Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Search for Acaden The following interview Is the first in a series of 10 ar ticles highlighting prominent schools and departments within USC. Dr. Leon M. Lessinger, Dean of the College of Education since September 1972, talks about his school, prominent & programs and possible d national prominence. Interview by by Bob Baker Q. Dean Lessinger, what direction does the College of Education hope to take in the next five years? A. Well, right now there's a movement in America called com petency based teacher education. It is based on a combination of both competency and field training. There's an emphasis on practice teaching. If I might use play on words, it's a matter of being ready for the teaching practice rather than practice teaching. It's a lot like a doctor who has a medical practice rather than practice medicine. Q. Just what changes are being made in the College towards competency based teacher education? A. The College of Education has adopted a motto, which it expects its students to uphold. It's called--Competence-Confidence-Caring. These are the three areas which make a good teacher. As far as ob servable changes are concerned, the education faculty is building courses in the basic curriculum. We've finally brought education courses down to the freshman level so that freshmen who think they might be interested in the profession can find out early enough in their college life. It used to be that only juniors and seniors would be allowed in education courses. This is changing. A new thing, probably different - in fact I'm sure it is - from anything in the world is an idea which Don Gillis conceptualized and we are working on together. It's called "Teaching as a Performing Art." This concept envisions the idea of teaching teachers how to command an audience and to recognize the classroom as similar to a theatre stage. It's a program which the' College of Education has been working on, and I might emphasize again that we are the only school anywhere to have such a program. But beyond this matter of "Teaching as a Performing Art," we are moving to a stronger research emphasis in the College. USC had the largest group of professors (12) invited to present their research papers at the past national convention of the American Educational Research Association. We consider it an honor to get one person invited, but twelve... I'm sure you are aware that we have a strong counseling and guidance program in the College, and it extends beyond the schools to the prisons and hospitals in the state. Also we are bringing our programs to all areas of the state, not just Columbia. And these programs go beyond the basic practice teaching. It includes seminars, special institutes, etc. Along this same line, we are ex periencing a new kind of enrollment trend. We find that more people than ever are coming back for training. It's a matter of additional learning degrees used to serve those people already on the job. You have to remember that almost 75 per cent of our students are enrolled in graduate courses. Q. If there are plans for expanding programs, then it seems likely that the facilities would need expanding also. Are there any plans to try to get a new building? What kinds of improvements will the school be getting in the immediate future? A. At present, there are no plans whatsoever to expand in a different building. This old college has a spirit of its own and we really have no desire to get a new building, such as what humanities has, or B.A., if you know what I mean. For the upcoming year, we have $800,000 committed to renovating the present building. The immediate plans call for a first rate job to be done with the first and third floors and a renovation of Peabody gym. As for the second floor and other needed renovations, we hope to get enough money when the time comes. Q. You said the College has a heavy graduate enrollment. Do you see the college evenitually becoming nothing but a senior institution? A. We feel like the school will naturally become a graduate or senior institution. Recent studies have been made of the kinds of teachers which are needed around the country, and conclusions drawn show that those teachers who are employable, in other words those that have background and experience, are the kinds of teachers which most schools are looking for. That kind of teacher has to have prac tical experience, especially when you consider how glutted the market is today. The kind of teacher we are trying to produce at the College is one who will be competent, confident, and caring and know how to perform as a teacher. We see a need for fewer undergraduates, making those we do graduate more marketable in that they have practical experience to get out in the real world. Right now the need for retraining teachers is much greater than just producing more teachers for the market. Even this year, although the College has experienced a 10 per cent drop in undergraduate enrollment, the overall enrollment has jumped 70 per cent. We are probably the fastest growing ollege of Education in the country. ic Excellence Q. Do you think that the growth of the College of Educ the poor rating which many observers have give elementary and secondary schools? A. I think for the most part, that is true. I