What is happening to teacher quality?

[Cheryl Green]

Over time, it seems that we are getting more and more teachers that lack the knowledge and skill base needed for successful teaching. Have we reached time where our schools of education need to ramp up the admission standards or overhaul their course of study?

I want to be clear. I'm not calling out all new educators, cause there are vets. with similar issues, but I have been concerned about teacher readiness.

[Chanda D. Gordon-Austin, Ed.S.]

Thank you Cheryl for this post! I am struggling with this very issue. I work directly with teacher retention and improvement in my district. What happened to people working for the good of the children. Please don't get me wrong.. I'm not that far out of the classroom to not understand the demands of the classroom teacher. I am constantly observing some down right sorry folk! Mind you, these are not NOVICE teachers. The passion is gone. NCLB is killing the creativity. Students with discipline problems continue to stay in the classroom and there is absolutely NO parental involvement. What I have observed from my new teachers is "cookie cutter" pre-serivce programs. The student teaching piece should be one FULL year in several different learning environments. Many of the new teachers struggle GREATLY with classroom management. MOST of them leave after only 2 years because they are young, free-spirited and have many options. I am working VERY hard to support and encourage the teachers that I come into contact with. We have to do better at the college level. I say, put the textbooks aways and let those pre-service teachers really get in there and see what on the other side of that textbook. This is real!!! As I have said before, this job is for big girls and boys. If you're not ready leave it alone!
Sidebar.. the state of Georgia needs to look into allowing teachers to retire at 25 years opposed to 30....

[Isreal Eady "Widit"]

I agree that some novice teachers are VERY naive to the conditions in schools. They don't know that: some 9th graders are reading on 1st grade level, students are manipulating the system via "crazy checks" etc.

[Susann (Woods) Williams]

You hit the nail on the head!

[Tamaka Lafftte Kidd]

The problem as I see it is not teacher qualification. Its teacher dedication. Times have changed. When you talk to "newbie" educators, a lot of them tell you that they majored in education so that it would be easier for them to get a job when they graduate. Then you have the teachers who did not get into education to begin with,but because they could not find a job in their respective fields, they go and get an alternative master's in education. This is done with a paycheck, not the children, in mind. As for the older vets, as you put it. A lot of them that I talk to are disillusioned. I'm speaking from the point of view of the Alabama educational system that I am familiar with....more and more of these teachers miss the days when they were respected. Now it seems that all they do is get dumped on by the parents, administration, students, central office, and so on. They do not feel appreciated, and in some cases, that transfers itself into less than stellar work ethic. This is not at all the case in each situation, but is becoming more and more the theme around me when my fellow educators are venting.

[Greta Morris McGowan]

I personally think it all boils down to professionalism. Regardless of what your major is, you have to have professionalism. When I first started teaching a decade ago, you had teacher's who had tat's, loved to party, and had at times crazy personal lives, but they tried to keep their private lives private. I remember thinking that my students don't forget anything that you do (they are some of the greatest fault finders) so let them see you do the right thing(to the best of my ability).

I notice teachers now, who don't seem to care because they want the kids that they are just as cool as the kids are. They will share their tats, talk about what they drink and sometimes smoke, and then turn around and talk about how they are teaching some of the greatest hood rats of all time. The kids will look up to us as role models, whether we want them to or not. Think about the image you are setting.

[Frederick Square]

The answer to your question lies in what the state wants. Our states have to be very careful in the standards we set and the ability of the people to meet those standards. Here in Alabama we have some of the highest standards for students and teachers in the country. We are trying to produce highly educated wokers who meet the needs of a global society. The problem with this line of thought is that Alabama does not have the jobs nor the pay to retain these workers. Therefore you have mass migrations to other states where the workers can see greater benefits from their hard work. Those who remain here stay for various reasons, but I seriously doubt that money is one of them.

Our legislatures must fund and defend education. It can be defended by passing and funding the enforcement of legislation that would hold parents accountable for the actions of their children. If parents are hit in the pocket for truancy, frequent discipline problems, etc., there will be a difference.

[Grady William Broadnax]

Dear Educators:
If you are looking for money forget it. If you are looking to change boys and girls lives yes teaching is the way to go. I was in education for 40 years and loved every year. I am going to miss my high school students. I will be teaching music at the college level.

[Susann (Woods) Williams]

Cheryl Green, what a great question. If you look at the generation that will be exiting college and approaching careers, you will find that not only teaching but many areas are suffering. I think the answer to your question lies in a couple of areas: poor or low morals (many students think "everyone cheats" so that makes it okay), lack of students being allowed to fail (I don't just mean fail their classes. They need to learn how to learn from their mistakes so they can think for themselves. That's not happening in schools or in homes, unfortunately. It's the only way that they will learn but with so many parents who won't allow that because they are uninvolved... plus NCLB it is really a difficult thing to watch. That's exactly why I want to be an instructional coach. I know there are some good ones out there, somewhere.

[Cheryl Green]

While this discussion is very rich, it has gotten away from the intended focus. I'm troubled when educators aren't aware of tried and true pedagogical principles that work for high-need students. Someone mentioned professionalism - which is missing in a lot of schools. In some instances, we have forgotten that we are professionals which requires ongoing personal development and knowledge of prescriptive approaches that work in any classroon. Knowing how to create a 5-step lesson plan or how to use effective questioning techniques or conducting Socratic seminars should be things we are prepared to know and do as educators - but, too often its like foreign topics to some. Anyhoo, my two cents, for what they are worth.

[Susann (Woods) Williams]

I see your point and thoroughly agree. I still maintain though, that those who are interested in only securing a "position" or only in passing a class with a high grade may not necessariy be interested in learning pedagogical principals or prescriptive approaches. The reason is that they have been allowed to slip through without demonstrating that they can do these very important things. What's worse is that many of them may not even like kids.