Applications for teacher education programs start on Thursday (March 4) and will be close on March 10. Those determined to be elementary and secondary school teachers will be welcome to attend the presentation of the examination for these programs, held by the Center for Teacher Education at Ching-Sheng International Conference Hall at 12:20 Wednesday, to get ready for the examination. For the related information, please visit the homepage of the Center for Teacher Education http://www2.tku.edu.tw/~tdqx/ed_intro5.htm.

Owing to economic depression, many students think much of teaching career. This year 150 chances for elementary and secondary schools respectively---will be open, the same as last year. As shown by the number of 765 applicants for secondary school and 414 for elementary school last year, the competition this year will be intense as before.

The teacher education programs are popular; therefore, the level of requirements is raised: applicants’ average grades in the previous semesters must reach the top 30% of the whole classes or departments, behavior grades 80 or A level (and above), with the approvals of chairs of departments. The three stages of preliminary screening, reexamination and final decision involve personality test, short essay, and interview; applicants for elementary school programs need to take extra examination of physical strength; then, the most qualified will be chosen.

Secondary school programs include 26 credits, and elementary school 40. Many students start preparing for the examination from freshmen year and plan to delay their graduation and pave way for their future career. After finishing the programs, students will be awarded certificates, and half-year apprentice teaching at secondary and elementary schools will be arranged. After that, they have to pass teachers’ examination held by the Ministry of Education to acquire official teachers’ certificates. Next, they need to pass the unified examinations of individual cities and counties or the independent examinations of individual schools to formally obtain teaching posts at elementary and secondary schools.

To arouse participation, the association of teacher education programs will hold “Week of Teacher Education Programs” at the Exhibition Hall at Business and Management Building. There will be various static and dynamic exhibitions from Tuesday (March 2) to Friday (March 5). Two interesting games will be held at twelve on March 3 and 4. One is the challenge of “Cruel Stage” which includes four phases: dash contest, clipping green beans, piling poker cards, and eating contest. The other one is “Tower Hanoi Intellectual Game,” which puts into trails the contestants’ physical strength, speed, dexterity/carefulness, and reasoning faculty. Other activities include book exhibition, contest of digital data about teacher education programs, short VCDs of graduates’ apprentice teaching, films about spiritual developments such as “Dead Poets’ Society” and “Kids Are Not Stupid,” and short programs of the activities of students’ societies.