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The Alleged Teacher Shortage:
One of the recent complaints about education is that we don't
have enough qualified teachers. This according to Flint's Channel
12 news. By qualified, they mean, in possession of a teaching
certificate. My daughter is a PHD. She has a doctor of philosophy
degree in genetics. Guess what? She is not qualified to teach
highschool. She can teach in the universities, but she can't teach
at Podunk high.
These blustering bureaucrats had the gall to tell this scientist, if she would work a year for no pay, they would condescend to give her a limited teaching certification. Ain't that a crock? She has been teaching at Michigan State for several years. She loves to teach. She know how to teach. She would like to teach highschool students. Now, isn't this teacher shortage just a deplorable situation? It's just a shame that we cannot find enough qualified people.
Another person who is not qualified to teach highschool is William. He has no degree or certificate of any kind. He retired from Ford Motor Company as a Senior Software Systems Analyst. They asked him to stay. He has written a book about computers and is also writing a series of papers on elementary math. He could teach highschool math or computer science. However, Podunk high would not let him in the front door.
There are a great number of retired folks about who could teach and would be happy to have the challenge. Many of them would enthusiastically embrace an opportunity to share what they have gained through their years of experience. However, most of them would not get past the front door. No certificate! They are excluded and barred from sharing their knowledge on a idiotic technicality.
Here is the real problem. Podunk high, Brandon high, or Wyandotte high must rely on that certificate. It's the way they decide if a person is qualified to teach. This means that the administrators of these schools are too stupid to tell if someone is actually teaching, or not. They have no yardstick for measuring talent. If the person has the slip of paper they are, ipso facto, a teacher. Ain't that a crock? Do you wonder why some of our kids are not learning? To teach in highschool only requires a certificate. There is no requirement for any knowledge of the subject material. None at all! Clever, very clever!
In fact, that certificate does not mean crap. I repeat what I said a while back. A teaching degree is the second easiest way through college. The easiest way is still business administration, or whatever they call it in a given university. In no way, does that teaching certificate qualify a person to work with children, in any capacity. By itself, it is not enough. In fact, it is not necessary or sufficient.
The Channel 12 story went on to describe how some schools are
offering huge cash bonuses and other incentives to sign "qualified"
teachers. They can offer all kinds of incentives to get people,
but they demonstrate no sense, at all, in their befuddled scramble.
I insist, that there is not one local community in this country
which does not have a surfeit of "qualified, not certified"
local people who can teach. To waste that talent because of a
technicality is the paradigm of foolishness. It is bureaucracy
at its very worst.
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