It’s Time To Upgrade Our Teachers

An article in today’s Southeast Missourian talks about a report that ranks Missouri teacher preparation at the bottom in the United States:

Missouri received low marks — C’s and D’s — in its regulations
dealing with quality, licensing and evaluation of teachers, state
governance of teacher preparation programs, alternate routes to teacher
certification and preparation of special education teachers.

The report criticizes the academic courses that education majors take, the fact that teachers are evaluated every other year rather than every year, and that the route to alternative certification is too burdensome — especially for people who want to transition from other careers to become teachers. There is some room to reform teacher education in Missouri, and it’s time to review how we train teachers here to make sure they have the skills necessary to teach children in the 21st century.