Dr. Harold G. Devine: Teachers Should Be Held to Standard of Excellence
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Whether you agree with them or not, it is difficult not to admit that this new breed of educational leader, as represented by Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the federal level or Deborah Gist, Rhode Island Commissioner, has brought education to the forefront of the conversation. Some will argue that their initiatives are long overdue and right on target. Others complain that they have co-opted the educational agenda and that their bling is no more than smoke and mirrors and the latest educational fad of the week.
Regardless, having education in the limelight as an integral part of the daily discourse has people talking and thinking about education. And this is a good thing. We all recall the famous quote frequently attributed to P.T. Barnum, “I don't care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right." Keeping education in the news, even negative news, will help more than it will hurt.
It seems more than a bit silly to me that millions of dollars and thousands of hours are being devoted to teacher, principal, and superintendent evaluation. Don’t get me wrong. Evaluation of the professional staff is a critical element in maintaining a high functioning and efficient organization. All educational personnel should be evaluated regularly, rigorously and always for the right reasons. Allowing the unions to negotiate every facet of the evaluation process has created a bureaucratic monster which has made a mockery of effective evaluation.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe old pendulum never stops in the middle of its swing. So, in order to undo some of the damage done by unions throughout the years, the Department of Education, with encouragement and funding from the Feds, is committing great resources and effort to develop a “comprehensive” system of evaluation for all school department personnel.
In Finland, a small country that finds itself at or near the top of all countries every year in their ability to successfully educate their children, ineffective or underperforming teachers are dealt with by the principal. Take away all of the union obfuscation and the same could be true here. We could learn much from studying the Finnish system. Let it suffice to say that much of what we do, especially at the state and federal levels would be greeted with horror by the Fins. And, remember, they are obviously doing something right.
Here’s the dirty little secret. The real reason for this major emphasis on evaluation is to get rid of ineffective teachers and administrators. The fact that ineffective personnel, and many of them, have managed to enter the profession should raise serious questions concerning the preparation of teachers and the process of certification. All teachers have a state certificate attesting that they are qualified to teach certain subjects, grade ranges or types of students. Certification is the single protection that society has to assure everyone that those teaching our children know what they are doing. The usual route to certification is the completion of a teacher training program at a college or university.
Let me stop here and note that during my many years in education I have worked with and known scores of wonderful, intelligent, skilled and caring teachers. These are practitioners who know how to inspire, motivate and excite. We can all remember that teacher who lit the spark and made us feel special. These are the people that I wanted to be like when I chose education as a career.
Unfortunately, there are also people in our classrooms who are poorly trained, psychologically unfit to teach and some of whom just plain dislike kids. Some of these role models don’t speak, write or communicate correctly; these are people who should be doing something, anything, other than teaching. Yes, and we have all come upon those who are just plain stupid. All of these types are certified to teach in the schools of our state and all of these types are protected by powerful teachers unions who hypocritically claim to want to rid the profession of incompetency. Unfortunately, teacher unions have become a big part of the problem. How to deal with the unions is topic for another discussion.
Can we evaluate ourselves out of this mess? This is the approach being taken by the Rhode Island Department of Education. Simply getting rid of incompetence and ineffectiveness will not solve the problem. We need to look toward our colleges and universities to provide the leadership in guaranteeing that every graduate in education meets the highest standards for admission into the classrooms of America. With the exception of the Department of Education issuing “emergency certifications”, teacher preparation institutions are the last line of protection before a person receives that license to teach. Lawyers have the Bar and doctors have their residency requirements. Teacher tests as a condition for certification are just beginning to be employed and the Commissioner and Regents are to be commended for this effort.
We will, however, never evaluate ourselves out of this mess when for profit corporations are becoming a realistic alternative to free public education. We must rely upon those institutions of higher learning who prepare teachers to raise the bar, screen the applicants and teach our future teachers how to practice the art of teaching. All this nonsense about a teacher not knowing this capital or that world leader is just a diversion from the real problems. In this information age such information is readily available to anyone with access to a computer, iphone, ipad, android, Blackberry, Nook, Kindle or a host of other modern gadgets, all of which are capable of providing any information required. There was a time when teachers were taught how to teach, how to construct and evaluate lessons and how to manage a classroom. We have paid a heavy price for the decision by the colleges to move away from teaching teachers how to teach in favor of providing a more liberal education for those we place into the classrooms.
It’s time for those institutions who prepare our teachers to draw a line in the sand and demand that those who aspire to teach be held to a standard of excellence, both upon entrance and throughout the course of the program, that will produce a generation of teachers who will not need to be protected by unions and who will bring our schools to the position of leadership that we once held throughout the world. To do less will continue to perpetuate the problem and encourage gimmicks and stunts like trying to evaluate the problems away. Where to start? I say start with the teacher training institutions and demand that their product meet the grade. Most know how to do it and those who don’t should get out of the business.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Harold Devine began his teaching career in Providence, RI. He subsequently served as the Superintendent of School in Swansea, MA, Acushnet, MA and Little Compton, RI. He is presently the Interim Executive Director at the East Bay Educational Collaborative located in Warren, RI. He resides in Seekonk, MA
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