Embrace change.
That was the challenge Dean Ena Shelley presented at the first State of the College of Education address Tuesday night.
The dean held the address in order to hear the voices of her college and motivate them to embrace the college’s vision of change.
“Every member of the College of Education has to engage in this change if we want to change the world of education right now,” Shelley said.
Embracing change is in the COE’s veins, it’s vision statement, she said.
“The world is changing right under our feet,” she said. “That’s why you have to be prepared to do things differently.
“We are preparing students for a world that we can’t imagine.”
The COE is beginning numerous projects, all focused on changing what is or should be.
Butler has fostered a partnership with Shortridge High School.
“We are in our infancy in this partnership,” Shelley said, “The partnership is unfolding and growing and it will continue.”
The COE is also beginning a partnership with Indianapolis Public School 60. The school will be a lab school, and will solely hire teachers with Butler experience.
Shelley said the lab school was a dream come true.
The COE had a vision, and they could implement it here, she said.
“If you dream it and you put your dream out there and work towards it, it will happen,” Shelley said. “It may not be on your terms but you can’t look at the obstacles. Look at the possibilities.”
Shelley encouraged students not to be discouraged by the turbulent education world.
“Education is like riding on a roller coaster, sometimes you just have to close your eyes and scream,” she said.
Shelley said the only way to get through the experience is through collaboration in the education field.
“I know that we have to unite and we have to continue to press forward,” she said.
Sophomore Ali Arends, a physical education major, agreed.
“Even here at this speech, it’s great because all of the different types of education majors can come together to change things,” she said.
Shelley said she has a vision of change to help resolve the current turmoil in education currently.
“I want to see the boundary lines disappear between the school systems,” she said. “With collaboration, I hope Butler students are the catalysts to help make that happen.”
