Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on November 28, 2007 - 10:46.
I am a second career teacher that participated in a program that would be considered a fast track to certification. I am & always have been "highly qualified." I had to pass the PRAXIS & PLT for my areas. I believe that being the teacher, the one in charge of the class is the only thing that is going to get you that hands on experience that you need for good classroom management. I began in a poor performing school that was 99% minority. I felt at times I needed to bring a whistle as a gym teacher would to my classes that first year. It was a very rough school. No teacher certification program through a university could have taught me what I needed to know to survive there. These schools have a hard time getting teachers. They should not be further hindered in getting qualified teachers just because they have not been through a traditional education program. My brother-in-law is currently attending a very highly regarded university in a traditional teacher certification program. He does spend time visiting schools throughout his training & thus spends time in teachers classrooms. However, haven't we all spent years in classrooms? My brother-in-law will still have a rough first year, same as everyone entering the profession. The reason why is simply because it will be his first year to be in charge of the classroom. All the years of being in a classroom or student teaching or teacher shadowing, cannot give you that experience. Instead of figuring out ways to remove highly qualified teachers from the classroom, perhaps we should instead consider better mentoring programs and support programs for new teachers to help retention.
Fast track to certification
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on November 28, 2007 - 10:46.
I am a second career teacher that participated in a program that would be considered a fast track to certification. I am & always have been "highly qualified." I had to pass the PRAXIS & PLT for my areas. I believe that being the teacher, the one in charge of the class is the only thing that is going to get you that hands on experience that you need for good classroom management. I began in a poor performing school that was 99% minority. I felt at times I needed to bring a whistle as a gym teacher would to my classes that first year. It was a very rough school. No teacher certification program through a university could have taught me what I needed to know to survive there. These schools have a hard time getting teachers. They should not be further hindered in getting qualified teachers just because they have not been through a traditional education program. My brother-in-law is currently attending a very highly regarded university in a traditional teacher certification program. He does spend time visiting schools throughout his training & thus spends time in teachers classrooms. However, haven't we all spent years in classrooms? My brother-in-law will still have a rough first year, same as everyone entering the profession. The reason why is simply because it will be his first year to be in charge of the classroom. All the years of being in a classroom or student teaching or teacher shadowing, cannot give you that experience. Instead of figuring out ways to remove highly qualified teachers from the classroom, perhaps we should instead consider better mentoring programs and support programs for new teachers to help retention.