Blog Assignment #14

Mr. Joel Klein, who wrote the article Self-Discipline and High Standards Can Secure the Future of Public Schools, has been the front runner of the New York City school system for eight years. When asked the question, "If you could change one thing, what would it be?" He responds with how he believes there are many things needing change within schools, such as:

• Allowing more school choices for families
• Using more technology within the classroom
• Adopting a knowledge-based curriculum 
• Letting children begin school before age five.

Although he states some of those problems, he chooses an obvious problem he would change, which is to professionalize teaching. Some of the problems teachers face hinder the career from becoming a professional workplace.  These problems are:

• States not providing enough academic training for teachers
• School systems allow anyone with a degree (of any kind) to become teachers
• School systems award teachers incorrectly, valuing seniority over quality.

To solve these problems Klein suggest that:

• States require teachers to undergo national teaching exams that will test the mastery of pedagogy and content knowledge
• Schools recruit teachers from the top third of graduates, and require a one to three year supervised internship to evaluate their in classroom performance
• Removal of incompetent teachers by having teachers establish their own board to "police" the colleagues in their profession.  Along with that, teachers who master in the field of teaching should have aids that are college graduates as teaching assistants.

My thoughts....

I agree that these are some pivotal problems we face in the teaching profession.

First, having more opportunities to train and learn new techniques will only enhance our abilities to teach, and influence the way our students learn.  Teachers should continue to become highly qualified through continued academic training throughout the span of their career.

Next, not just anyone with a degree should become a teacher, no more than a graduate with an education degree should become a doctor, lawyer, or other professional.  Whatever degree a student is working toward prepares them for that specific field of study.  Throughout the course of earning a degree we are taught very different practices for our future careers.  When working toward an education degree, we study the behaviors of children and methods of teaching for helping students learn. Through internships and students teaching tiers, we have field experiences that allow us to observe these behaviors and teaching techniques.

Lastly, just because a teacher has been in a school longer does not mean he or she will be more technically qualified than a first year teacher.  In our ever-changing times the techniques continue to change and our students' behaviors also change.  An older teacher may have "set in ways" of doing things while a new teacher may be open to learning new styles of teaching.  Do not misunderstand what I write, experienced older teachers are at times the best at the job and can be excellent mentors for us new and upcoming teachers.  However, I believe that tenure should not be the rule, teacher quality should prevail.  Also, when older, qualified teachers retire the school is at a major loss.  Along with that thought, at times new teachers have no business being in the classroom and it is great to find a balance and work together to eliminate the teachers who are not meant to be in this profession.