Teacher Preparation and Certification

After our class discussion this week about teacher preparation and certification, I started to wonder where Maryland ranked in the country for our teacher preparation programs.  A recent Baltimore Sun article showed me that Maryland’s teacher preparation programs recently scored a D+ on the National Council on Teacher Quality’s annual report card. 

The report said that Maryland should raise requirements for applicants wanting to enter teacher prep programs in schools of education and hold them accountable for how effective the teachers they produce are.  In the same report, the NCTQ gave Maryland high marks for its accessibility to alternative certification programs.  I thought this was an interesting point considering that myself and many of my co-workers come from alternative certification programs such as Teach for America or Baltimore City Teaching Residency.  I thought about our different routes into teaching and if one prepared us better than the other.  I know this is a highly debated topic and that there hasn't been much concrete evidence showing whether teachers from alternative programs perform better or worse than those that were traditionally certified.  

From my experiences, I have seen myself and other teachers from these alternative programs perform better then traditionally certified teachers in my school.  One of the traditionally certified teachers in my school said she felt completely unprepared to teach in an urban school.  She said her program taught her a great deal about how to teach in a rural or suburban district, but not how to teach in an urban district.  She ultimately felt overwhelmed and quit her second month into teaching at my school.  Whereas, my co-workers and I felt more prepared for the urban setting because we had been more informed of the challenges.  Not only that, but we all possessed the same traits of being resourceful and relentless.  She received four years of teacher training, and us a few months to a year, and yet we have excelled and lasted at our school.  I agree with the study in that Maryland and other states should raise the requirements, but not based on say things like SAT scores or grades.  I think applicants to a teacher preparation program should have an interview or a “sample lesson” before being accepted.  Strong teachers need to possess a certain set of character traits and beliefs that standardized tests don’t necessarily capture.  I believe a strong teacher possesses the skills to think on his/her feet, is resourceful, takes criticism, is able to multi-task, has a strong presence, and is someone that’s not willing to give up.  I think the last trait is extremely important because teachers have to be willing to never give up on their students.  It is a challenge for schools and students when a teacher quits during the school year.  The school has to scramble to find a replacement and the students have their stability and learning interrupted.

 I think Teach for America does a great job with their screening process for the fact it is heavily interview based.  I’ll never forget the question I received when I was interviewed for Teach of America – “What would make you quit before the end of your commitment?” My answer-“Nothing.” 

            I think teacher preparation programs in Maryland and across the country need to take a hard look at their admission requirements and consider adding an interview component so they can get a better look at the character traits of the people entering their programs.  With the right classes and training, anyone can learn a content, but not everyone can learn the traits it takes to be a strong teacher such as being relentless and resourceful.  I think once programs start screening for those traits, schools will be turning out stronger teachers and ones that will be in the profession for the long haul.