Once upon a time Hawaii (prior 1960) had a great idea about teacher qualifications. There was only one licensing credential. This basic license was valid for a lifetime. There were no bureaucratic renewal fees, as Hawaii felt that competence was lifelong and didn’t suddenly expire. Principals developed and required ongoing teacher improvement.
The licensing process was simple. The teacher candidate learned teaching theory, technique and practice (even education history) at the college level. In other words, the credential guaranteed a level of knowing HOW to teach … not the subject matter levels. The subject matter was “on the side” and was up to the individual to take specialized courses, read materials, observe and get “good” in their specialty. At this point, the principal became a very key figure and was the sole judge as to whether the individual had the ability to tackle a particular class or not. In a sense, it was an apprentice-type approach with the principal providing ongoing mentoring and evaluation, ensuring that the teacher was indeed standing and delivering.
Along with statehood and progress, this island system fell by the wayside and was replaced with a California-style credential system that required: up to six years of college. It usually meant taking meaningless courses, resulting in a specialized license that periodically required costly renewals. It removed some of the heart and soul of connectivity to students.
A teaching credential does, however, ensure, a more or less, standard level of cognition and knowledge … at least high enough to be smarter than most of the kids in the class. A teacher shouldn’t have to be smarter than all the students. A teacher should just know how to connect and teach the level assigned … and a little above. (After all, very bright kids learn despite the teacher.) The ultimate goal of any teacher is to provide the inspiration for every student to love learning and make it a lifelong activity. (Content standards are just a vehicle along the way.)
A key point in the federal mandate for public education (No Child Left Behind – 2002) was to have “highly qualified teachers” in every classroom in the U.S. by June 2006; it didn’t happen. The federal law defines a highly qualified teacher as one “who holds a standard license and can demonstrate knowledge of the subjects they teach.” Each state decides what constitutes knowledge of a subject, but it should be at least equivalent to passing a college-level test or attaining a college minor in the subject. There’s little attention given to how to teach … probably because it’s subjective and hard to measure. Long-term substitutes and teachers-in-process are still needed in a time of personnel shortage. There is currently a 321 teacher shortage in Santa Clara County.
The least effective and least interesting teachers I’ve experienced were those working in the education departments of the colleges. Oddly enough, the most effective and memorable teachers I’ve experienced were those with just a high school education. And of course, the most highly qualified teachers are the home schoolers. The achievement levels of their children is considered to be a couple of years ahead of public school students. The likely conclusion therefore seems to be that “highly qualified” must mean just taking a lot of coursework.
Since criticism requires the development of positive alternatives, here are some ideas:
- Eliminate the federal position of Secretary of Education.
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Limit the powers of state and county superintendents; return power to the people, the districts and the school sites.
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Require college education department professors to demonstrate competency.
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Encourage education leaders to stop using the terms “failing schools” and “failing teachers.”
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Ponder how to encourage bright and intuitive college students to choose a teaching career and not be dissuaded by daunting course requirements.
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Research the education system in Finland; why is it No. 1 in the world?
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NCLB will have some success, but not to the extent dreamed of. If the law makers and theorists are really convinced of their political path … then they should enact the NBLB and NSLB laws (i.e. No Board Left Behind and No Superintendent Left Behind).
Morgan Hill resident Donald R. Kruse is a retired teacher and school administrator with more than 30 years of experience. He served as a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education for one four-year term from 2002 to 2005. He also served for six years as a U.S. Navy officer. He’s a member of the
Morgan Hill Times Editorial Board. Reach him at
do******@sb*******.net
.
