Teacher training and the improvement of public education

Teacher Training and the Improvement of Public Education

Once again, as seems to be the case every dozen years or so, the attention of the nation has come to rest upon the education of its youth, the quality of that education, and its impact upon the future of the country. Education, instead of war, economics, or political/ social upheaval, is today's "hot item.' Blue ribbon panels have reported; the mass media have investigated, analyzed, and exposed; editorials have been written; conventions have convened; politicians have exploited the issue; and blame has been placed on virtually everyone at virtually every level, most apparently (if not overtly) upon those involved in the particular process known as teacher education.

All of this is not to say that the current ado involving public education is bad. In a democracy like ours, which is special in its belief in universal education at public expense, individuals and groups who perceive a personal interest in any issue feel free to speak out, and rightly so. Few would hold that the democratic way is always the most efficient method for solving problems, although evidence would substantiate that the best solutions usually emerge from the tumult of open debate. This has been the case and, I suspect, will be so in the defining of educational principles, goals, and policies for the remainder of this century.

At the risk of wandering from the topic at hand, I must say that my overall orientation toward public education today is positive. I really believe that, despite claims to the contrary, our schools have performed admirably, if not optimally. If one is surprised at this statement, consider that students spend about 1,000 hours each year in the classroom out of approximately 5,800 waking hours. What goes on during this relatively small amount of time spent in what of necessity is a specialized, structured, somewhat artificial environment is greatly influenced by what happens during the other 4,800 hours. And, sadly, though educators have struggled with the problem for years, students still consider "schooltime' apart from "lifetime.'

It is true that reading scores on standardized tests have declined; but it is also true that the amount of reading encouraged, required, actually done during "lifetime' has diminished significantly. (To learn to read, one must, after all, read.) Math scores are not what they used to be; neither is the time spent in the manual computation of basic mathematical functions in "lifetime.' Verbal skills are lower, but to what extent do we communicate through conversation in "lifetime?' (How much time is there to talk when one watches television or listens to the stereo eight or more hours a day and is expected to sit quietly through classes another six hours or so?)

Given all of this, combined with the vast number of other obstacles that our teachers face every day in the education of our young, it is apparent that the profession as a whole has done rather well for itself.

Still, the reports, speeches, editorials, and documents of the past few months contain much truth about shortcomings in education, particularly teacher education. And it is this last area which holds an important key to the continued success and future improvement of this process which we call public education.

Having been involved in the "teaching of teachers' for fifteen years, I must agree with many observations which have been made. I find that many students who graduate and seek teacher certification lack effective basic skills, that is, communications skills, mathematics skills, and so forth. I couldn't agree more that the less talented, less knowledgeable, less capable students often turn to teaching as an "insurance policy' against failure in a more applied field; the "best and brightest' do not as a rule choose teaching as a career. I agree that teachers are under-paid and under-respected by others (although one suspects that this is not a recent state of affairs). There is no question that there are weak teachers; however, it is strange that doctors and lawyers are assumed to be uniformly competent. It is true that many, many educators in the field fail to keep pace with current research and trends which could improve their performance. And, yes, it is obvious that teacher education curricula often include a plethora of courses which have been added expediently over the years and which need evaluation, combination, or even deletion.

Now, for the big question: What can be done to improve the quality of new teachers entering the field? What can be done to encourage the "best and brightest' to consider devoting a "lifetime' to the critical task of promoting the intellectual, physical, ethical, and aesthetic potentials of children and young adults? In answer to this, I propose the following ten courses of action:

1. Emphasis on quality. Our thinking needs to shift from "quantity' to "quality.' Concern should center not on the prospect of a teacher shortage, but upon the qualifications and characteristics of those who do teach or choose to teach. It could even be that were teachers fewer in number and more proficient, the profession might begin to reap the respect and the rewards it claims as its due. In the current situation, the glutted job market in most teaching areas means that school systems tend to hire on the basis of who will accept a job for the least remuneration as long as a candidate appears reasonably acceptable, not who is the best, most qualified applicant, and what it will take to convince him or her to accept a given position. No growth-oriented business could afford to think in this way!