Purdue News
Purdue News
|
Purdue education dean gives survey an "F"By Marilyn J. Haring The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a nonprofit reform advocate for schools based in Washington D.C., recently gave 13 states, including Indiana, an "F" for teacher preparation and certification in its study "The Quest for Better Teachers: Grading the States." The report also gave nine states a "D," 18 states a "C" and seven states a "B." Just two states, Florida and California, received an "A." Incidentally, the ratings smack of grade inflation, because an "A" represented a grade of 60 percent or higher. When a grading process awards an "A" to 60 percent, I have to wonder about the criteria used for those grades. After careful review, I would assert the system that yielded those grades was grossly lacking in rationality and understanding of the education field. Going one step further, I believe the foundation flunks the course for learning how to grade! For example, the foundation: • Faulted Indiana because students are no longer required to take a specific list of courses to obtain a teaching license. The foundation did not consider that Indiana's teaching candidates still must earn a college degree and demonstrate competencies in order to be recommended by that college for a teaching license. • Faulted Indiana because it does not support opening the teaching profession to a broad array of educated people. A degree does not guarantee someone will be an outstanding teacher. For that matter, neither does a teaching license. However, a teaching license does indicate that the individual understands the various stages of a child's cognitive and physical development – key to the learning process – and has practical experience in the classroom in addition to having academic knowledge. • Faulted Indiana because principals at individual schools do not have the authority to hire and fire teachers, and to determine their pay. Where in the educational reform movement have we determined that we should give all power in the system to principals, who suddenly are omniscient? Where in the educational reform movement have we determined that weaknesses in education have nothing to do with principals, whose responsibilities include being instructional leaders of their buildings? Principals can and do add input to teacher assessment, but decisions of such magnitude as firing and pay raises are best made with checks and balances provided by an elected school board. The report also fails to take into account Indiana's new licensure system and its additional requirements: • Teacher candidates will have to pass a test of basic skills before they are licensed to teach in a classroom. • Every institution of higher education must devise and implement a system that is approved by the state, and assures each of its candidates not only has the necessary academic and teaching skills,but also dedication to student learning. This new system, slated for implementation at Purdue by June 30, 2001, changes the preparation of teachers from a checklist of courses required by the state to one that is performance-based and focuses on what the new teacher knows and is prepared to actually "do" in the classroom. The preparation and licensing of teachers is a continually evolving process and one that requires constant awareness of what is happening in the classroom, society and even the family structure. Indiana's new requirements already have sparked greater collaboration across entire universities. Change is the order of the day, and teacher education will be much stronger because of it.
|
