Thursday, April 23, 2015

Blog Post 14

Can Teaching be a Profession?
     According to Joel Klein it absolutely can and it absolutely should. Three main "problems" discussed on why making teaching a profession are discussed in the article by Mr. Klein. They are: that teaching should be seen on the same level as that of medicine and law, there is too much seniority distraction in the school systems, and teaching overall needs a radical change. In order for teaching to be on the same level as other well respected professions there would need to be better academic training for prospective teachers, a new approach to recruiting teachers, and changing how teachers are rewarded. Seniority distraction is seen in all school systems. To get rid of this distraction overall evaluations of teacher performances need to be done, and there needs to be a standard national teacher examination which compares all teachers to a standardized level. Lastly, a radical change needs to be seen in how teachers perform and are seen. Teachers can accomplish this by establishing their own board to report to, and teachers need to be subjected to merit based career ladders.
     I basically agree with the above "problems" that were listed out, however, I do not think that teachers should be seen on the same level as that of law and medicine. Not to say that teaching isn't an important profession but in order for it to even be close to the same level it first has to have the minimum amount of schooling that law school and med school entails. As of right now all you need to teach is a four year degree. Even if the amount of years and the depth of education was extended  I feel that it wouldn't be at the same level of recognition. This may be a problem that educators face but the fact of the matter is is that the supply of teachers is so great and their required skill set is so minimal. I know that many will not agree with this because it takes teachers to teach the up and coming doctors and lawyers but majority of the time those teachers have been professionals already. This doesn't make them a great teacher automatically but they have the first hand knowledge of their subject area.
     I do agree with the problems of having seniority distraction in the school and that there needs to be radical change in how teachers are meeting standards and making their way up the career ladder. Teachers that have been in the school system for a number of years are seen as more important regardless of if their teaching is good or not. These teachers should be continued to be evaluated even after their first initial years of teaching. Teachers should create standards for themselves in which all teachers will have to be responsible for. Having a "national teacher examination" may not be the best way to approach holding all teachers to the same level. I just feel that it would be tough to create a test that can evaluate teachers from different levels and different subject matters. It is a good thought though that maybe one day can be implemented in a way.
   

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