Back in the classroom full time. It is amazing how much a teacher can accomplish when you don't have to teach full time. I have had a great student teacher and it was difficult to see him go. It was also difficult watching another department member have a miserable student teaching experience. We have a small problem in our teacher preparation process in America. Universities want to grow their departments which increases the need for professors which makes the university look good. We have a local private institution that is well known for its engineering program but is struggling in its History Education program. After accepting nearly 100,000 in tuition/room/board it is difficult if not impossible to tell the student they have no business becoming a teacher. It must be even more difficult to tell them before their junior year that they should change majors because the problem continues. What is our higher education system to do? They worry excessively about fulfilling NCATE requirements on paper but fall totally flat in reality. They have the program down on paper; interestingly, that is the most consistent result of NCLB. NCLB has made our education process one bureaucratic nightmare, not making AYP, write a new plan, hire a new consultant, pay for outside tutors, write more plans, hire more consultants; wait, what isn't being mentioned here? Work with parents??? Few schools can be effective without parental involvement. Parents dropped out, are struggling to make ends meet, had a child out of wedlock, chances are good that the child will follow the model. We must find a way, besides testing, to intervene in the at risk families. We need to work with the parent(s) to teach parenting skills, job skills, an interest in education and then we must create opportunities for the parents to use these new skills. You don't hear the presidential candidates discussing NCLB. You don't hear Republicans talk about it because it is contrary to everything that a conservative would stand for, bigger government, more government intervention and less local voice. I am all for holding myself accountable for my instruction in my classroom but could we consider doing the same across the board? Elected officials can't manage our tax dollars and run a balanced budget, after 7 years out the ALL go! Elected officials can't keep their hands off the Social Security Surplus (about 2.2 trillion) out they go, that money should have been left in Social Security to grow over the years, I think we would have one less worry. Oh, all members of Congress involved in approving that theft, out you go. One more thing, schools that have not met AYP and are going to be taken over, why not tell them what you are going to do at year 3 or 4 so they can make the changes and avoid the process. HINT, there is no plan, NCLB will be "adjusted" each year because they can't find enough teachers to replace all of us. Who would ever go into a profession where keeping your job depends upon someone else passing a test when there is no penalty for not passing the test. HELP! VOTE FOR RALPH! We must dump this failed two party system.
