Issue #20 Should Alternative Teacher Training be Encouraged?
Yes: Robert Holland, from “How to Build a Better Teacher,” Policy Review (April & May 2001)
“Holland argues that current programs for teacher certification are inadequate, especially given the growing shortage of teachers” (341).
Holland feels that there are two major issues facing education. He states there is a shortage of teachers and that the teachers we have are lacking in quality. Holland discusses the three different ways that he thinks teacher preparation could be enhanced. He discusses value-added assessment and the idea of placing the professional preparation of teachers under the control of one centralized body (344). He also briefly touches on the idea of teachers coming from different backgrounds and teaching what they are experts on (349-50).
Holland talks about William Saunders who developed the idea of value-added assessment. Saunders created an elaborate formula to test the effectiveness of teachers, which he first implemented in Tennessee (344). Through his assessments he is able to identify which teachers are highly effective and which are lacking. “No excuses” schools are able to demonstrate the effectiveness of highly qualified educators through the schools achievement rates of students from low socio-economic statuses (345). The principals in the “no excuses” schools credit teacher success to high dedication, coming in early, staying late and offering extra tutoring opportunities (345). Through value-added assessments principals would be able to weed out undesirables in the profession without being held to the practice of tenure (344).
A centralization of overseeing all teacher preparation is what the unions would like to see. The NEA would like to strip the states of their separate educating and licensing procedures and replace them with a uniform set of national criteria (346-49). The NEA has close links with the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF), an organization which would like to see teacher licensing controlled by private organizations. NCTAF would like to see boards set up in each state to keep all the states in tune with national criteria and for all teachers to become master teachers by becoming certified in professional teaching standards by a national board (346).
The last approach Holland mentions is allowing people to teach that have not been trained as teachers but that are masters of a certain subject area (350). In this way talented people that are really excited about their subject could pass that enthusiasm on to the children. In closing Holland seems to think that a combination of this type of recruiting of teachers along with the value-added piece might be the best bet for evaluating and reforming a teacher’s effectiveness.
No: Linda Darling-Hammond, from “How Teacher Education Matters,” Journal of Teacher Education (May/June 2000)
“Educational professor Linda Darling-Hammond offers evidence of failure among alternative programs and responds to criticism of standard professional preparation” (341)
Linda Darling-Hammond represents the flip side of this argument. She believes that teachers are best taught in a school of education. She states that the current discontent in teacher preparation can best be fixed by strengthening current teacher education programs (353). Hammond claims that the research points out that the idea of alternative education for teachers is detrimental to the students (355). She further contends that teachers that come from other fields or receive abbreviated training tend to leave the profession at alarming rates (354).
Hammond is an advocate for schools that have added a fifth year to their teacher education program. These schools allow the teaching candidate to devote the fifth year strictly to preparation for teaching. She mentions that many foreign countries have required additional years of study for education students for many years (357). Statistics seem to show that graduates of the extended programs are not only extremely satisfied with their level of preparation, but also regarded as highly competent by their co-workers (358). Hammond believes that while many people may be masters of a subject they cannot therefore necessarily be teachers of that subject. She contends that teachers need to complete an education program to be the most effective teacher possible (359).
In our own class we have several students that do not have education degrees. Do you think that these students will be able to teach as effectively as those with education degrees? Why or why not?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No, I do not think that people without teaching training would be just as effective or better because of their expertise in one subject area. Teaching is one of the most complex jobs out there. It's almost as complex as being a parent. I think it takes a lot of studying, reflection, and experience to become an effective teacher. Just because someone has a lot of knowledge about a subject matter does not mean they could just walk into a classroom and pour that knowledge into the minds of their students. I agree with Darling-Hammond that "Developing the ability to see beyond one's own perspective, to put oneself in the shoes of the learner and to understand the meaning of that experience in terms of learning, is perhaps the most important role of universities in the preparation of teachers. One of the great flaws of the 'bright person myth' of teaching is that it presumes that anyone can teach what he or she knows to anyone else...The capacity to understand another is not innate; it is developed through study, reflection, guided experience, and inquiry." I think it's disrespectful to teachers to assume that people without teacher training could be just as effective. Maybe there are some unique people who could figure out teaching on their own, but I think it takes a lot of hard work and training to become a highly effective teacher. There is so much more to teaching than just being an expert in a subject area.
