In 1973, the School of Education at the University of South Dakota reorganized from a departmental structure to a team approach. Programs became competency based, field based, and modular in nature. The program sequence begins with the American Education course in the sophomore year. This course was designed for students to familiarize themselves with the services and functions of the school of education, to assess their personal values with respect to a career in education, and to better make decisions with respect to a career in education. A variety of presenters meet with the classes to provide background in the services of the school of education, field based centers, competency based education, philosophy of education, professional organizations, career options, and teacher placement. Each student enrolled in the course must schedule three individual values clarification sessions and make 16 observations during the year in the K-12 schools in the local community. Evaluation is utilized throughout the course. Each student is required to submit a final position paper on why or why not a teaching career will be pursued. (Author/JMF)