The College of Education Mission and Vision
Mission
The mission of the College of Education at Butler University is
to prepare individuals to be highly qualified professionals who
exemplify our core values of integrity and responsibility;
teaching, learning and mentoring; diversity and similarity; and
theory, practice and collaboration.
Vision
We need a valid vision. We need the will.
With vision and will, everything is possible.
-Asa G. Hilliard III
The College of Education believes we must prepare our students
for schools as they should be, not simply perpetuating schools as
they currently exist. We must be willing to explore with our
students the difficult issues of inequities that exist in our
schools and society and to help them to become agents of
change. This of course means that as faculty we must examine
our own beliefs, be willing to keep our hearts and minds open to
the ideas of others, live our lives with integrity, and model how
great teachers take risks, challenge the status quo, and advocate
for the rights of all students.
Ours is a college that continually changes because learning is a
transformational experience. Members of the college embrace
what Parker Palmer described as a "capacity for connectedness."
Palmer stated:
Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness. They
are able to weave a complex web of connections among
themselves, their subjects, and their students so that students can
learn to weave a world for themselves. (Courage to Teach,
p. 11)
The College of Education's learning community presents
transformational experiences that allow students to create their
own tapestries. As an intention of their preparation, students
invest in school-communities that differ from theirs. They are
challenged to examine their assumptions about other people, how
children from diverse experiences learn, and reflect about the
responsibilities of innovative educators. Exemplary teachers
mentor education students by modeling best practice, supporting
leadership, and demanding courage.
Participants in the learning community engage in scholarship
that supports teaching as inquiry. As investigators, they
become constructors of knowledge that seek to connect theory with
practice. As a function of scholarship, students use
technology applications to discern strategies for learning,
creating, modeling, and assessing. Faculty and students take
advantage of opportunities to study abroad and have new experiences
that help them become better global citizens.
As faculty and students weave their unique tapestries, they
gather regularly to discuss instructional strategies and the
implications of new research. We celebrate the successes of
the learning community's participants and encourage them to reach
new heights.