ReplyDeleteYes and no, there is a part of me that thinks we as individuals have certain strengths, gifts or talents. In our class some people have the gift to teach and lead others reguardless of their gender, ethinicity or age ..... I guess I would say it is innate. It is these individuals I beleive will be the effective teachers, and in our class these individuals are in both categories. In our text (Noll,p.344), at Fredrick Douglass Academy, the Principal credits "committed teachers" for the success of the students and the school. He goes on to talk about teachers "who come to work early, stay late and call parents if children do not show up for extra tutoring". Holland goes on to discuss how teachers should not necessarily be evaluated on "credit-hours amassed in professional schools of education but in terms of objective differences instructors make when actually before classrooms of children"(344). I do beleive teahcers need skills, knowledge and other assests attained through formal education. However, I think the most effective teachers have a presence that allows them to communicate (verbally and non verbally) with students in a way that makes them feel like a part of the learning environment...... and we all have a need to belong......
ReplyDeleteI have read Taylor Mali's comments on what he makes before but I really think it is quite different hearing him and seeing him PLEASE go under class resources/teacher prep. and view his short clip 2min 55sec well spent. "What Do Teachers Really Make?" Taylor Mali explains....
ReplyDeleteI agree Ali--I, too, had read this before--the source I got the link from said "To hear Taylor passionately deliver his poem..."
ReplyDeleteJust for the sake of clarification: did you get a sense of which of these 3 approaches Holland promotes? Darling-Hammond?
I agree with Larry Leveret, who wrote an article on edutopia.com and is also a former superintendent, when he says “It's irrelevant whether teacher preparation is traditional or alternative -- we just need to make it better.” (Article: http://www.edutopia.org/larry-leverett-teacher-preparation) He also says “So, if alternative and university-based programs are here to stay -- and they are -- we must set aside the debate and work to ensure that both pathways succeed. Teachers-to-be need hands-on practice, good mentoring, and, above all, experiences designed to help them serve the poor children of color teacher-education programs have ignored for so long.” I really don’t think you can get enough hands-on experience or good mentoring. I think there should be a more direct relationship between K-12 schools and universities, though. Teachers are asked by their principals to take a student teacher and they may say yes, but there’s no guarantee that you are really learning from an effective teacher and the mentor teachers are not really getting any incentive or guidance in how to mentor.
ReplyDeleteGreat points, both Jen and David (and excellent quotes to support them!)David talks about innate talents--which I absolutely agree that gifted teachers possess. Jen cites D-H who says "The capacity to understand another is not innate"--I think we would all agree there's truth in that statement, as well. On the other hand....Jen, you compare teaching to parenting--a relevant comparison--but, then again, there is no "training" for becoming a parent....
ReplyDeleteWe have instincts with our children that we don't have with other people's children. I also think all parents could really use some training!!! I know I would love to have a support group and mentoring to be a good parent - to reflect, discuss and vent. Most of us just don't have that in America, but I think in other societies parents get the training/mentoring they need from their elders because they are so closely connected to them. They may live together or very close and see each other almost every day. They get guidance and support from their extended family members. I feel in America, we are very separated from our extended family. Most new mothers feel very alone and isolated. They feel like they have to learn everything on their own and are judged without any real support / guidance. I don't think it's like that in other cultures. When I lived close to Mexico, I got to know a few families who all lived together and helped raise children (aunts, grandmas, grandpas, uncles, cousins) and the mother rarely felt alone or isolated with a new baby.
ReplyDeleteSo, it's the same with teaching. We should all have training and mentoring and never feel alone or isolated.
