College of Education and Human Development

Meet Sarah: Secondary education, English

"I had a really great group of mentors, professors and friends at WMU. Those people made my experience worthwhile!"

Why did you want to be a middle school teacher?

Honestly, I actually wanted to be a high school teacher, but after completing my internships I realized middle school is where I wanted to be. Middle schoolers kind of get a bad rap because they're still growing and that can be challenging thing. But I love that they're still in that developmental stage.

What made you want to be an English teacher?

My mom is an educator herself, and so she influenced me as far as the importance of education. Especially coming from Africa and being an immigrant. And that had been the push to get an education and value it highly. And then as far as English, my dad was the one who influenced me into English education because he was very big on reading, spending time at the library, working on your gramma and all that kind of stuff.

What is Future Teachers of Color?

It is a registered student organization I co-founded and it brings teaching students of color together. It helped me a lot at WMU.

Secondary education at WMU

This program offers a unique opportunity to earn both a teaching certification for grades 6-12 and a master’s degree within a cohort, 13-month program. Using dynamic and relevant curriculum with a focus on culturally responsive instruction, full-time faculty model learner-centered instructional practices. Candidates experience learning in a supportive cohort community of learners. A full year internship provides candidates with extensive personalized support from mentor teachers as well as program faculty. Secondary education candidates can enter this program through two main pipelines: WMU pre-education undergraduate content degree with an education focus, or with a content degree from WMU or an outside accredited institution.

The MAT in Secondary Education is a thirteen-month intensive cohorted program of study that includes coursework in foundations of education and pedagogy, as well as a year-long clinical experience in local schools.

Program overview

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