New Victory Bell ringing tradition at Adrian College celebrates teacher education students

ADRIAN — It was more than one month ago, on a windy, snowy and chilly November evening, in which 10 Adrian College teacher education students celebrated their educational journey of soon becoming educators themselves.

A new tradition at the college and within the teacher education department began Nov. 16 amidst the snow, laughs, cheers of joy and tears. The celebration was for those college students who successfully passed the State of Michigan MTTC test, also known as the Michigan Tests for Teacher Certification.

Michigan state law requires a testing program as part of Michigan’s teacher certification requirements to ensure “certified teachers can demonstrate the necessary professional readiness and content knowledge to serve in Michigan schools,” according to michigan.gov. The MTTC program currently consists of subject area tests, which must be taken for each endorsement area a candidate is seeking.

Passing the test is no easy feat, said Adrian College teacher education student Kayley Craig.

“It’s very rare to pass the test on the first try,” she said.

When prospective educators successfully complete the test, it is something to celebrate.

“From the perspective of the teacher education department, the number-one priority we have for our students is for them to pass the test,” said Adrian College Teacher Education Assistant Professor Kyle Griffith, a longtime Lenawee County educator. “…Although there are several requirements to becoming a teacher, the high stakes MTTC test is a significant requirement to successfully pass. Our teacher education department at Adrian College and most importantly our students, have devoted much time, energy and resources to assure that students pass the state required MTTC test.”

This year, those AC students who did pass the teaching test were able to cement that moment in history by gathering with family, friends, professors and fellow classmates around the entrance of Shipman Library on Adrian College’s campus, where individually, each teacher education student, rang the Victory Bell with the honorary MTTC Victory mallet and struck the bell once for each year they have been enrolled at Adrian College.

The celebration made for an emotional evening, Griffith said. Many students thanked their parents and family members for their support and always being there for them. Other students credited the knowledge of the AC educators, which was passed along to the students through classes, hands-on work and time spent in classrooms.

“We as a department have talked about the current direction of the (teaching) profession. It is a tough line of work for a variety of reasons. The newly introduced bell ringing ceremony allowed for everyone to get together and celebrate their certification; celebrate them getting into the classroom to teach,” he said. “The students might be going out into the workforce as individuals, but they’ll always remember being part of something bigger here at Adrian College.”

Teaching has a lifelong and global impact, Griffith said, but for several years, the field of teaching has seen sharp declines. Michigan is one of the state’s with the highest number of teacher shortages.

“The educator shortage crisis in Michigan is among the worst in the country, with a 66% drop in enrollment in educator preparation programs (from 2008 to 2016),” said Naomi Norman, superintendent of the Washtenaw County Intermediate School District.

To help alleviate this continuing shortage of teachers in Michigan, several ISDs in the state — including the Lenawee Intermediate School District — recently launched “Talent Together,” a consortium which aims to leverage state, federal and local funding to remove barriers and create additional pathways toward teacher certification to bolster the education workforce.

Talent Together was unveiled Dec. 6 during a roundtable meeting of the numerous ISD superintendents. The program has a reach of more than one million students.

Griffith described the profession of teaching as “challenging, but with the greatest rewards.” He, himself, has more than 30 years invested in education from being a principal, to an assistant superintendent, a superintendent and a coach.

“We have an incredible duty to fulfill as educators,” he said. “Teaching is now, amidst all of the variables in today’s society, an incredible opportunity to make the world a better place, and to make a difference in a child’s life.”

Craig said she also wants to help bring real change in the lives of students as a teacher.

“For me, I want to focus on teaching my students the importance of resiliency,” she said. “No matter how hard you get knocked down, you just have to get back up.”

Craig is on her way to continuing the family tradition of teaching. Her father, John, is a long-time elementary teacher in Morenci. She currently is completing her student-teaching at Blissfield Middle School, where she is working with seventh grade students in Danielle Ford’s math classroom. Her full-time student-teaching duties begin in January and will continue through April.

“It’s never a dull moment,” she said of working with seventh grade students.

Jayden Cronk, another Adrian College teacher education student, celebrated the Victory Bell ringing with his family, who surprised him by arriving to the ceremony in Adrian from Cheboygan. When his time came to express his gratitude, Cronk proclaimed the event as the "greatest day of his life,” Griffith said.

The Victory Bell ringing ceremony will be conducted twice a year, Griffith said. Ceremonies will be celebrated toward the conclusion of each semester in an effort to recognize those "future teachers crossing one of the final hurdles of becoming a certified teacher," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: New tradition at Adrian College celebrates teacher education students