I agree with Jen there is some degrees of misunderstanding when people think they can perform a job without some type of preparation. Jen referred to this as disrespect. I have been seeing this pattern a lot in eduation. We have teachers calling themselves counselors without proper training. In dealing with the issue of obesity in Charter schools illustrated many teachers having to take on jobs they have not had formal training to do (Ed week 2/18/2009). The problem with training teachers is... it seems like we are not quite sure or can agree with what we want teachers to be alble to do. The list of duties for teachers seems to grow year by year. Our readings have suggested a variety of ways that teachers should be trained. I particulary was interested in the article titled "School club educates future teachers". This article starts its training of teachers in high school. Students must meet certain criteria before being accepted into the program. It is the hands on experience and exposure, that makes this program so dynamic to me. It reminds me of college sprots teams/schools recruiting students out of high school. In sports students get the opportunity to play that sport, receive coaching and mentoring before tesing their skills on the college level. Thanks to this "grow your own" program in Virginia(Inside nova.com, 6/6/09) students can now have the same opportunity if they want to become a teacher. I think this is a great way to promote a career. I wonder if vocational schools/or charter schools considering this concept?
ReplyDeleteI think some people are better than others in their ability to understand others (that part of the brain seems to work better for some people). They can more easily step into others' shoes and really understand how others understand/view something, but I'm not sure it has anything to do with some innate talent. There are so many skills you need to be an effective teacher. I don't think anyone has all of these skills without any training/mentoring/studying/experience. Here's a quote that I agree with and relates to what I am trying to say. It's from http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teacher_in_a_strange_land/2007/02/teacher_effecti.html written by Nancy Flanagan, a 30-year teaching veteran of Hartland, MI, in K-12 music education.
ReplyDelete"I have come to the conclusion that many policymakers think effective teaching is a kind of magic, an innate personal capacity, something done instinctively by bright and motivated novice teachers. Not so. Becoming—and remaining—an effective teacher is an ongoing systematic and scholarly quest. What works with one class is useless with the next. Important new content emerges. State standards push concept mastery down the developmental scale. Technologies make new things possible. New ideas and resources must be examined, often through trial and error. Effective teaching is a practice. Being an effective teacher is not at all random. Measuring teacher effectiveness before explicating what effective teaching looks like is foolhardy."
In respone to Dr. Scott, I thought that Hammond did not agree with alternative ways for teacher preparation, but rather felt that we ought to better our current ways. I felt that Holland liked alternative ways to educate teachers and that was an advocate for recruiting teachers from all walks of life (masters of a subject so therefore able to teach that subject).
ReplyDeleteDavid I think you are right about there being individuals on both sides of the issue (even in our own class) that are/will be highly effective teachers. Jen I think your quotation from L. Leveret is really good, who cares about where our teachers come from, lets just make them better already!!
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with Jen’s comments so far. I think that teachers with education degrees are more effective due to their training in “planning curriculum, teaching, managing the classroom, and diagnosing students’ learning needs”, which is absent for those without education degrees (Noll, 354). While it is important to be an expert in the area your teaching, that is not the only piece to the puzzle of teacher education in my mind. I am certified in 7-12 Life Science, and to get there I did two Bachelors programs, one in Biology and one in Education. I could not imagine walking into a classroom with only the Bachelors in Biology, and being expected to effectively teach students what I know. This makes me think of the difference between high school and college professors, especially in math and science. High school teachers know many different techniques and approaches to help students learn a challenging subject, whereas college professors have degree after degree in their area of study but know teaching background (with the exception of education professors). I agree with Linda Darling-Hammond when she said, “people who have never studied teaching or learning often have a very difficult time understanding how to convey material that they themselves learned effortlessly and almost subconsciously” (Noll, 359).
ReplyDeleteI think that teacher prep courses should all be 5 year programs and should include more subject matter classes. I think all teacher candidates should have to take education classes in order to learn effective ways to convey material to students.
