We need all teachers who have a passioin for the craft!
Reader comment on: Uncertified Teachers Performing Well, Study Finds

Submitted by Alozno Bailey, Nov 21, 2006 18:53

I truly believe we need uncertified teacher just as much as certified teachers in the classroom. There is a need for more funding for alternative programs to improve the skills of uncertified teachers, however, more time and money should be invested into professional development or workshops for certified teachers. We need all teachers who have a passion for the craft of teaching. The reason for saying this is that we are already in a state of emergency when we compare the teaching profession to other lucrative career paths. There is more of a shortage of teachers now in our society than we have ever seen in history. Ultimatley, the level of k-12 education compared to other countries is substandard and really needs to change. Our institutions need to come up with some new cutting-edge strategies and classroom interventions in dealing with special education students, at risk students, and gifted and talented students. The dynamics of the classroom are no longer of the 80's or 90's where latchkey students wondered around the nieghborhood unsuperivised. Uncertified teacher have an advantage over the some certified teacher due to the practical experience they receive while taking the alternative route. While educated teachers with 4.0 GPA's have probably never seen what a classroom looks like until student teaching arrives during thier last year of college. More focus needs to be place on professional development for all teachers as it relates to differentiated instruction and implementing Howard Gardner methods of delivering instruction to students learning modality. Education is being packaged as if it's a happy meal or a combo from McDonalds. We lack substance when trainning our teachers who are certifed or uncertified. No Child left Behind has set us back some due to emphasis of (TEST SCORES), many of our children do not perform well on multiple choice test, however we should look at classroom performance inadditiion to test scores. Even some highly qualified teachers have difficulty with testing out of Teacher Certification test. It's a known fact that many of the teachers who have struggles with the Teacher Certification test are exceptional classroom teachers. I hope in the near future there could be some amendments to the "No Child Left Behind" legistslation, so that more emphasis is placed on classroom instruction to improve student achievement than just imposing testing instruments measuring ability for students and jov performance for teachers.

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