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me•di•o•cre \ adj. (1586): of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : ordinary, so-so.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan used that term last week during a speech at Columbia University’s Teachers College — the oldest teacher training school in the United States — to describe how most of our nation’s universities have prepared the majority of the 3.2 million teachers now working in U.S. public schools and those who will soon be joining the ranks.
“By almost any standard, many if not most of the nation’s 1,450 schools, colleges and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom,” he said.
His speech was to a group of students studying to become teachers, and it was far from the first of its kind over the past 25 years that has been critical of the job colleges and universities do to prepare future educators to teach.
Secretary Duncan’s comments, however, come at a particularly interesting time for Hoosiers, as State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett is hoping to make major changes to Indiana’s teacher-licensing requirements. If Indiana’s Proposed Rules for Educator Preparation and Accountability pass, sweeping changes to the way Hoosiers educate and license the state’s teachers will go into effect July 31, 2010.
Bennett wants to make sure Indiana’s teachers are experts in the subjects they teach. Elementary teachers, for example, would have to at least minor in a core subject such as math, English, science or social studies; secondary teachers would have to major in their content area and minor in education.
The proposal includes other changes, too, such as requiring all teaching candidates to pass certain tests to demonstrate competency in their content areas, doing away with a cumbersome new teacher portfolio program, and many others.
As we have said before on this page, having knowledgeable teachers in the classroom is a no-brainer. We praise Bennett for wanting to make this goal a priority, but we still believe most universities already do a good job of ensuring that those who graduate are knowledgeable in their content areas — math, science, English, etc.
While we support many of the changes Bennett is proposing — such as testing requirements, changes to current portfolio requirements, and teacher license renewal reforms — one big concern still remains.
In essence, the proposed teacher-licensing rules on the table limit the number of pedagogy courses future teachers will take — classes in which teachers learn how to teach.
For students to learn, they must have a knowledgeable teacher, but they also need an educator who knows how to teach — who can break down complicated ideas and make them clear and relevant. An educator can be an expert in his subject area, but if he doesn’t know how to teach his content to students, everything becomes moot.
Secretary Duncan has visited with teachers from across the nation, and he spoke of two recurring themes during his speech at Columbia University.
“First, most of them say they did not get the hands-on practical teacher training about managing the classroom that they needed, especially for high-needs students,” he said. “And second, they say they were not taught how to use data to differentiate and improve instruction and boost student learning.”
Hoosier education officials should listen closely to what teachers are saying before putting into place all of the sweeping proposals now on the table, especially the ones that will limit pedagogy courses.
The key to better preparing Indiana’s teachers is not to necessarily limit the number of pedagogy classes they take at college. The key, however, is to ensure the classes they take to learn how to teach are relevant and practical.
In addition to studying journalism and Spanish, this writer also went through a teacher preparation program while in college from 1999-2004. While some of the classes did help prepare me to teach, some 50 percent of them offered little practical application. While we understand it’s important to discuss theory, future teachers need more practical courses that will help them succeed once they begin their professions.
The focus of the proposed changes should not be to limit education courses but instead to thoroughly and meticulously scrutinize the curriculum at every Teachers College across the nation to respond to the two recurring themes Secretary Duncan heard from his stakeholders — teachers.
Education officials across the state need to work with universities and current teachers to make sure every education class is relevant to the ultimate objective: preparing future teachers to help all students succeed in the classroom. To achieve this goal, teachers need to know their subjects but also how to teach to a classroom of students with diverse learning styles.
State education officials will host three public hearings to receive feedback on the proposed changes. All hearings will be from 10 a.m. to noon. The first was today in Rochester.
• Oct. 29 at Scottsburg Middle School, 425 South Third St., in Scottsburg;
• Nov. 2 at Indiana State Library, 315 West Ohio St., in Indianapolis.
Or, submit your comments online at www.doe.in.gov/repacomment through Friday.
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