ReplyDeleteI feel that these students that do not have a current education degree will be good teachers in their own right. These individuals come to the table with experiences in their lives that we as current teachers will never have, they have experiences in business, experience in customer relations and such that some of us may not have much past retail, they also bring in years of life experience that some of us don’t have (no offense). According to the text written by Robert Holland “In the early 1990’s, Rita Kramer took a nationwide tour of leading schools of education… reporting in Ed School Follies on the intellectual emptiness of teacher preparation-hours spent on how to teach Tootles the Locomotive with the proper attitude, but precious little depth in history, mathematics, science, or literature … others have reported in the same paragraph “Anything But Knowledge” (Holland, 345).” Another point made in the paragraphs to follow is that “ever profession has its gatekeepers, the college professors who not only teach, but also sift out the slow, the lazy, and the mediocre, those unfit t practice the profession for which they are preparing, one must have intelligence, drive, and stamina, especially to get through schools of engineering, law or medicine. In colleges of education, the reverse seems to be the case, after a few weeks f ED 101, the students most possessed of those qualities begin to slip away, by the time education students begin their semester in student teaching, the best and brightest have already defected to other disciplines (Holland, 345)” Which is very true since the most pay a teacher may receive in their first year in Ohio is maybe $34,000 and how much does someone else make, with the same bachelor’s degree? Or “climbing up the ladder”? But they still posses the drive to be teachers, and the characteristics to be a teacher. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher, but some that aren’t in the profession currently do posses those qualities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica, I think that teacher preparation courses she be longer and more content courses. If one is to be a teacher, they posses the qualities already to teach, but I wish I would have had more education in the disorders and the 'other' items I as a Special Needs teacher use everyday, like understanding students with Apraxia or sign language, or different behavioral management techniques.
ReplyDeleteHolland stated that "Principals could hire and evaluate their teachers not necessarily on the basis of credit-hours amassed in professional schools of education but in terms of objective differences instructors make when actually placed before classrooms of children." (Noll, pg. 344) I agree with Holland - I think that teachers can attend hundreds of hours of courses preparing them for teaching, but until you actually get in the classroom and have to make decisions for yourself, you can't necessarily compare the two. I could interview someone fresh out of college and they said all the right answers in the interview and came prepared to say just what he/she was told to say. But when they get in front of the classroom, they actually have to be able to DO what they said... which is something completely different! I think that teachers don't necessarily need more courses, but more hands-on experience before teaching. I could sit and read a book about Autism, but helping out in a classroom with an Autistic child would give me so much more knowledge about how to teach a child with a special need. I'm not really sure if somebody with an education degree could teach a class better, because I think if they don't know how to implement what they've learned, somebody without a teaching degree could possible to a better job!
ReplyDeleteI think that the undergrad programs for teachers need to include Special Education classes for everyone. I remember taking a class about many different types of special needs, and it touched on what IEP's and 504's were. But with all of the inclusion in the classrooms these days, I sometimes feel like I need more education on how to reach these students with special needs. I also feel like I should have gotten this in my undergrad, before I was able to get my degree. How can I be expected to teach a student that I know very little about his needs? I have found myself on more than one occasion up late at night researching ways to accomodate to my students or teach them in ways which they can understand based on their disabilities. Shouldn't I have this knowledge before I'm being expected to teach them??
ReplyDeleteWell, well, well! Now it is time for the old established businessman to comment with his B.S. in Marketing and Business from 1985 with no educational degree. I probably should be stoned!!! Anyway, you all will be shocked to know that I agree with Darling-Hammond, that the individual that wants to be a teacher should be trained extensively. There should be a five year plan plus of classroom instruction and field experience in the goal of weeding out the less then committed individuals that want to teach. At the end of 2008, I petitioned the State to review my coursework and education over the years to evaluate what I needed in the form of additional education to become a teacher. I can receive my Alternative License in Education once I complete EDFN 500, EDFN 586, pass Praxis II, and my field experience. Before you all hit the roof, I was shocked as well in what I needed to do for an Alternative License. My soul purpose was to investigate another career as I age gracefully, since I will not be retiring until the age of 80 or so.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, if we all agree that there should be more education involved in the preparation then the State and universities must give the student teacher in training (similar to a resident in medicine) more then 5 years to accomplish the task in training and the needed classroom instruction, and the necessary field experience.
