Blog Post #14

Teaching Our Children Can Be A Profession by Joel Klein is an article that discusses some problems in the teaching profession and some possible solutions.

1. Pick from the best. 
• Joel's solution: Joel says that this kind of change would require several things, beginning with better academic training for prospective teachers. Next, we need a new approach to recruiting teachers. Finally, we must change how we reward teachers. 
• My response: I would have to say that I agree with his solutions. I think it is essential that there be a teaching program that meets all of the necessary training and prospectives for teachers. I think the recruiting standards need to be raised. Joel says, "For decades, we've let virtually anyone with a college degree become a teacher." This is sad, yet true. I agree with him when he says, "we should recruit from the top third of our graduates." He also says that teachers should be rewarded differently. I think he is right about this, because rewarding a teacher based on seniority just doesn't seem fair. Some new teachers may perform exceptionally better than a teacher that has been there for 10 years and should be recognized/rewarded for it.
2. Seniority Distraction. 
• Joel's solution: He says that job security and seniority dictate the way our schools operate. He points out that in most states it is almost impossible to remove an incompetent teacher and teachers are paid the same regardless of performance. Professionalizing teaching means that excellence would be the guiding hallmark. Albert Shanker recommended doing several things to create a profession, including attracting our best students, developing a demanding "knowledge base" along with a "formal set of ... peer relationships." Shanker also called for a "national teacher examination" that tests mastery of pedagogy and content knowledge, akin to the entry exams now required for lawyers and doctors. In addition, Shanker would require a "supervised internship of from one to three years" to evaluate the performance of prospective teachers. 
• My response: I do think that the seniority deal is a problem. I think that if a teacher is no longer competent then he/she should be removed. It is a disservice to the students to keep such a teacher just because he/she has been teaching longer. Think about what it would be like if other professions (doctors, lawyers, etc.) focused so much on seniority, scary right? Making excellence the guiding light for teaching would only better our schools. I really think that Albert Shanker has some very good recommendations that would definitely help professionalize teaching. 
3. Radical Change:
• Joel's solution: Shanker also proposed that teachers establish their own board to police the profession, establishing standards and providing mechanisms for removing incompetent teachers. Teachers would also be subjected to merit-based career ladders and would be promoted based on specialty exams. Shanker goes on to say that there would be fewer teachers who would be aided by college graduates serving as teaching assistants. Lastly, teachers would abandon their support for mandatory assignment of kids to neighborhood schools in favor of "the greatest possible choice among public schools." 
• My response: I think that teachers should be able to raise issues to the board and them actually listen and look into whatever their issue may be. The idea of a merit-based job ladder is so smart! Shanker mentions that teachers would be promoted based on specialty exams, I agree and disagree on this. I think it would be great to be promoted based on your knowledge of what it is you are doing, but also, I think that a teacher's performance in the classroom should be rewarded (maybe based on her class' scores). I do agree with abandoning mandatory assignment of kids to neighborhood schools. I think that if, for some reason, a child has to live in a certain area due to certain circumstances, then they/their parents should still be allowed to choose the school they want to go to. Forcing kids to go to a certain school just because of where they live just doesn't make sense; if their parents are willing to drive a few extra miles to take get their child a better education, then they should be allowed to do so without having to move.

Joel Klein and Albert Shanker make many good points and bring many issues to light that people tend to ignore, or just don't try to fix. I found this to be a very interesting and intriguing read. I hope to one day see these problems be resolved and see the good that comes of this transformation.