see a teachers in the state who want to upgrade themselves foi the state's children. There's an elusive quality in educ Carolina. The state's people are tired of being looki because we rank 45th in this or 46th in that. That's malh be better than other states and I think that's reflected in by and large. Our expansion is also due to the fact that v more courses than we used to. Now, teachers don't nearby Georgia or North Carolina for specialized train come here. Q. Do you see the USC College of Education ev4 national prominence of such schools as Stanford, Colum or Chicago? A. I think some areas of the College will become ji those schools. Especially, the teaching as a perforn munity education Educational reasearch, and c( guidance. As far as these programs are concerned, it's of three to five years before they gain national prominer Q. Do you think this move toward national 1 evolutionary, or do you think it's the result of certain over programs and really showing the enthusiasm to mc A. I feel like it's a matter of evolution rather than Continued on Page 8 History Behind USC by Susan Cate Pro-Revolution Attempt Amid the fire and fury raged by the colonies after Farmer George and his parliament's Stamp Act of 1765, a little bill proposing the charter of a South Carolina College was all but lost in the South Carolina Assembly. Several years later the S.C. Gazette admonished the colony for being outdone by northern colleges which were at that time suc cessfully soliciting funds from Carolina citizens. After all, Charleston was "undoubtably" the colonial seat of wealth and culture and her lack of an institution of higher learning was a disgrace to the colony. Soon after, another attempt was lost in the Assembly because of political disputes. Despite the failures, however, the idea of a college had been well impressed upon important minds and was not lost during the ravages of the Revolution. After The War A depression, reorganization problems and sectional disputes facing the new state delayed the college further. The new state constitution put the power into the hands of the wealthy landowners and merchants of the Lowlands, the majority of whom were sending their sons North or abroad to college. As the farming population of the Uplands grew to exceed the population of the Lowlands, it began to demand its share of power. The Uplanders, for the most part, saw little need for higher education. They were "illiterate, irreligeous, and happy" and deemed it unthinkable that the poor should be taxed to pay for the education of the rich. Capital Moved To Columbia In 1787 the state capitol was moved from Charleston tocentrally located Columbia in an effort to unite the disputing sections and a new state constitution was adopted in 1790. ation Is due to n our state's spirit among the benefit of ation in South Entertainent Edtor -d down upon BRENDA BELL irkey. We can sports EdItr our graduates BILLY BAKER te are-offering Photography Editr have to go to JOHNNY DRUMMINGS ing. They can Production Manager !r gaining the TERRY COON bia, Ohio State Circulation Manager ist as good as GREG TOWERY iing art, com ounseling and Contributors only a matter ELLEN BILES DONNA BISE ice. MARK DILLARD rominence is DANE EDENS people taking KATHY EDWARDS HANK GILMAN ve ahead? MITCH KNEECE inything else. GREG TOWERY SPECIAL FEATURE At a time when the people of this country are trying to un derstand the American Revolution and the development of the United States in preparation for our nation's Bicentennial, Susan Cate of the GAMECOCK staff has been rese arching the history of the University of South Carolina. Below is the first in a series dedicated to our school's history. This first article deals with the motives behind establishing a state university at Columbia. The leaders of the Low Country realizing their days of dominating the "uncultured" Piedmont were numbered, suddenly saw an urgent need for a state college to educate the future Upland leaders to the Charlestonian standards. Five colleges were chartered throughout the state, but all failed because of a lack of support and funds. In The 1800's The dawn of a new century proved to be a time ripe for change. The state elections in 1800 ousted the Federalist party and the chairs of the South Carolina Assembly were filled with Republicans. John Drayton, the new Governor, having been himself denied a college education because of the death of his father, saw the need for a local, state supported institution. Drayton also saw that sectional differences over power and college could be ameliorated, if not ended, by the formation of the college itself in a central location such as Columbia. On February 23, 1801, Drayton presented his proposal to the Legislature. It was the first public advocation of a state college in the United States since the end of the Revolution. Nurtured by a monetary surplus, a result of Alexander Hamilton's federal Assumption Program which returned the $5 million South Carolina had spent in the Revolution, the proposal was adopted. The resulting bill, granting $50,000 the first year for construction of classrooms and dormitories as well as $6,000 each successive year for salaries, was passed by both the House and the Senate. On December 19, 1801, the South Carolina College ceased being just a dream.