Just to make everyone well at ease, I am not going to rush into teaching based on the requirements from the State outlined above. It would not be fair to the children involved. I realize that this journey is going to take a long time to accomplish and I am willing to go the extra mile to gain the necessary respect from fellow colleagues and students within the school. I just hope that I earn my degree before my Medicare benefits kicks in. I don’t want to be viewed as the old man that received a “free pass” to teach based only on some old degree and several years in business. I am looking at this process with the goal of receiving my Masters in Education, one class at a time.
You all probably didn’t notice, but I am just a few years older than all of you and that maybe a major benefit in pursuing my goal in teaching someday in the future. I have a totally different perspective on teaching and reaching students based on my age, being a father, (being a father of my twenty year-old son), taking the time to know my son’s friends over the years, (and his girlfriends – too much drama YIKES!) being married, and staying married for 23 years. The opportunity to go back to school now at my age has given me a totally different and better perspective with each class taken compared to my (lack of) maturity and (just wonderful) attitude in my early 20’s. It all comes down to maturity and attitude in the classroom as a teacher. It is my life-lessons that will help me apply the necessary knowledge of becoming a good teacher and a leader for the school.
I was thinking that teacher education is a lot different when talking about different areas of education, adolescent vs. early childhood vs. special education. My area is adolescent education, but I was thinking about the many of you that are early childhood. It seems that the techniques and things learned in teacher education are very important and different for early childhood teachers, when the subject matter is not a problem. You just have to know many fun and intriguing ways to keep the attention of young students as they learn to spell words, add, make sentences, etc. This is all stuff that is nearly innate to us all now, but you still need to learn ways to teach it to young children. This in a way seems to be similar to the scientist coming in to teach science or engineer to teach math, they would need some teacher education to learn how to effectively teach a subject that comes so natural to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jessica J, Special Education is entire issue on its own when it comes to teacher preparation. You almost need a nursing degree to deal with some students I can imagine. It would be nice if they provided special education teachers with some classes on various disorders, what to expect, and how to deal with them in the classroom. This would be especially beneficial if you were in a classroom with students with multiple disabilities and severely disabled, after all you are responsible for these children for the entire school day. I also think Molly makes a very good point that we’ve discussed before, that regular education teachers should get more training to deal with children with special needs, since we are seeing more and more special needs students in regular education classrooms.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, after reading your post, I felt extremely offended that you said "subject matter is not a problem for early education teachers", and that we "just have to know many fun and intriguing ways to keep the attention of young students as they learn to spell words, add, and make sentences". I teach third grade, and I do a heck of a lot more that "just keep their attention". My third graders learned algebra and unknown numbers this year in addition to multiplication, division, and long division. I'm sorry, but that is a little more extensive than just learning to add, and I feel as a teacher (no matter what level) you should recognize the effort teachers put into enabling their students to learn.
