Interview with Darlene Fewster

Speaker 1: Darlene Hetmanski Fewster earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. Doctor Fewster taught for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Johns Hopkins University before accepting a faculty position at Towson University in 1994. These are her reflections. Karen Blair: Doctor Fewster, thank you so much for taking the time to come and share with us your reflections on your own teacher preparation and your subsequent career in education. This will add greatly to our understanding of teacher education at Towson across time. Karen Blair: I guess the best place to begin is at the beginning, so if you would, would you tell us a little bit about your early social context, where you grew up, Karen Blair: what kinds of thoughts you were having about a career as you moved through elementary, middle, and high school, and how you arrived at the possibility of being a teacher?

Darlene Fewster: First of all, thank you very much for including me in this very important project. I'm very honored. I've always wanted to be a teacher. Darlene Fewster: From the time I was in first grade, and I think that really has to do with the influence of my teacher, who was Sister Nancy. I went to a very small Catholic school and the school was predominantly run by the Sisters of Lucy Filippini, and Sister Nancy was very influential. Darlene Fewster: There were 63 students in my first grade class. Karen Blair: Oh my heavens.

Darlene Fewster: And it was amazing what we accomplished. The order she had. Darlene Fewster: And she was really the person that I wanted to be, without wearing the habit. And I remember after school, after completing my homework, my grandmother had a black coat and I would put this black coat on. And then I would take this apron with the ruffles around the top Darlene Fewster: to make it look like Sister Nancy, and I would put this on, and as my grandmother would be cooking dinner because my mother was working, Darlene Fewster: her windows would steam up from cooking, and I would write on the windows as though that was my blackboard, and I would wear this black coat to be Sister Nancy. So ever since then the only thing I ever thought about was teaching, but to be honest, in those days growing up,

Darlene Fewster: the professions available to women mainly were a secretary, a nurse or a teacher. But that isn't why I chose that. I really, really wanted to be Sister Nancy, and I think I wanted to have the big desk. Karen Blair: There you go. So you're in high school and you're thinking about college and what are you... How had that morphed at that point? Darlene Fewster: When I was in first grade, I went to a school called Our Lady of Pompeii. That school went from first grade to 12th grade. Karen Blair: Oh my heavens.

Darlene Fewster: Yes. And I'm sure if there had been a college there, I would have gone to that college. So in high school, I still maintained that interest in teaching and got involved in what we called the FTA, the Future Teachers of America, Darlene Fewster: and at that school, there were basically two tracks. There was the academic track, if you were going to college, or the business track. So of course I was in the academic track, and still maintained a very serious interest in teaching. And in fact, I tutored at the elementary school. We didn't have community service hours then, but we had to do something like that. Darlene Fewster: And I donated my time and wanted to work with students, especially in the 5th grade, and oddly enough, I wound up being a fifth grade teacher. But in high school, you know, it comes a time where you have to look at colleges and think about where you want to go, what you’re gonna pursue and everything. And Towson was a school that I wanted to attend, Darlene Fewster: and applied, and I applied to some others. I applied to Loyola and a few other, you know, the other local schools, because in those days a lot of times students, when they went to college, they didn't go away, they were commuters.

Darlene Fewster: So I was a commuter. I applied and I got into those schools and decided to come to Towson, and I came to Towson for one semester and I found that it was a very large school for me. The environment was big. It's a beautiful school, there's no doubt about that. Darlene Fewster: It has a lot to offer, but coming from a very small school, there were only 34 students in my graduating class, and half of them were like brothers and sisters because we had come together since first grade. Darlene Fewster: So it was a very different environment. So coming to Towson, I felt like I was like in a whole another world. So it was a very tough adjustment for me. I did finish the semester and then transferred and applied to University of Maryland, Baltimore County and that was a better fit for me. It was a smaller school. Darlene Fewster: But I liked the fact that that was a science, math school too, but I knew I was going to pursue education, and I did. I did my student teaching there and got my degree and so forth, and then got... I was lucky enough to get a job.

Karen Blair: Tell us a little bit about your preparation at UMBC in terms of the education courses you took, your opportunity to be in schools, certainly before you did your student teaching internship piece. Was the emphasis theoretical or more practical, combination of both? Darlene Fewster: I think it was a combination of both. Darlene Fewster: I had an opportunity in my… I'm trying to think… My junior or maybe it was my sophomore or junior year, Darlene Fewster: to go out into the schools for a few hours per week, then it would have been, you know, equivalent to one of our levels here at Towson, where you're basically introduced to the environment pretty much. You know, you're an observer and if the teacher wishes you to be involved, then you're involved. If not, you're an observer.

