The college, in conjunction with the National Education Association and the Department of Defense, will begin shuttling about 15 elementary and secondary education students to a military base in Germany each semester.
The students will live on the base near the city of Baumholder, and they will teach at one of its three elementary schools or junior/senior high school.
"The children would reflect the people who make up our military force," said David Dixon, the chairman of the department of educational studies.
Dixon said the student teachers, despite their location, will undergo the same student-teaching experience as their peers who student teach in the United States.
Because students must sign up for student teaching in the fall of the year before they actually student teach, those who have not registered will have to wait until the 2004-2005 school year to teach in Germany.
For those signed up, however, Dixon is seeking applicants for the 2005 spring semester. The 2004 fall semester is already full, but Dixon said students can still sign up, in case an opening appears.
Students will have to pay for the plane ticket, but they will be provided transportation to the school and accommodations on the base. Students will live in large, single dormitory rooms, Dixon said, and they will have access to the base's store.
Dixon and his colleagues have considered the notion of overseas student teaching for several months. They first heard of the idea during a convention in San Francisco.
In May, Dixon and Roy Weaver, the dean of the Teachers College, visited Baumholder. Throughout the semester, the pair made four trips to Washington and Germany in order to finalize the details of the program.
Currently, Dixon said he has no plans to expand the program. If it proves to be a success, he said, there might be more opportunities.
"You just want to try to get this working well," Dixon said. "If more resources are provided, we could possibly expand."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
