(l-r) TEP instructor Tim Dewar, fellowship winner Jose Tapia, and Cynthia Brinkmann, fellowship donor
Jose Tapia of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School has been chosen as the 2020-21 Cynthia and Frederick Brinkmann Fellowship recipient. This fellowship supports graduate students in the Teacher Education Program who are pursuing a teaching credential and show academic promise.
Jose Tapia is a candidate in the SST Social Studies program. For his undergraduate degree at UCSB, he double majored in History and Chicano/a Studies with a minor in Educational Studies. His emphasis in the History program was US History and Native American History. He believes that studying history is necessary to help us understand current societal issues and hopefully foster solutions for a better world. Jose became interested in teaching after learning about the persistent achievement gap faced by Students of Color in the US. He hopes that by implementing culturally relevant pedagogy into his curriculum and promoting solidarity, he will encourage his students to always do their best in school and in life.
The Teacher Education Program at UC Santa Barbara offers the Multiple-Subject, the Single-Subject, and the Education Specialist Mild/Moderate and Extensive Support Teaching Credentials with a Master’s Degree in Education. These programs provide future teachers with a solid theoretical foundation integrated with extensive fieldwork that leads to both a California State Teaching Credential and a Master’s Degree in Education. The programs are run as a cohort, with the elementary and secondary cohorts no larger than 50 students each. This allows for the individualized attention necessary for high-level preparation of reflective, skilled practitioners who can meet the needs of a diversity of learners in California schools. The Teaching Credential Programs are full-time, post-graduate programs that begin in June and conclude the following June. Teacher candidates have the option to work on the Master’s Degree concurrent with credential coursework. It is one of the highest quality programs in the nation, with state-of-the art practice grounded in partner schools, a focus on teaching to reach all learners, and teacher educators with established records of success.