Darlene Fewster: My student teaching experience was good. I did my student teaching experience in Anne Arundel County, but was what was really unique about one of my placements, it was in an open space classroom environment. Darlene Fewster: Totally foreign to me, and it was in a school where there were very few walls, just a few, like, barriers that would go up maybe about six feet. But if you're over here teaching, you could hear the teacher over here, you know. And it was interesting. And I found that that was a distraction for me. So I thought, I'm wondering what effect this has on the students. Darlene Fewster: And at the time, I don't know if it was an experiment, you know, for a few years to do that. But I was glad when I finished that placement because my next placement, which was in Anne Arundel County also, was in a traditional classroom and that was a better fit for me. Darlene Fewster: But both experiences were good. I learned a lot from both. I learned a lot about my students. I learned a lot about the education process, and I learned a lot about myself.

Karen Blair: And you felt at that point you still wanted to be a teacher? Darlene Fewster: Oh, absolutely. There was no question about that. My two mentor teachers were very different from one another. The one mentor teacher I had was not, like, a touchy-feely kind of person. Darlene Fewster: The other one was, and that was really a good fit for me, because I'm that kind of person. So it was a very good fit. She was very nurturing. She would take me to the supply room and it was almost like she and I were on a field trip together, and she knew that my job the following year was going to be in a parochial school. Darlene Fewster: And she knew that the resources were somewhat limited. And she said, you know.

Darlene Fewster: She said, I feel like it's my job to help you. She says, let's look at what supplies you might need. Let's see how you could use them and have an idea of how you can reuse them. Darlene Fewster: So she was pretty smart in giving me that advice. So thank you, Donna, wherever you are. Karen Blair: So you complete the degree. and you said before you got a job. Darlene Fewster: I got a job. It was very interesting. It was in a parochial school and I was there for ten years teaching 5th grade.

Darlene Fewster: And one of my students I'm very proud of is a major news correspondent in New York. And I email him every once in a while, say hi, this is Miss Darlene. You haven't thanked me for anything publicly. He says, oh, I can't do that. And that was interesting because I was called by my first name with the “Miss” in front of it because my main name is ethnic, Darlene Fewster: and at the time the principals said, oh, they'll never be able to pronounce that name. I said, OK, that's fine. Whatever. I wanted the job. I was very happy in that job for a very, very long time. Darlene Fewster: While in that job I could see there was a need for counseling services, and in the archdiocese at that time there wasn't like a school counselor or maybe a school psychologist who would come to the school. So I went on to get my advanced degree. I got a degree in clinical psychology from Loyola, which was a very rigorous program. Darlene Fewster: I'm very glad I did it. Interesting though. But you know, I got my bachelor’s in education, my master’s in clinical psychology, so I wanted to use that degree. But I still wanted to stay at the school. So I essentially created a job for myself, which I thought was pretty smart. You know, that was great.

Darlene Fewster: Where I became the school counselor for that school and actually started a program in the archdiocese for other schools. And it was about… The focus of that program was on helping students to have really good self-esteem and to try their best and things like that. And it was a national program. Darlene Fewster: So I was really very, very proud of that. It kept me in the school, kept me grounded with the teachers, with the students and with the parents. Darlene Fewster: And I did that for a few years too, and I was very happy doing that. Karen Blair: So did you… So that was part of your 10 years at the school?

Darlene Fewster: Actually that was a few years past the 10 years. Yeah, so that was a few years... I taught for 10 years, Darlene Fewster: and then I did the school counseling, I think maybe four or five, something like that. And then at that time I had applied to Johns Hopkins University for the doctoral program in Special Ed. And got in. Karen Blair: And did you do that full time? Darlene Fewster: I did that… That was a program that was done part time. It was a four year program while I was teaching. So that was interesting, you know, grading the papers, getting the degree. And I was married. So it's…

Karen Blair: You were busy. Darlene Fewster: Busy, but that's OK. You do what you have to do. Karen Blair: And then at one point you decide, doctorate in hand, Karen Blair: might be interesting to be on the other side of this preparation of teachers, and you wound up at Towson University.

