Blog Post #14

Teaching Can Be A Profession by Joel Klein

  

Problem: Pick from the best

Solution: Begin with better academic training for prospective teachers.  Second, they need a new approach to recruit teachers, instead they can recruit from the one-third of their graduates.  Last but not least, they must change how they reward the teachers.

Problem: Seniority distraction
Solution: The late Mr. Albert Shanker, wrote " Unless we go beyond collective bargaining to the achievement of true teacher professionalism, we will fail ... to preserve public education in the United States and to improve the status of teachers economically, socially and politically."  He suggested, doing some things to help create a profession, and it included attracting their best students, developing a demanding "knowledge base" along with a "formal set of peer relationships."  He also called for a "national teacher examination" that tests mastery of pedagogy and content knowledge, akin to the entry exams now required for lawyers and doctors. In addition to all of this, Mr. Shanker would require a "supervised internship of from one to  three years" to evaluate the performance of prospective teachers.

Problem: Radical change
Solution: Mr. Shanker came up with that teachers establish their own board to police the profession, establishing standards and providing mechanisms for removing incompetent teachers.  The teachers would abandon their support for mandatory assignment of kids to neighborhood schools in favor of "the greatest possible choice among public schools."  Mr. Shanker recognized that the public education would not be sustainable if the teachers were continued to be treated as workers in an old-fashioned factory.

In the first post, "Pick from the best",  I have to agree with everything I read.  I think that they do need to start with a better academic training for upcoming teachers and recruit from one-third of their graduates.  This would be a great idea because they can meet new teachers all around and learn more about what's going on in the school systems, classrooms, and what to expect overall.  Changing how they reward teachers would not be a bad idea.  

In the second post, "Seniority distraction", I have to agree when they said job security and seniority dictate the way the schools operate.  I like the way he thought about helping out by, developing a demanding "knowledge base" along with a "formal set of peer relationships."  He even wants them to take a "national teacher examination", which is a test mastery of pedagogy and content knowledge, akin to the entry exams now required for lawyers and doctors.  I think this is a great idea as well because it lets him know if the teachers are really up for what they are getting themselves into.

In the last post, "Radical change", Mr. Shanker went in depth about this transformation.  He proposed that teachers establish standards and provide mechanisms for removing incompetent teachers.  I have to agree with him, because if they want teachers to do what they are suppose to, them they need to start treating them better.

From reading all of Mr. Joel Klein post, I had to agree with everything he said.  Teachers are a big help to many kids today in this world.  They should be treated much better than what they are now.  I hope things do change in the education majors.