[Vision2020] Teacher Liberation

Tue, 27 Jan 2004 07:53:04 -0800

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Teacher Liberation
  January 27, 2004

  REVIEW & OUTLOOK

  Teacher Liberation

  President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act calls for bringing all =
children to academic proficiency by 2014. But a no less daunting =
requirement of the law is that every classroom have a "highly qualified" =
teacher by 2006.

  The latter is the impetus behind a new study by the Teaching =
Commission, a 19-member panel of business and education leaders set up =
last year to improve the public teaching corps. Their report, "Teaching =
at Risk: A Call to Action," makes a persuasive case for linking teacher =
pay to student performance and overhauling teacher certification.

  These aren't new ideas, but it's progress when members of the =
establishment start stumping for reform. The Teaching Commission =
includes former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner, Clinton Education Secretary =
Richard Riley, as well as Sandra Feldman of the American Federation of =
Teachers, a union historically allergic to any and all accountability.

  Retirements and rising student enrollments mean that U.S. schools will =
need some two million new teachers over the next decade, says the =
report. But the best college students are less likely to major in =
"education," which is too often a requirement to teach. The best =
education majors are in turn less likely to go into teaching. And the =
best teachers are most likely to leave the profession within four years.

  Merit pay would be a big step toward reversing this trend. Currently, =
good teachers make no more money than bad ones. This one-size-fits-all =
compensation model, which is based on seniority and degrees rather than =
performance, also prevents districts from paying teachers more to work =
in hard-to-staff schools or to teach high-demand subjects such as math =
and science. The authors point out that market incentives work in nearly =
every profession -- except teaching.=20

  Unions flourish in any monopoly, and they are the biggest obstacle to =
change. No sooner had "Teaching at Risk" been released than Ms. Feldman =
complained that it gave too much weight to basing pay on student =
achievement. Tom Blanford of the National Education Association, the =
nation's largest teachers union, refused even to consider merit pay.

  Another solution, also opposed by unions, is more open teacher =
certification. Numerous studies have found no clear link between how =
well students perform and whether or not they are taught by a =
"certified" teacher. But today nearly all school districts require the =
completion of an accredited teacher education program -- which typically =
involves costly and lengthy (often 18-month) courses on teaching. This =
rules out retired CEOs or anyone else with expertise outside of the =
"education" field who'd like to teach.

  Yet, says the report, under the current rules 38% of urban =
secondary-school students are taught "by teachers who lack either a =
college major or certification in the subject that they teach." And 56% =
of all public high school students learn physical science from an =
"out-of-field" teacher.

  Contrast this with how universities operate. There is a long tradition =
of professional journalists, authors, poets and others teaching college =
writing. But today Langston Hughes would be banned from instructing a =
Harlem high school English class until he obtained the proper New York =
licensing.

  Streamlining the process to qualify to teach, and reducing the =
emphasis on pedagogy for its own sake, would make teaching more =
attractive. The commission suggests, among other things, giving new =
teachers "intensive on-the-job mentoring," including a month spent =
observing someone more experienced. "Teaching at Risk" can be =
discouraging about the magnitude of the teacher problem, but there is =
hope. In the past decade, Dallas, New York, Denver and other cities have =
tried some form of merit pay. Since 1985, 200,000 people have also =
become teachers through alternative certification programs.

  The largest problem is that unions and the politicians who carry their =
water have successfully kept these reforms from taking hold on anything =
but the most modest scale. But if the types of improvements imagined in =
No Child Left Behind are ever to become reality, we'll have to think =
bigger. Much bigger.