Darlene Fewster: Yes, my major advisor asked me one day, he said, would you like to teach a course at Towson? And I was like, this is a dream. And I said absolutely. And I thought, well, how do I do that? You know, I'm a doc student. How do I do that? And he was aware of a need at Towson University, Darlene Fewster: and he knew someone and he said, yeah, I think this might be a good person who could teach one section of Intro to Special Ed. I was absolutely thrilled. Darlene Fewster: I was still a doc student and I was, I don't know, I guess an adjunct here teaching them one course. And I loved it. I absolutely loved it. I said this is where I have to be. Darlene Fewster: But of course a job teaching in a university doesn't happen like that. It's a little bit more to that. So I graduated. I was very happy. I was so proud to get that degree. I really was. And then there was an opening at Towson, but I had to go through an interview process and the search and things like that, and I was so happy to do it. And lo and behold.

Darlene Fewster: I got the job. And I have loved being here at Towson for all these years. I really have. Karen Blair: Now it is my understanding that when you first came, there was not even actually a program in special education, and now not only is there a program, there are variations on the theme of a program. Would you tell us a little bit about that evolution of special ed in preparation of teachers and special ed here? Darlene Fewster: I would be happy to. When I first came here, to Towson, Darlene Fewster: I had no idea how things would evolve, and how they would expand and grow, but that's the beauty of being here at Towson. So when I started, as you said, we weren't… Special ed wasn't even a program. We offered courses leading to a certification.

Darlene Fewster: And that was very interesting. Darlene Fewster: And at the time there were three, then there were four of us, four of us who were faculty members in special ed. Darlene Fewster: So for years, Towson had been trying to get a special ed degree. So finally we were given the green light to do that, and we were very happy to do that. That program was the single certification special ed program at the infant-primary level. There are three tracks for that single cert major. Darlene Fewster: Infant -primary, elementary-middle, secondary-adult. The infant-primary was the first one on board, which was great, and then I was called into our former Dean's office, Dean Hinkle, and he said, Darlene, I have a project for you. And I said, hmm, what could that project be?

Darlene Fewster: And he said, I think we need to have that elementary-middle track going. And he says, I think you could do that. Can you write that up? Oh, sure, I could do that. So I did. And as you know, we had to go through the multiple layers of approval internally and externally. So that was done. Darlene Fewster: So then the secondary-adult major came on board, so that was a flourishing major for a long time, single certification, which means you go to Towson in four years, you finish, you are a special educator. Very, very important because it's a critical shortage area. Darlene Fewster: Well, then a few years later a colleague and I were presenting our findings from a grant. We had a grant, couple of grants, and we were presenting our results and what we were doing at an MSDE meeting. Darlene Fewster: And we were approached by MSDE and they said, oh, I think Towson could be the leader in developing a program. So my colleague and I looked at each other and we thought, hmm. It was Debbie Gartland. We looked at each other. Should we leave now or no. OK, so they said, it would be great if Towson would be a leader in developing a dual major, meaning a combined major.

Darlene Fewster: Meaning that someone would go through the four year program and they would be a certified general educator at the elementary level and a certified special educator. So my colleague and I met with Dean Hinkle and he said, that's good, but it has to be a four year program to be competitive. We’re thinking, hmm. Karen Blair: Oh my heavens. Darlene Fewster: And we met with Doctor Greg Bryant in the elementary ed department. Darlene Fewster: So the three of us went through all the hoops of fire, and that's really much what they were at the time, to get approval from elementary ed department, specia..l. And there were concessions, you know, because if you have X amount of courses in this major, X amount of courses that major,

Darlene Fewster: somebody's got to go, but without jeopardizing the integrity of the program. Well, having said that, Darlene Fewster: the program was approved at all those levels internally and externally, and that is the EESE major. The Elementary Ed Special Ed Major, which is the dual major. Darlene Fewster: Now, even though the acronym is EESE, it's not E-A-S-Y. It's a very competitive program, but it's a very necessary program. A friend of mine is a principal in Baltimore County, and we often have these conversations because I like to pick her brain from that perspective. Say, if you're hiring somebody and somebody has this degree or this degree or this degree, who will you hire? Darlene Fewster: Right away, she said, the dual major person, and she told me why, and we've had these conversations and so forth. So it's one of the fastest growing majors on the campus. I'm very happy to have been a part of developing it. No matter what I accomplish here at Towson.

