Blog Post #14

Joel Klein's article, Self-discipline and High Standards Can Secure the Future of Public Schools,  points out a few problems and solutions dealing with the future of teachers.

• The first issue is that there is not appropriate training for future educators. Prospective teachers need to be better equipped with training programs.
• I agree that future teachers need better training programs. I believe that it is getting better but we still aren't all the way there. The teaching program is great but I don't think that some professors go above and beyond to equip us with the knowledge that we need to be a great educator. In all honesty, I think that unless we fix issue number two, this issue won't be resolved.
• The second issue is that teachers aren't chosen wisely. He believes that they let anyone become a teacher. His solution for this is to pick from the top third of education graduates. 

• If teachers were chosen more wisely, students would get a better education. In part, this goes back to the first issue, if future teachers had more training available maybe their would be more skilled people to choose from. I realize that not everyone is cut out to be a teacher and some people shouldn't even consider it but for those that really have a passion for it should have as many resources and training as possible! 
• Finally, we should change how teachers are rewarded. Right now it is based on seniority but it should be based on the teachers performance in general. 
• I agree with this 100%! Teachers should be evaluated and given rewards based on how well they are doing, not just how long they have been teaching.  You could be a mediocre teacher and still get rewarded just because you have been in a certain school for a certain length of time. I believe that you should be evaluated throughout each year that you teach and be rewarded based on that! 

I think Klein brought up some very debatable topics but he makes some good points to back up his thoughts. I hope that one day these issues can be addressed and resolved. If the quality of teachers is low then how do we expect our students to get a good, quality education?  If we fix the issues with teaching then education can can exceed expectations.