WALKING THE TALK - THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN PRESERVICE URBAN TEACHER-EDUCATION

As we prepare teachers for a society that will be increasingly urban a nd diverse, we must carefully plan and require field-based experiences that will put prospective teachers in direct contact with the student s and communities with whom they will work. Although most teacher educ ators agree that an understanding of the sociocultural context of lear ning is imperative for effective urban teaching, there is a paucity of examples of urban teacher preparation programs that provide preservic e teachers with the opportunities to explore the school environs and t o learn about the community and its citizens through firsthand experie nces. This article will describe one urban education program that prov ides student teachers with firsthand experiences in urban settings and the observations and lessons learned by the participants.