Darlene Fewster: And that is my fondest accomplishment, and that's the one I'm most proud of, really. Karen Blair: And in special ed, they have gone on. You might not have been as intimately involved in, and I think I believe now there is an early childhood… Darlene Fewster: Yes, there is an early childhood combined program. That ECSE program. Yeah. So we have the EESE combined, ECSE combined, single cert special ed with the three tracks. Yes. Karen Blair: Big program.

Darlene Fewster: And I've really had a good time. Maybe I shouldn't say good time, but I did. I had a good time being a supervisor of interns, doing a lot of work in professional development schools. Darlene Fewster: Because it's very different in special ed than in any of the other education majors because when we place students in schools, and schools are, you know, we're fortunate enough to have our interns in so many schools because of our PDS relationship, Darlene Fewster: we can't have a cohort of five or six in one school, so supervisors of EESE interns or single cert specialists… Kind of all over the place. So for many, many semesters I was in ten or more schools. Karen Blair: Oh my heavens.

Darlene Fewster: Well, there were times I'm going north on 95 and I think, oh, I should be going south today, you know, but again, it broadens one's experience as a professor, as a researcher, as a faculty member, as an advisor. It really does. And I was really very proud to be a part of that. Really. Darlene Fewster: I was a PDS liaison for four schools but involved in ten. So I'm really very proud of that. Karen Blair: And why is it so much more difficult for special ed? Is it because there are fewer special educators in a school? Darlene Fewster: Yes, and I probably should have made that clear, absolutely, because there are fewer special ed personnel in the school.

Karen Blair: And my understanding of PDS is that the host university is also involved in some professional development for teachers. Were you involved in that? Darlene Fewster: Yes, yes, I was. As a PDS liaison, Darlene Fewster: it was my responsibility to have to conduct and plan the summer strategic plan with the schools. So in other words, when our interns are in schools, it's really a professionally intimate relationship. It's just not our interns are there and that's it. It's really working with the school on a very close, Darlene Fewster: in a close relationship, frequently, providing the teachers what they need in terms of professional development, or other things as well. And what's really nice, I would actually have seminar class

Darlene Fewster: in some of the schools, and I would work with a colleague here at campus and when we would meet with our interns for seminar class, if something neat was going on in the school, we could run down and actually go on a field trip, oh, look what's going on in so-and-so’s class, or we could do that. So it was really a great relationship. It's a lot of work. It's very intense. Darlene Fewster: It's very time consuming, but it is really worth it for our interns to see that relationship. Darlene Fewster: I went into one of the schools in Baltimore County and one of the maintenance facility guys said to me, oh, hon, your classroom’s over there, and, I mean, I didn’t take offense to that. But I said I'm not really here, and yeah, I had my Towson ID on, but I was there so much he really thought I was, you know, a teacher there. So I thought that was really good. I thought that's great. Darlene Fewster: That he didn’t see me as a visitor or someone coming into the school, he saw me as part of the school, and I thought that was so important.

Karen Blair: It is important that the whole community gets a sense that you're a part of it, not just somebody who comes in and visits occasionally. Darlene Fewster: And I used to have fun. When I was at middle school in Baltimore County, I would mingle with the students as they're changing classes, and I’d have my interns do that too, Darlene Fewster: because I’d say, look, you have to do this. And one incident I heard a student who was using very inappropriate language, and I went over to him. Darlene Fewster: And he says, that badge doesn't look like my teacher’s. You don't, you're not a teacher here, are you? I said I'm a teacher of the world. And he said, oh. I said, I think I heard you say something inappropriate. Now you probably need to apologize to everybody. He went, OK. But that was a real teachable moment for my interns, because you have to catch them right away, because it doesn't matter whether you're a professor, you're a teacher there, or… Catch them right away. And then.

Darlene Fewster: But it was funny. Every time I saw that student, he would say, hi, Dr. Fewster. It was, you know, and I had so many great experiences, really wonderful. Karen Blair: Have you worked at all at the graduate level? Darlene Fewster: I have. I've taught a few graduate courses, and that's very different than the undergrads, and I know that some professors prefer graduates, some prefer undergraduates. It really depends. I like the undergraduates. Darlene Fewster: Nothing against the graduates. You know, I love the graduates because they're very mature, they're very sophisticated and they know a lot. That's great. I like the undergraduates because I feel like they're, like, my little baby birdies. In fact, I have a nickname for all of my students when they come in, I call them my cherubs. And it's interesting.

