Education

Make a difference in children's lives as an educator and gain confidence at the head of the classroom.

Education students graduate from Lake Forest College with two majors and abundant classroom experience that prepares them for a successful teaching career.

Our students learn to be responsive to their students, deeply knowledgeable about subject matter, and committed to their own growth as lifelong learners.

Our graduates obtain state-accredited licensure focused on one of the following areas:

Elementary grades 1-6
Secondary grades 9-12: mathematics, English, history, chemistry, biology, physics
PK-12: visual arts, music, Spanish, French

These programs are offered at the undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MAT) levels.

Additional Endorsements

In addition to earning your main license in elementary, secondary, or PK-12, candidates can add the following additional endorsements.

ESL Endorsement Bilingual Endorsement LBS1 (Special Ed) Endorsement Middle School Endorsement Additional Secondary or PK-12 Content Areas

Education

Personal growth

The education department believes a good teacher educator cares for the whole student. The commitment to personal growth and mentorship by our institution is evident in our approach to supervision and the reflective self-assessment designed in our coursework.

Practical reflection

An analytic ability to solve problems is at the heart of what the department believes is necessary to learn and grow as a teacher. Our students are taught to view teaching problems as resolvable through analytic reflection on their practices and careful observation and assessment of their students’ responses to instruction.

student presenting in a professional setting

Professionalism

We believe that good teachers are also responsible citizens. Our students come to understand that there are moral consequences to pedagogical decisions. The choices one makes about what to teach and how to teach are value-laden and have important outcomes.

A double-major approach to learning in education

The teacher preparation program is a double-major program, meaning that all teacher candidates in both elementary and secondary programs complete a major in a department outside of education in addition to their education major.

Students in the education program are assigned an academic advisor and mentor in addition to their advisor in education in order to support the learning, mentorship, and success of the students all the way through graduation. A number of courses are either co-taught or cross-listed in the Department of Education and other departments so that even our faculty and course structures are interwoven to support a well-rounded education.

The result? Students experience an interdisciplinary program of study with values and commitments shared by the entire campus community. It takes the commitment of an entire campus to teach teachers—one individual at a time.

“

I learned so much about classroom management, creating a dynamic and inclusive environment for students, and how to plan and prepare for my lessons. I really appreciated that we had the opportunity to student teach in both a middle school and high school setting because it allowed us to better understand which area we preferred teaching. The faculty in our department also sparked a deep passion within me and showed me first hand the power of a great teacher.

Angela Addante '22

kids sitting around a table with teachers

Real-world clinical experience in teaching

Our program prioritizes hands-on methods of learning, providing many opportunities to work with students from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, including interning at local under-resources school districts. Our students benefit from:

Regular classroom observations at Chicago schools and local Lake and Cook County school districts
Fieldwork practicum in elementary and middle schools in Waukegan, IL
Special education clinical observations in local schools
Student teaching in local school districts or Chicago

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Minor in education studies

A minor in education studies complements any major and equips the graduate with a versatile skillset. The educational studies minor focuses on educational issues related to social justice and human rights, political ideology and power structures, economics, cultural perspectives, gender issues, urban studies, and global citizenship. These perspectives enable our graduates to engage with the world around them in a way that empowers them to facilitate change.

minor requirements

Social justice and anti-racism in education

Our aim is to prepare critical, analytical, reflective teachers who view themselves as agents of change in schools and who see teaching as a rigorous intellectual and serious moral endeavor. Our approach challenges students to become social reformers and commit to the reconstruction of society through the redistribution of power and other resources. Students learn social action skills, embrace cultural pluralism, and analyze oppression with the intent of taking action to work for a more democratic society.

Our commitment to anti-racism

“

The courses at Lake Forest challenged me, exposed me to a wide variety of stories and experiences, and shaped me into the teacher I am today. I loved being able to have discussions with other prospective teachers and that many of the professors had long careers in education in the area. The wealth of knowledge that comes with the education major at Lake Forest is a gift.

Katherine Rogers '20, MAT graduate '21