  URL for this article:
  http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107516383217312325,00.html

  Updated January 27, 2004
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<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">January 27, 2004 </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite"><IMG height=3D1=20
 src=3D"http://online.wsj.com/img/b.gif" width=3D20></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">REVIEW &amp; =
OUTLOOK </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Teacher Liberation </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">President Bush's No Child Left =
Behind Act=20
 calls for bringing all children to academic proficiency by 2014. But a =
no less=20
 daunting requirement of the law is that every classroom have a "highly =

qualified" teacher by 2006. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">The latter is the impetus behind a =
new study=20
 by the Teaching Commission, a 19-member panel of business and =
education=20
 leaders set up last year to improve the public teaching corps. <FONT=20
 color=3D#ff0000>Their report, "Teaching at Risk: A Call to Action," =
makes a=20
 persuasive case for linking teacher pay to student performance and =
overhauling=20
 teacher certification. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">These aren't new ideas, but it's =
progress when=20
 members of the establishment start stumping for reform. The Teaching=20
 Commission includes former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner, Clinton Education =
Secretary=20
 Richard Riley, as well as Sandra Feldman of the American Federation of =

Teachers, a union historically allergic to any and all=20
accountability. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Retirements and rising student =
enrollments=20
 mean that U.S. schools will need some two million new teachers over =
the next=20
 decade, says the report. But the best college students are less likely =
to=20
 major in "education," which is too often a requirement to teach. The =
best=20
 education majors are in turn less likely to go into teaching. And the =
best=20
 teachers are most likely to leave the profession within four=20
years. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Merit pay =
would be a big=20
 step toward reversing this trend. Currently, good teachers make no =
more money=20
 than bad ones. This one-size-fits-all compensation model, which is =
based on=20
 seniority and degrees rather than performance, also prevents districts =
from=20
 paying teachers more to work in hard-to-staff schools or to teach =
high-demand=20
 subjects such as math and science. The authors point out that market=20
 incentives work in nearly every profession -- except =
teaching.<FONT=20
 face=3DArial size=3D-1>&nbsp; </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Unions flourish in any monopoly, and =
they are=20
 the biggest obstacle to change. No sooner had "Teaching at Risk" been =
released=20
 than Ms. Feldman complained that it gave too much weight to basing pay =
on=20
 student achievement. Tom Blanford of the National Education =
Association, the=20
 nation's largest teachers union, refused even to consider merit=20
pay. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Another solution, also opposed by =
unions, is=20
 more open teacher certification. Numerous =
studies have=20
 found no clear link between how well students perform and whether or =
not they=20
 are taught by a "certified" teacher. But today nearly all school =
districts=20
 require the completion of an accredited teacher education program -- =
which=20
 typically involves costly and lengthy (often 18-month) courses on =
teaching.=20
 This rules out retired CEOs or anyone else with expertise outside of =
the=20
 "education" field who'd like to teach. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Yet, says the report, under the =
current rules=20
 38% of urban secondary-school students are taught "by teachers who =
lack either=20
 a college major or certification in the subject that they teach." And =
56%=20
 of all public high school students learn physical science from =
an=20
 "out-of-field" teacher. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Contrast this with how universities =
operate.=20
 There is a long tradition of professional journalists, authors, poets =
and=20
 others teaching college writing. But today =
Langston Hughes=20
 would be banned from instructing a Harlem high school English class =
until he=20
 obtained the proper New York licensing. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Streamlining the process to qualify =
to teach,=20
 and reducing the emphasis on pedagogy for its own sake, would make =
teaching=20
 more attractive. The commission suggests, among other things, giving =
new=20
 teachers "intensive on-the-job mentoring," including a month spent =
observing=20
 someone more experienced. "Teaching at Risk" can be discouraging about =
the=20
 magnitude of the teacher problem, but there is hope. In the past =
decade,=20
 Dallas, New York, Denver and other cities have tried some form of =
merit pay.=20
 Since 1985, 200,000 people have also become teachers through =
alternative=20
 certification programs. </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">The largest =
problem is=20
 that unions and the politicians who carry their water have =
successfully kept=20
 these reforms from taking hold on anything but the most modest =
scale.=20
 But if the types of improvements imagined in No Child Left Behind are =
ever to=20
 become reality, we'll have to think bigger. Much bigger.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite"> </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">URL for this article: <A=20
 =
href=3D"http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107516383217312325,00.html">ht=
tp://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107516383217312325,00.html</A> </BLOC=
KQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=3D"" type=3D"cite">Updated January 27,=20
2004</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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