Daily Inspiration

I never met a person from whom I did not learn something.

- John Wooden

inspire daily calendar Wed 11 Apr 2012 

Many fast-track paths to teacher certification bring educators into classrooms after only a summer's training, allowing them to complete their certification while they teach. Proponents say that this option gives highly educated and motivated people a way to immediately bring their energy and expertise into the schools that need them the most. Critics argue that this kind of "emergency" certification sends underprepared teachers into high-need classrooms, which can have a negative impact on student learning and lead to new -teacher burnouts.

In an Edutopia online poll, 39 percent of voters said that fast-track teacher certification programs benefit public education, bringing teachers into schools that need them and increasing the diversity of the teaching workforce. An additional 31 percent said that it depends on the program; some underprepare their teachers, but others, such as Teach for America, have excellent track records. A quarter of voters were against fast-track certification, and believe that too many of these programs do little more than throw poorly prepared teachers into underserved classrooms, which hinders student learning and contributes to high teacher-turnover rates. The remaining 5 percent of voters were undecided.

- www.edutopia.org

Teachers daily calendar Thu 7 May 2009