Darlene Fewster: I’ll get emails from them years later. Hey, Dr. Fewster, this is your cherub from fall of 2008. And I even tell them. I said, as corny as it sounds, you are really my angels. And, you know, I have a very good relationship with my students. And I just love teaching. I cannot see myself doing anything else. Karen Blair: Well, I think your students love you too. I’m very much aware, and you certainly can speak to this a little if you want, that you get outstanding evaluations from your students consistently across time and have won some awards related to that as well. Darlene Fewster: I have, thank you. But they're not always happy, ‘cause my courses are rigorous and I demand a lot. And I tell them you don't use a period when you should use a semicolon or a comma, so, you know, and then just the thought of mentioning APA, some of them just freak out. Darlene Fewster: They really do. They get scared. And I said, well, you know, we're here to help you to become professional writers, to the ability that you can. But we have to provide you with a framework for that. I really believe in helping students a lot. In other words, just not giving them the work, but showing them how to do it.

Darlene Fewster: I think it's really important, for example, one of the classes that I teach is my favorite. The formal testing measurements class. They have to do a lot of work. They have to administer a formal test. They have to interpret it, and that's the hardest part. And then they have to write up a report. Darlene Fewster: And I'm very, very demanding with that report. But on the flip side of that, I showed them, give them a template, I say, this is the language that you use. I said, because when you're sitting in an IEP meeting, you want to be very professional. You want to know those results and you want to know what they mean for the teacher and for developing an IEP. Darlene Fewster: So I just… Darlene Fewster: I enjoy teaching, sometimes, maybe too much, but that's OK, you know? But they know when I'm serious too, and they know that I really love the profession and I want them all to succeed. And I tell them, I said, I have very high expectations. I expect you to get there, and I will help you to get there.

Karen Blair: What have we forgotten that you'd like to share with us about special ed and teacher education? Darlene Fewster: I think it's important when students pursue special ed that they pursue it from the point of view that they want to make a difference. Darlene Fewster: Sometimes they pursue it to make them more marketable, to help them get the job, and I can understand that perspective. I really can. But it's really important that our teachers are passionate about the profession, Darlene Fewster: and that they really do want to make a difference not only for students with disabilities, but for all their students, because I try to emphasize to them, it's not… You're not just teaching students with disabilities or exceptionalities.

Darlene Fewster: You're there in front of everyone. You're there to collaborate, to be a team player, and you're there to make a difference, and you're there to be a lifelong learner, too. A researcher, forever. And I know some students don't even like to hear that because I like to think, well, when I've done my four years, I'm done. Not really. You're not. Darlene Fewster: And I try to break that news to them gradually. But they do. I mean, when they're interns and they're doing their action research and they're doing their IEP and their case study, I think they're developing a sense of where they need to be as a professional. Darlene Fewster: And I try to let them know that this is a critical shortage area, but again, they're a teacher and it's important that you're always on the world stage, and it's very important that that your professional appearance, your demeanor, your communication with others, it's all being judged and looked at, Darlene Fewster: and you need to be very careful about all of that.

Karen Blair: Absolutely. One last question, what advice would you give to an individual who was considering pursuing a career in teaching? Darlene Fewster: I would advise that person to really feel a passion for that. Now, sometimes our interns, when they're out in the field, Darlene Fewster: they gain some knowledge in terms of, well, this might not be for me. And I said that's OK, that's all right. But those who feel like that's definitely for them, they have to understand that it is a challenging job. It's a very rewarding job or profession, there's no doubt about that. Darlene Fewster: And that it's an evolving job. It's not a job that you have now and then five years later, it's going to look the same, with technology, with professional expectations and standards, you know, with Common Core and all of that, that they do need to keep up, and they have to constantly be willing to engage themselves and those opportunities.

Darlene Fewster: And my final piece of advice, as I said before, is you really feel like you have to… You're passionate about this. Darlene Fewster: That every child in front of you is important. You don't have to like everyone, but you do have to like your job, and you have to really want to help that child in some aspect. Do the best that you can. And that's all anyone can ask of you. Karen Blair: Thank you. Darlene Fewster: You're welcome. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I'm truly honored. Really. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Karen Blair: We are too. Thanks.