Making the Case for Preparing STEM Teachers

I have been directing the preparation of STEM teachers at UT Austin for over 20 years through UTeach, and for the last 10 years I have been helping other people throughout the country develop similar programs. This has led to experience with arguments that can lead to teacher preparation programs being established, and to experience in trying to stop them from being shut down. Important points to understand include \begin{itemize} \item Teacher shortages, nationally and locally. \item Competitiveness, nationally and locally. \item Student outcomes and equity \item The quality of university-prepared teachers. \item The cost of university-prepared teachers. \item Benefits to university teaching quality \item Benefits to university from service learning in community \item Benefits to university from public funding \item Benefits to university from philanthropy. \end{itemize} And when all else fails, try magic.