BellaOnline Forums Education Graduate School Teacher Ed. - Professional Degree Required?

A new study suggests that traditional 4-year teacher ed. programs, espeically those at regional/state colleges, inadequately prepare teachers. Authors suggest teacher ed. should become a "professional" program, much like those provided for lawyers, doctors, etc.

What are your thoughts on a 5-year "professional" training program as a minimum requirement for teaching?

See the New York Times Article.

Read the report.

My grandmother, if she were still alive, would get a hoot out of this one. She had a two year degree from a normal school (teacher college) and tons of apprenticeship/on the job training prior to being turned loose as a "teacher." She taught for eons. Her students always finished the year ahead of their targeted levels.

I can't imagine anyone paying "professional" tuition rates to end up working in a field that doesn't pay worth a darn.

For those who are in teaching and those who are instructors in teacher ed programs, what are your thoughts?

From a global perspective, most countries currently require a minimum of a tertiary degree and either certification or experience in the field in which a person wants to teach.

Advanced/graduate education doesn't appear to be an imperative, unless someone wants to move into administration or research.

How would or does graduate/advanced education benefit a teacher and/or the students in the classroom? Is it worth the additional time/cost?

Hi Lynne-
Wow-interesting topic. I couldn't get the link to the Times article to open, so I don't know exactly what was written. I can certainly agree with the idea of propelling "teaching" as a profession to the same standards of education as law/medicine, etc., but the compensation opportunities just aren't there, so I think it would be difficult to attract students to that kind of program.

What did the Times article say about the whole "student teaching" experience? Did they suggest expanding it, similar to medical residencies?

I have a BSED degree, and I know several people that actually went on to get a Masters in Education right away before getting their first teaching job, and they actually had a harder time getting a first job because the superintendents didn't want to pay them the extra salary. In their minds, the kid with a Masters degree was still a "new" (ie: inexperienced) teacher that hadn't proven themselves in a classroom yet.

Don't get me wrong...I still think teachers should be certified. And I think it's good that we are required to complete a certain number of classes every few years to stay "fresh". I have my Masters now, and only worked one year as a high school teacher before going on to work at the college-level, but I'm in the process of renewing my school teacher/counselor certification. I have to admit, I was surprised that I only needed two classes to be re-certified (but I'm not complaining, either!). <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In my opinion, I think the place for graduate education (for teachers) is for teachers who have worked in the field for a few years. That way they can apply the graduate experience to actual classroom experience, rather than just theory. I certainly think that the chance to interact with other professionals, read & study the latest research, etc., is valuable for both the teacher as a professional, and the students in his or her classroom. But, I think that students should be discouraged from applying for admission to the graduate program until they have at least a year of teaching under their belts. Many of the more prestigious business schools require this of MBA candidates (they require a BS degree, plus 2+ years of experience).

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'll have to try again to pull up that article. It really sparked my interest! Thanks for pointing it out.

Kristy

The NYTimes does require you to register to read articles (beyond one or two items), but its a free online news service (most of it, anyway).

The article doesn't address student teaching; but it does touch on the issue of low compensation.

Personally, I don't feel that graduate education should be a requirement for teaching PreK-12. I see advantages for teachers who wish to eventually move into administration though.

I came out with my master's and got my first job without a problem..I'm glad I had the extra year of education before I got started.

I do, however, feel that teachers are thrown into their first year without enough support.

Also, I feel that some teachers are naturally gifted educators--the gift of being great with children is just that--a gift. It cannot really be learned.

My point is that, for some, more education may still not prepare them for the career.