Marilyn Cohn, Ph.D
prepares teachers for the real world
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Marilyn Cohn, Ph.D prepares teachers for the real world |
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Teaching
those who teach As director of teacher education, Marilyn Cohn, Ph.D., has impacted students and mentors alike By Neil Schoenherr
The St. Louis native received all three of her degrees from the University, and this is the only institute of higher education with which she has ever been associated. "The University is a very special place for me," Cohn said. "I've certainly seen it evolve from a small university to a very exciting, internationally renowned institution. "For me, the most exciting thing about Washington University is the student body. Over the years, that has never changed. The service commitment and the intellectual ability of the students have always made them wonderful people to teach." Cohn started here as an undergraduate in 1956, completed a master's degree in 1973 and earned a doctorate in education policy-making and administration in 1979. After completing her undergraduate degree, Cohn taught English at Ritenour High School in St. Louis for three years. She "retired" to have a family and stayed home for six years to raise her children -- Derek, now 40, and Cheryl, 37. "When my children got a little older, I started looking for part-time work and decided to come back here to supervise student teachers," Cohn said. "But I soon found that some of my students were returning for their master's degrees and I only had my B.A. So I enrolled in the master's program in instructional process. After I completed that, it was a very natural flow into the Ph.D. program."
She has always enjoyed teaching and scholarly work, but what makes Cohn most well known on campus and in the community is her 19 years as director of teacher education. "During the time I was working as an assistant professor, a position was created called the director of teacher education," Cohn said. "Ralph Morrow, who was at the time dean of Arts & Sciences, thought it would be a good fit for me. I was in a position at that time in my life where I was thinking of leaving the University and moving on. However, I accepted the job on a trial basis and 19 years later I was still at it. It was a wonderful position for that entire period." As director teacher of education, Cohn was responsible for myriad activities, including admission of students into the teacher education program, developing the overall curriculum of the program, hiring the adjunct professors, coordinating field work, placing and supervising student teachers and teaching courses. "I knew every student who came through the teacher education program for those 19 years," she said. "The most rewarding part of my job was always being able to work with those students. It was thrilling to help them become the kind of teachers they set out to be. Washington University has always attracted fantastic people who could do anything they wanted to with their lives, and many chose to become teachers." Cohn stays in touch with many of those former students, several of which went on to get doctorate degrees and teach at universities. "It's been neat to see some of these folks who have grappled with becoming a teacher, even wondering if they can make a living at it, go on to really succeed. Most of them don't care about money in the end. They care about making a difference in the lives of children, and that's very special."
"The University has many more buildings now, but one thing hasn't changed," she said. "We have always attracted a wonderful group of students who care about the world and have the talent to do something about it. That's been the joy for me. Sometimes I'll be sitting in a classroom with students, having a discussion about controversial topics in education, and I can't believe I'm getting paid for it. It's just a very stimulating interchange, and it really doesn't feel like work." Cohn feels she has been truly blessed because "Washington University is a wonderful place for students to get educated and has also been a wonderful place for me to grow from an undergraduate to a faculty member who has had the pleasure of helping other undergraduates achieve their goals for so long." While students have clearly been her No. 1 source of satisfaction, there were many other exciting aspects of her position as director of teacher education. One has been the opportunity to formulate with her colleagues the philosophy and focus of the program which, under her leadership, became "teacher as inquirer." "Teaching is not a skill that you ever completely master," she said. "Each year and each class of students brings new challenges, and there are no rules that say if you do this, that will automatically happen. So, teachers not only need to learn what research and experience tell us about effective teaching, but they also need to develop the inquiry skills to question, study and improve their practice on a continual basis." In 1992, Cohn initiated the innovative practice of requiring students to do "action research" during student teaching. That practice continues to be a central and distinctive component of the University's teacher education program. Another source of satisfaction for Cohn has been the opportunity to build formal relationships with local schools, which, in turn, have increased the department's capacity to produce teachers who can integrate the realities of practice with the theories of education. Cohn highly values the opportunity she has had to represent the University in many local, state and national organizations that seek to improve education for all students. Locally, she played a key role in the development of the St. Louis Professional Development School Collaborative, the Action Research Collaborative and the Teachers' Academy, and she continues to serve as a consultant and board member for various schools. Cohn stepped down as director of teacher education in 2001 so that she could concentrate more on research and writing, which often took a back seat to her clinical and administrative responsibilities. Although she has co-authored two books, To be a Teacher and Teachers: The Missing Voice in Education, Cohn is now excited to be working on a book that highlights what she has learned about helping beginning teachers become more inquiry-oriented through action research. Cohn is also enjoying teaching two core courses in the master's program for experienced teachers. Cohn's longevity and dedication to her job and the University have made quite an impression on her colleagues. "When I joined the Washington University faculty in 1995, it didn't take me long to find out that for many people in this region, the Department of Education meant Marilyn Cohn," said James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., professor and chair of the education department and the Marshall S. Snow Professor is Arts & Sciences. "Marilyn has led the way for many years in maintaining our wonderful teacher education program. She has mentored so many people into the profession that one can find her grateful former students all over the St. Louis area and indeed across the nation. She has been an outstanding teacher and mentor." |
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