ReplyDeleteMolly, I wasn't trying to offend you in any way. Your comment "I feel as a teacher you should recognize the effort teachers put into enabling their students to learn" restates exactly what I meant in my post. Early childhood may not go as deep into subjects as secondary education, but it sets the foundation and is very important. Although many adults already know algebra, multiplication, division, long division, etc. it is a whole different story to effectively teach these things to young children, which is where the teacher education would be beneficial in my opinion. I know how to multiply, divide, etc. but would I know how to teach it to third graders and keep them interestedand engaged without any training, probably not.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like we all agree that in order to be an effective teacher one is going to need some skills. In our readings they talk a lot about training i.e. starting students at the high school level in the article "school club educates future teachers". The article titled "Reforming Teachers: are we missing the boat?' talks about teacher's training in Findland and Asia. The one I liked the best was in the article titled "Do teachers lack power and self-worth?". On page 1 a teacher, Warner Freeman talked about how he thought his students saw him. The interesting part was the he felt "the subject students are studying is you." We all think about the technical skills that teachers need, but what about the non-technical skills that teachers need. When the principal at Fredrick Douglass Academy (Noll,p.344) talked about his teachers he mentioned things like being committed, coming in early, staying late, communicating with parents, providing students with discipline and extra tutoring. Now I don't think that my formal education is going to teach me these things. It has been my experience from working in education and being a student, that teachers who do these additional steps are successful teachers. Now, I think that all teachers have some teaching (technical) skills or they could not be certified. I also think that relationship building is important in becoming a good teacher. If kids don't like you it is hard to get them interested in what you have to say or work hard in your class (at least in secondary education grades 7-12). I think our teacher preparation provides us with a lot of useful information, but how one goes about implementing the information they have learned is a challenge we all will have to endure..... good luck, it is different when one is in the classroom with a number of students (with some students that could care less about what you are teaching). The bottom line for me is that teachers are expected to teach every child that is in their class, no matter what the student brings with them. So, I think, anyone who does not have some formal training and some creativity is going to have a difficult time teaching. We talk about the formal skills needed, how the the other skills needed? Can you effectivitely form positive relationships with your students? Are you willing to do the extra things students need? Can you control your classroom? How committed are you to seeing that a student learns what you are trying to teach them? I end with a quote we use in basketball.... "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard". Are you talented, a hard worker or both, because educating children is a very challenging and rewarding job.
ReplyDeleteI understand why many mentioned and agreed on the extensive training and 5 year program, however, I don't feel all would necessarily need it. If you knew what you wanted to do with your life before registering for class your freshman year of school, then I believe you have received proper training. Don’t get me wrong, we all can benefit from hands-on experiences in the classroom. However, majority of elementary teachers knew they wanted to teach especially when we were introduced to teacher programs in high school to already get a head start working in the classrooms and helping out as an aide. Speaking from my experience, as I was attending college, I started education classes right away because I didn't want to take core classes since I knew what I wanted to do with my career. I also took the initiative and worked at a preschool while I was in college. So if you take my 4 years of high school working in classrooms, 2 years of working in a preschool while in college and 2 years of tutoring with the 4 years for my bachelor's in early childhood education, I feel I have a large amount of experience under my belt versus someone who's made a career change or only obtained the 4 years of experience while working on their bachelor’s . By no means am I saying I am an expert because I am a newly teacher, but I feel I have confidence in the classroom to handle different situations based on my experiences rather than being tossed into a classroom first day out of college like most. As an educator I took the initiative to gain hands on experiences instead of just reading about what other teachers experience out of a book.
ReplyDeleteI could not imagine from Holland's article, "what a school would be like if a principal could hire their own teaching staffs without having to follow the credit-hours prescribed by education bureacracies." (Noll, 349) As an educator I feel it is necessary for us to be highly educated and certified in the area we are teaching whether it's kindergarten or 8th grade social studies. Not only do we have state expectations to meet, we also have parents' expectations to meet. How could it be justified that your child is receiving a highly qualified education? How could we truly show student achievement when our staff is certified?
