Students should take note of a course of study scheduled to launch in the fall of 2012: the education minor.
The minor, which is currently accepting applications for its first class, will provide students interested in education policy an avenue to investigate these issues without devoting all of their coursework to studying education.
This is especially valuable for students interested in Teach For America, which was the largest single employer of UNC students who graduated in 2009 and 2010.
For these students, the education minor could have provided them with critical knowledge about education policy and actual classroom experience before they embarked on the incredibly intense and challenging two-year stint.
This is not to say the minor wouldn’t be useful to those uninterested in Teach for America. It could still provide a valuable perspective on education policy, an issue which affects us all, directly or indirectly.
The students and administrators who helped plan the minor should be applauded for the creativity and tenacity they demonstrated in establishing it. It isn’t easy to get a new program like this off the ground, especially when faced with today’s budgetary obstacles.
We look forward to observing the progress, and hopefully the success, the minor will enjoy as it enters its first year.
