Is recruiting nonteachers to become educators a good idea?

Short cuts to teaching and non teachers in classrooms is an unsafe and dangerous practice. Teacher training and standards are as important as the standards to becoming a nurse, doctor or lawyer. If you argue teacher education is not needed then strengthen teacher prep to better prepare future teachers. If you want the best schools then you must attract the best teachers. After all every study will show you the best schools have the best teachers.

Is recruiting nonteachers to become educators a good idea?

In the areas of vocational education, this is a “no-brainer”. Recruiting nonteachers to become educators IS a good idea. For those multimedia classes, “nonteachers” can truly excite the students in the real possibilities of a good paying career that is fun and interesting.

To cover this subject and other vocational topics, it is quite valuable to have that experience beyond the “book smarts.” These professional experiences go beyond having to do a project for a class. As teacher of a vocational subject, we experienced the process time and time again which goes to the idea of “practice makes perfect”.

I’ve seen book work for students to learn and practice the subjects such as math and science. When a “nonteacher” brings forth the real-world applications using the same methods but connecting the applications to something the students can look forward to, there is a great excitement.

I want our future leaders to be excited about their fields. Math, science, history, multimedia, health, carpentry, culinary arts, robotics, etc. Students are always given examples and practice theoretical situations, but nonteachers can add that extra sparkle in education to bridge that gap to make a student the next professional.

R. Revilla
Multimedia Teacher

I think recruiting teachers can be an effective avenue provided there is an adequate training program in place. It is one thing to know your subject matter. It is a completely different ball game when understanding how to teach, to children of any age. How do you teach? What is involved with giving instruction? Without training, how do you know the three different ways to educate an individual. Not everybody grasps the idea from verbal lectures. Proper training can give the industry professional the knowledge, and tools to better reach young minds Then once you have taught, it is said you are not really a good teacher until your third year. Because you are going to make mistakes and have to adjust your lesson plans based on what you have learned from experience.
So now the question may not be weather recruiting industry professionals is a good idea, but how much training do you provide. I feel it helpful with a training program for the teacher as well as professional development. They may be synonymous; so multiple training programs may be the key. Hearing the same thing in a variety of ways is very helpful, just the way we are taught to give instruction, in a variety of ways.

Education is what you make it. I remember classmates in college who stood by the mantra "'D' for 'DONE'"! Having that piece of paper means nothing. Therefore, completing a "fast-track Masters Program in 1.5 years" could mean someone took the personal fast-track "D for Done" route. OR, it may mean they that they doubled-up on courses, paid a ton of money, had no social life and sucked every ounce of knowledge out of it that they could without earning all D's, but all A's. So, I'd prefer to leave the judgment of education programs out of this discussion.
I believe the best way is to have both. The experience from working in the private sector can be beneficial to both teacher and student. OR, it can bring an arrogance from the teacher and a lack of relatability for the students. Knowledge simply does not mean it can be conveyed properly to the student, so without communication skills, the knowledge is left floating in the air. I have both private sector experience, and "teacher college" training. Both of these work symbiotically for me and have been an enormous help. As I was long-term subbing and student teaching while earning my masters, I had several "OH, I see how to do that now!" moments which made my life easier, and my teaching more EFFECTIVE. I learned how to manage my kids, manage my operations, and manage to put what's in my head, into theirs. Scaffolding, HOTS, varied assessments, ESL and Special Ed. strategies, communication skills, creating rules, etc. were invaluable to my teaching. But, I believe that teachers with industry experience may be a step ahead of the rest as they have practical information for their students, and can garner some respect from many students who ask questions such as, "how is this important for me?". Private Sector teachers can answer that question very easily. And, once you've earned their respect, you've earned their trust, and you've earned their eyes and ears and effort. We also know what's "out there" and know the proper skills and behavior necessary to survive in the corporate world. However, I think it's crucial to continue with PD and Continuing Education to help with the "teacher college" aspect, or we may lose these highly motivating teachers back to the private sector. Kids don't want that, nor do they need it.

I am a mid-life career changer who has earned both a California Multiple Subject Credential and Single Subject English Credential, and am completing the requirements to clear a Designated Subjects credential in Computer Applications. My previous career was as a technical writer doing mostly user manuals--a singularly unfulfilling career--so I made the decision to pursue a teaching career. As a single woman with no children, I had no idea what grade level I wanted to teach--or would be suited to. I was initially happy to spend a year learning the pedagogy of teaching, especially as it related to English Language Learners--a must for California teachers (and many others, I know). In addition, there was no substitute for the experience of student teaching--being thrown into the classroom and expected to take on more responsiblity as the semester wore on.

However, I ended up being hired for my past career experience. I discovered that the BTSA program required for clearing my "regular" teaching credentials repeated much of what I had just spent a year in college to learn. In addition, I had to complete the first year of two years of additional training to clear my designated subjects credential. This double burden just about caused me to quit in my first and second year of teaching. It was not so much the additional work that threatened to overwhelm me, as the "culture shock" of actually being faced with a room full of students--many of whom have little or no desire to learn. As another commenter mentioned, the shear weight of trying to maintain discipline in an inner-city high school is daunting, not to mention the hoops you have to jump through with NCLB, frequent testing, and a work environment that seems to be standard for schools--but that would have OSHA screaming bloody murder at the health and safety issues that are taken for granted in schools.

