1.Better academic training for prospective teachers
Almost half of the states cannot claim a math program that prepares the student like some of the programs in the higher performing nations.
Math is one hard subject for most students. I do agree with this statement, in that there should be more training in Math for prospective teachers. It could be as easy as adding Calculus to an Education major studies.
2.New approach to recruiting teachers
This would change things so that not everyone with a college degree should be allowed to teach, only the top third of graduates.
This statement follows #5. I do not agree with the top third of graduates, but I do believe in setting an exam with certain standards that you would have to score a certain score on. Coming from a small town, I always thought the idea of teachers rotating schools within a certain mile radius should be required. Each year or every three however you want to do it, teachers would rotate, giving every student a variety of teachers and keeping away from politics and playing favorites.
3.Change how teachers are rewarded
This would make it to where keeping a job would be related to competency and not seniority.
Well, the true reward that comes from teaching would be seeing your students succeed and graduate. I agree with some states on the raises and benefits, only if your test scores are growing. I believe the teacher should be held accountable of their students learning or not learning enough.
4."Teachers establish their own board to police the profession"
Teachers would set the standard for removing incompetent teachers. "Merit-based career ladder" would create promotion based on specialty exams.
I do not believe this would work. I believe it would turn into politics within the school and they could end up removing teachers that just don't fit in. I believe in a higher power such as a board, like it is today.
5.Demonstrate mastery before having college graduates be aides
I agree with this statement. To me, this statement suggests that although students graduate with a degree, there should be some kind of mastery exam or board test they need to pass. To be a teacher and teach your students what they need to learn, you yourself has to have that knowledge.
6."Teachers would abandon their support for mandatory assignment of kids to neighborhood schools"
I would say this refers to students staying in their district to go to school. I am from a small town and out of the entire county, there was one city school, and it had all the goods (laptops, smart boards, extracurricular activities) that all the other schools in the county, including mine, did not have. So, this made a lot of parents that could afford it, to take their children out of district to get an education. To make it where everyone is getting an equal education, I believe funds should be split equally between each county school.
Hey Meagan! I think your post is very thorough and hits all of the issues. I can agree that it may be a good idea to add a math class to the education degree curriculum but as someone who does not enjoy math I am kind of glad it isn't required. I also do not agree with recruiting teachers from the top third of graduates. That would leave the rest of the graduates with no job and in debt from paying tuition and getting student loans for nothing. I like your idea on rotating the teachers in the same district every couple of years. This would also allow the teachers to experience different schools and keep things fresh. There are things that do need to change in the education system and I feel like we will see and be a part of some of these changes in the next generation.
ReplyDeleteCallie Barton