Finding Effective Teachers
There are a myriad of things needed to create quality public education. At the top of the list is good teachers. Easier said then done? As this article in Slate (HT Eduwonk ) recounts, we aren’t very good at predicting who will be an effective teacher. “Researches have looked at just about every possible determinant of teaching success, and it seems there’s nothing on a prospective teacher’s résumé that indicates how he or she will do in the classroom.” Then how do we better screen and evaluate teaching candidates? Is it actually possible to do so before a teacher is hired and has begun working at the school?
Currently, New York City teachers get their union cards their first day on the job. In theory they’re on probation for three years after that, but in practice very few are forced out. Lombardi [ed: principal of PS 49 in New York] suggests replacing this system with an apprenticeship program. Rather than requiring teaching degrees (which don’t seem to improve value-added all that much), new recruits would have a couple of years of in-school training. There would then come a day of reckoning, when teachers-to-be would face a serious evaluation before securing union membership and a job for life.
Lombardi’s proposal isn’t without its problems and complications: What would the effect be on the morale of older teachers? Would the teachers unions ever agree to such a system? But none seems insurmountable.
Others believe that effective teaching is best found in experienced teachers with small classrooms.
There are no simple solutions but all agree it is imperative to continue searching for answers.
For more on teaching, check out Charlie Rose’s recent interview with four National Teachers of the Year.
Tags: teachers
