The Dangers of Eliminating Teacher Preparation
Wisconsin is thinking about letting anyone teach. No degree will be required to enter the classroom and work with students. Isn’t it bizarre to encourage young people to go to college but claim their teachers don’t need a college degree? Surely this is quackery.
But I thought it would be a good time to do a reality check, and provide a refresher course, as to what the role of teacher preparation should demand.
For anyone who loves groups like Teach for America, this is for you too. Five weeks of training and a degree in anything is also not sufficient to teach America’s children.
Becoming a real teacher takes long-term preparation. Here is what’s involved.
Child Development
Unless teachers understand appropriate milestones, or steps for each age and developmental level including middle and high school, children will become frustrated. We already see problems with school reform that places an unreasonable burden on children in the early years.
Increasingly, despite pleas for restraint by child specialists, very young children are being pushed to learn more before they are developmentally ready.
Good teacher education includes serious study about timing for appropriate instruction The Dangers of Eliminating Teacher Preparation: