Mercer University’s Tift College of Education will host its second annual Fall Forum on Education on Nov. 18, 6 p.m., in the Medical School Auditorium on the Macon campus.
 
The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature Dr. Tom Bordenkircher, state director of the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships in Georgia, as well as a panel of Middle Georgia elementary, middle and high school teachers.
 
The theme for this year’s forum is “Teacher Education Reform: Where are the Teacher Voices?”
 
“The majority of teachers are fully capable of providing optimal and inspired learning experiences for students. It is our job to create such professionals,” said Dr. Jim Barta, dean of the Tift College of Education. “Teachers must increasingly participate in ongoing educational reform; their voices must be heard.”
 
Dr. Bordenkircher and the panel will be speaking on the role of practicing teachers in teacher education reform in Georgia. A reception will follow the panel discussion.
 
 “The large number of articles and op-ed pieces on the beleaguered status of teachers in our schools, both statewide and nationally, shows the lack of voice teachers have had in crafting any course in a sea of educational reforms over the past 15 years,” said Dr. Sharon Augustine, associate professor of education and program director for Mercer’s Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellowship.
 
“This forum is an attempt to create a dialogue that honors teacher voices and experiences in the Middle Georgia area.”