ReplyDeleteLinda Darling-Hammond made valid points when she stated,"In fields ranging from mathematics and science to vocational education, reading, elementary education and early childhood education, researchers have found that teachers who have greater knowledge of teaching and learning are more highly rated and are more effective with students, especially at tasks requiring higher order thinking and problem solving." (Noll, 3354)If teachers are properly trained and certified I think it would alleviate a lot of tension and stress and burnout that some teachers face because they would receive the training to have greater planning curriculum, teaching managing the classroom and diagnosing students' learning needs. (Noll, 354)
I've always received the emails, "What Teachers Make" forwards but after watching the video clip by Taylor Mali, he really delivers a powerful message for what we as educators do make. I felt the video brings together the article "Do Teachers Lack Self Power and Self Worth" by Anthony Cody and our issue this week on teacher preparation nicely. As Darling-Hammond stated in the reading about "measures of pedagogical knowledge, including knowledge of learning, teaching methods and curriculum, are more frequently found to influence teaching performance and often exert even stronger effects than subject matter knowledge (Noll, 354) it correlates when Cody talks about what it looks like for teachers to be empowered. "We would be challenged to figure out how to use the passions, skills, and creativity within us to construct powerful lessons for our students. We would be given time to collaborate as a staff, building on the expertise within our ranks." (Cody, "Do Teachers Lack Power and Self-Worth?" article)As we know, a lot of that has diminished lately because of teachers having to teach to the curriculum and state tests. Think about the months of February and March for 3rd graders and up...majority of us only have time to teach and review tools that are going to be used on the OAT's. Creativity is thrown out the window. There's hardly even time for your lunch period because everyone is cramming for the OAT's to improve test scores and to prove to the state that effective learning has taken place in your classroom that you are held accountable for. Many things are resting on your shoulders heavily, especially the thought of possibly not having a job if your students do not perform effectively. I'd like to say when I was a student in the classroom; teachers had more freedom to teach creativity and lessons that were not straight from a manual. They had freedom. At times in the classroom these days, it's almost as we are a puppet and someone is in control of our "strings" to dictate the lesson we are going to teach, exactly how long the lesson will be and not be able to take any time for any learning opportunities that may arise during that lesson because there's just not enough time. As Darling-Hammond pointed out, "Training in inquiry also helps teachers learn how to look at the world from multiple perspectives, including those of students whose experiences are quite different from their own, and use this knowledge in developing pedagogies that can reach diverse learners." (Noll, 358) I believe Darling-Hammond allows educators to have a little more freedom and educate the student's mind and body as an overall picture rather than having the focus only on one thing.
ReplyDeleteComing from a person who does not have an education degree, but I am working toward getting my certification, I think it's unfair to say that just because someone doesn't have an education degree that they won't be an effective teacher. I think that people can sit in the classroom and listen to how to be an effective teacher or learn how to teach students in different ways but no one is really going to know how they are as a teacher or how effective they are until they are actually in the classroom. There are many teachers today who have an education background and are not effective teachers so how do you actually determine who is going to be effective and who is not?
ReplyDeleteI do think that teacher preparation is important and so I like some of the ideas that Barnett Berry poses in his article "Ending the Battle over Teaching." One of his ideas is to have established teachers supervise newer teachers. I don't know if I agree that they should be in their classroom 100 percent of the time, but as a new teacher, whether you have an education degree or not, I think it's important to seek advice and help from the other teachers around you. I think that no matter what kind of a degree you hold when you become a teacher, I think it's going to take a little while for a person to get their footing as a teacher and are not going to be the best and most amazing teacher right when they walk through the door.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Jen on her comment that it's disrespectful to teachers to assume that people without teacher training could be effective. I think that all people do need training to be a teacher but that there is no set criteria to determine who is going to be effective and who is not. Teaching is very difficult work whether you have an education degree or not and I think no matter what your background you can be an effective teacher.
I agree with Megan C. I feel that persons whom currently does not have an education degree doesn't mean that that they wouldn't be effective teachers. I agree it should take education, however, most of the stuff I learned wouldn't have helped me in the slightest in the classroom, teaching experience will only begin to help me in the classroom, and you can only gain that with life experience.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading what everyone had to say on this matter. I hope pp were not offended by this question. I myself believe that truly effective teachers come from all walks of life(it would seem most of us concur on this point) In the Holland reading page 349 I felt for the man, and his students, that had reved everyone up about english and was now being forced to take a bunch of classes to be certified(after already being in the classroom). I am also reminded of that wonderfully motivating movie, Stand and Deliver. If you haven't seen it, it's about low SES kids from east LA that learn advanced calculus against all odds from a teacher who has changed careers!!(based on a true story) He probably had a marketing/business degree! Tom I really liked what you had to say and I think you, David and Megan will all be highly effective educators. Many teachers that have gone through the "traditional route" to teaching are terrible teachers so it all comes down to the individual. Some people are meant to be teachers and some are not...
