is far from the number of students the public universities in the state are producing, he said.
"Increases like these run in cycles," Scharmann said. "As people start to hear about teacher shortages, someone who hasn't thought about teaching thinks, 'maybe that is something I should consider.'"
Teacher shortages in the nation and in Kansas aren't new, Scharmann said.
"The demand for teachers has been there for a long time -- and its not just math; it's anything except for English and social studies," he said. "Science and math are the two most difficult subjects to find teachers for."
K-State is actively recruiting students to help fill the void of mathematics teachers, Scharmann said.
"The state wants to find ways to increase the number of teachers that we supply in the pipeline, but it can't be done at the expense of the quality of the person coming up," he said.
K-State has resisted alternative certification programs because of concerns of watering down content, Scharmann said. However, the university is hoping to launch a graduate certificate program that gives teacher licensure to graduate assistants who have taught in mathematics and science.
"This will allow individuals who are more mature to not have to get a second bachelor's degree in education," Scharmann said. "This alternative program would be helpful to the graduate assistant who doesn't like research but likes the teaching side more."
Lori Martini, instructor of the math methods course at K-State, is also a math teacher at Manhattan High School. She's worked with K-State for more than 10 years and enjoys bringing real classroom experience into her K-State class.
Initially, many of her students did not start off in education, Martini said. The students usually begin in engineering or in a major that offers higher paying jobs. They switched to math education because they wanted to work with people and kids more than the research aspect of some high-paying jobs.
Stubenhofer, Marion, is one of Martini's students. "I decided to be a math teacher because I would go crazy in a boring job, and working with people -- especially kids -- is never boring. I like math and teaching it, and I like helping people. Math is the medium through which I can reach them," he said.
Unity is one reason why K-State will have such a large class of math education graduates, Stubenhofer said.
"We have stuck together," he said. "We study together, we hang out together, we organize dinners. I feel as a class we're bringing a lot of excitement and charisma to the field, and I'll be excited to hear about my classmates' successes in the coming years."