Blog Post #14: "Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein"

Blog Post #14:

"Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein"

By: Noah Armstrong

Problem-Solution 

1. Unequipped Teacher- Raising the qualifications of a teaching degree to rival those of other top countries

-I agree with this completely. I have had teachers that have no idea what they are doing but they are allowed to teach based on the fact that they have a degree from some rinky dink online school that ill prepared them to handle real world teaching.

2. Anyone with a degree can become a teacher- recruit from the top third of the class

-This sounds like a good idea in theory. A drawback that i can see is that some people are bad at school. It can be as simple as that. You could have a person who is a great teacher and is able to pass on knowledge to students with great skill but they themselves have test anxiety and are not able to be the top in their class. this I think would be fixed by beefing up the requirements. Thus, making it harder to get a degree and raising the quality of anyone good enough to make it through with a degree. 

3.How we reward teachers- Base it on performance rather than seniority 

-This seems like a complete "Duh" statement because that is how all other jobs work, you are better so you advance. The idea of seniority should only apply if you are comparing two teachers of truly equal skill rather than just assuming they all have the same skill level.

4.job security based on seniority- layoff the least effective rather than the newest hire 

-Time served should have something to do with how you are looked upon when it is time to let some one go but not at the sacrifice of skill evaluation. only two teachers with equal skill should be then compared on experience. 

5. there needs to be professionalization including an entrance exam and internship.

-The idea of an entrance exam is a great idea. like the bar for lawyers this would make sure that a teacher is fully prepared when they get their degree and has not been cheating or memorizing for each test to make it through college. It would also give greater credit to the hard work teachers do. 

6. Students should be able to choose from a pool of nearby schools rather than be assigned by neighborhood. 

-This yet again sounds like a good idea in theory. However, I fear that this is resemblance of how some Asian countries run their schools where the smart children are put in a high level school and the others are left in the dust. However, it could also give that kid a chance to choose a better school and given the right surroundings flourish.

Conclusion-  It is no secret that the education system needs improvement. The United States is behind in that category. The US is known for being the pinnacle of a nation yet we struggle in the category that means the most for our future, education. While improving the quality of teacher we put into the classroom does a lot for the problem it is not enough. even a skilled professional can not do a good job with rudimentary and crude tools. Even the most skilled surgeon can't do a good heart transfer with a chainsaw. How can we expect a teacher to teach optimally with a crude education system.