ReplyDeleteWow, feathers are getting ruffled on this one, mainly I think because people take things very personally, when they are not meant as attacks. I will say, that nothing could have prepared me to teach in the class room that I am teaching in. I think experience is what makes you effective. Classroom management is one key issue, because with out it you are done for, no matter how creative, committed or caring you are you have to have very good classroom management skills in order to be effective. Can that be taught? On some level, but it is like so many other things actually doing it is the way you learn what works and what doesn't. So many of the education classes are repetitive. In my humble opinion, I think that the student teaching should be extended to a full year, and the student teacher should be paid a stipend.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica's last post about classroom management. In the classes that I have taken, a lot of people have talked about how they wished they would have had an opportunity to take a class on classroom management, but were not sure how that could be taught since they felt that one needs to be in the classroom to learn this. Experience is what is needed to learn how to become an effective teacher and I think each teacher using the skills and attributes that they have can become an effective teacher. I also think that new teachers need to seek advice from other teachers in order to gain experience and learn from the experiences that they have had.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is just my district or building, but I can honestly say, that not one teacher offered me any help or advice this year. No one told me anything, I was left to figure out what worked and what didn't on my own. Let me just say, teaching ED is a world of its own. I think that there should be something in place to help new teachers cope with all of the politics, etc...
ReplyDeleteI agree with David, "hard work beats out talent when talent doesn't work hard." This statement applies to all walks of life no matter what a person does for a living. There are very talented sales reps out there that win awards all the time, then they are promoted into management and then they flounder around, make their team suffer, and then go back to being a rep. There are well studied doctors with all the fancy degrees from top colleges across the country, but I would not take my dog to see them.
ReplyDeleteThen you have the average person, that went to a community college, and worked very hard, went the extra mile, burned the midnight oil to set themselves from the others and has the basic common sense to persevere.
On page 355, Darling-Hammond talks about the Teach for America (TFA) in which they recruited the brightest college graduates to serve in the underserved part of the U.S. on their way to other profession. It was a 3 to 8 week summer training program that did not prepare them as candidates. Even with their intelligence and enthusiasm, many of the young recruits knew their success and that of their students had been compromised by their lack of access to the knowledge needed to teach.
Once again, it all goes back to an innate set of internal skills that is coupled with patience, passion, leadership, maturity, with a huge dash of common sense. This issue is similar to the story of the chicken or the egg, what came first? Are teachers born or developed? Are parents born or is it trial by error?
There are several good reasons why there is no formal training in preparation for parenting and no owner's manual when your son or daughter is born! Sometimes we have to just live with the "questions" instead of constantly looking for the answers in every detail in our lives.
Holland had some good points to consider in the arena of alternative teacher training. On page 349, he refers to the Brookings Institution paper that cites "...public education alreay is a regulated monopoly. In most school districts, parents have little or no choice of their children's schools or teachers. In addition, unlike in medicine or other service markets, education consumers lack the protection of antitrust or malpractice lawsuits. Within this structure, the teacher unions already exercise enormous power as their well-organized affiliates bargain with fragmented local school boards." "If the teacher unions win control of the gates to teaching through their domination of such organizations as NCATE, they arguably would possess market power not enjoyed by producers or unions in any other major industry in our economy."
ReplyDeleteIs this issue more about the need to hold on to power, or the neccessary education needed to qualify a newly minted teacher for the classroom? Is the thought of alternative teaching licenses a threat to the teacher's union?
In closing, once again on page 349, Holland comments that the powerful unions would block efforts to expand consumer choice and investigate fresh blood into the teaching profession. "When a monopoly can restrict supply, prices will rise and in this case, teachers salaries. That would fulfill a primary objective of the teacher unions, but without any guarantee of increased quality."
I like the idea on page 350, Troops to Teachers in the classroom and schools. It would be a very interesting experiment if our public schools were outfitted with military personnel, would it reduce the rate of bullying and violence?