So where do I stand on this issue? Is the experienced in life, but naive about teaching career changer any better for our students than the young person just out of teacher college? I don't think it matters one bit where new teachers come from. Because only actual classroom experience over a period of months and years will tell whether a new teacher has the heart, tenacity, and stamina to hang in there past that five-year danger zone. I think life experience is valuable, but unless you can convince your students to value your experience, you will fail as a teacher. And the quality I think most important in a teacher is that they love the kids. Because only that love will keep them hanging in doing a job that is exhausting, underpaid, and fraught with the possibility of unemployment because of budget cuts.

I'm in my fourth year of teaching. Will I be here next year? I honestly don't know.

I don't believe that we should make it easier for people to jump from another Profession into Education. It is not an easy job and you need to be ready for it. A training course should be required for all people who want to be in education.

There is no guarantee of success as a teacher. Teacher training is an excellent path towards this goal. But teacher education courses can be excellent or mediocre. Knowledge of a particular subject is not enough to be a good teacher. You might not have the temperament, the ability to communicate your knowledge or the fortitude to spend all day with youngsters.

I have been teaching at the secondary level for over 30 years. I have been a master teach to many student teachers, and talked to many teachers in their fist year of teaching. Some of the first year teachers were on special programs for non-teachers coming from other professions. Neither path is easy or sure. Very few of the traditional student teachers did not go on to teach for at least one year. I counseled two of 25 not to continue. Two of the 14 professionals finished their first year and did not return.

I think their are advantages to both routes. The students teachers I have seen over the years have been mostly young. The education coursework gave most of them a chance to face the hardships in teacher with someone to go to for advice (master teacher & college supervisor). This usually helped them through the difficulty of learning to teach in a classroom. On the other hand, the professionals often had a maturity which helped them with establishing classroom control - a necessity in teaching. What they sometimes lacked was practice in communicating ideas at the students level of readiness.

YES!!! but only if they are passionate about students and their success. I wish I could speak about my industry experience as some have on this post with rose colored glasses. No doubt I have felt the joy of obtaining many of my career goals only to realize that the long lasting happiness I was searching for had nothing to do with one’s title or position. I have also been fortunate enough to obtain many of the material possessions that others spend a life time striving for only to realize that those things did not remedy the void in my heart I was so desperately trying to fill. At the age of 28 I was the CEO of a flourishing resort television station with five fulltime employees, numerous independent producers and still searching for the meaning of success. I had survived many “hard knocks” on my may up to the supposed top: earning next to nothing in order to work beside top industry producers, working 12 hour days 6 days a week producing local news, being threatened with several frivolous lawsuits by a company in competition with my own, having to work for months without pay so that my employees and their families could continue to survive during the post 9/11 market fluctuations. When I began a small zero period broadcast journalism class at Mammoth High, I had little idea that my passion for teaching would fill that void and lead me to go back to school in a career field I had never considered – teaching! Yes, “real world” experience matters! I’m not sure I would be as passionate or committed to my students if I myself did not experience the “dog eat dog” realities of industry. I’m not sure my lessons would be as focused without knowing the skills my students must have in order to be successful in the working world having not lived and breathed it myself. It is time that we open the doors to professionals who want to make a difference in our youth through teaching. It’s time we hire teachers who are more concerned about student success than being protected by the union! Mike Reynolds, Sandy Eggo High (<- stole that one from Ralph)

Yes, absolutely. The fact that this generation is ill-prepeared for the expectations of the real word makes a strong case for having industry-trained individuals, in addition to traditionally trained educators. The nonteachers bring their expertise, passion and experience to their students, and can become mentors for them.
It is a fact that not everyone is Harvard-bound, and it is the job of the schools to provide opportunities for all students, and inspire them to become individuals who will positively contribute to society. It comes down to connecting with students, and in this case, nonteachers treat the classroom like the work place, with guidelines, and expectations.
Now, it is important to train the nonteachers for the reality of the classroom, and provide them with tools to succeed for classroom managements and such.
To summarize, I feel like it really serves students to have experience in both traditional and non-traditional classrooms, to help them get ready for the real world.

absolutely. Individuals from other industry have what is so desperately needed in education - real life applications. My children's best teachers hailed from other industries and made school lots of fun with extreme mental stimulation.

secondly, these professionals have better idea what is expected for students as they were living breathing and eating their profession. Life long teachers do not have a clue to the activities of corporate America.

In fact, I have a Bachelor's in Economics which is a mathematically based social science. I taught math - Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry for 1 year. My students who once hated math absolutely love math now.

Dean, as an educator completing certification, I admire and appreciate your drive to teach. However, your argument in support of teachers from the business world lacks one fundamentally important element; that being the needs of the children. Knowledge is just one of the aspects of a "real world" job. When someone seeks employment they consider not only monetary gain but the atmosphere and nurture of the position. The real-world workplace is something I am very familiar with since I work for a multi-million dollar corporation as I complete my degree. Moreover, I am a mother of three children and realize the long-term intrinsic value of what I do for children. Teachers must understand not only what children "need" to learn but they must understand how children develop and what strategies and methods best facilitate that learning. If someone is dedicated to children, they must be willing to put forth the effort to learn how the whole child must be developed and nurtured. The vast amount of research and information is out there for a reason. Caring is the first requirement of teaching but it is far from the only one necessary to create teachers who will be effective and stay the course.