Teacher Education

Teach and you can change the world. Teachers impact the lives of thousands of young people during their careers. The influence a teacher has on each student can make a huge difference in their lives. You can:

• Help students become learners and appreciate the value of education
• Assist students in setting future goals and plans to achieve them
• Be a support person for those who lack support at home
• Be a role model

Teachers are always in great demand. BMCC gives you many choices of Teacher Education programs such as childhood, childcare/early childhood, secondary and bilingual education. The nine programs in the Teacher Education Department are designed to provide a strong foundation in teacher preparation as well as substantial background in the liberal arts and sciences. Our experienced faculty are educators themselves who can guide and mentor you in your academic and career choices.

Childcare/Early Childhood Education

The Childcare/Early Childhood Education Program offers you the choice of a major focusing on infants and toddlers from birth to age three (ECI Major) or preschool to 2nd grade, children ages 3 to 8 (ECP Major).

Childhood Education

The Childhood Education Program will give you a solid foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, as well as several educational foundation courses.  These courses provide beginning preparation for later studies at a senior college with the ultimate goal of obtaining initial New York State certification for elementary school teachers (first through sixth grades).

Students who are fluent in Spanish, Mandarin, or Haitian Creole are encouraged to consider the Bilingual Childhood Education (EDB) major.

Secondary Education

The Secondary Education Program provides you with a solid foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, as well as educational foundations and subject concentration courses. The Secondary Education Program gives you the choice of a major focusing in five teaching subject areas:

• Secondary Mathematics Education (SEM)
• Secondary Biology Education (SEB)
• Secondary Chemistry Education (SEC)
• Secondary Physics Education (SEP)
• Secondary Education for Social Studies (SES) (new)

NYC Men Teach

Part of the Young Men’s Initiative, NYC Men Teach is a partnership between the Office of the Mayor, the New York City Department of Education and CUNY which aims to improve the diversity of the NYC teaching workforce by adding 1,000 male teachers of color into the teacher pipeline, a goal it surpassed by 2018. NYC Men Teach at CUNY builds upon our commitment to educate and support students in urban schools, and highlights the importance of deep clinical, culturally-relevant and restorative practice.

Learn more about NYC Men Teach at BMCC.

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Concentration

BMCC offers a TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) concentration through the Literacy and Linguistics program, The Linguistics and Literacy program is administered by the Academic Literacy and Linguistics Department and the TESOL concentration majors are advised by the Teacher Education Department. The program combines both linguistics and education courses to prepare students to become teachers of English to speakers of other languages. TESOL students learn how to teach English Language Learners (ELLs) in the elementary and secondary schools.

The program is designed for a seamless transfer to the teacher education program at Queens College. Students are advised to visit the Teacher Education department to discuss their plans for transferring to a four-year college before choosing their courses. For more information, please contact Professor Ruth Guirguis, at rguirguis@bmcc.cuny.edu.

LEAP to Teacher

If you are currently working for NYC Dept. of Education as a teaching assistant/paraprofessional, the LEAP to Teacher program can help you take the next step in your career by pursuing a degree at BMCC.

Non-Majors and Liberal Arts Majors

All childhood education foundations courses and secondary education foundations courses may be taken as electives by students who wish to continue in teacher education at a four-year college but who are not enrolled in any of the BMCC secondary education degree majors. In addition, for Liberal Arts Majors, secondary education foundations courses can be taken to fulfill the Liberal Arts career credit requirements.

Research Opportunities

Teacher Education majors work closely with professors whose research makes a significant contribution to their field. As reported in BMCC News and elsewhere, this includes the work of teacher education professors Kirsten Cole, Jean Plaisir and Mindi Reich-Shapiro, who have presented findings on how to recruit and retain more men, especially those from minority and low-income communities, into the field of early childhood education.

For more information on their work, here is the New York City Early Childhood Research Network press release, as well as a technical report, “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Influencing Men in ECE,” executive summary and research brief.