Blog Post 14- Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein

Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein 

Problems:
1. Better academic training for teachers. 
2. Change how we reward teachers. 
3. Develop a demanding "knowledge-base". 

Better Academic Training for Teachers
    I agree that teachers should be prepared to teach their course of study when they enter the work field. Teachers need to be prepared to teach students how to "learn" and to prepare students for the future, whether it  be the next required course or even the real world. Klein writes that none of our school programs in the United States can be compared to the leading education programs found elsewhere, along with that, Klein includes that teachers should be recruited differently. According to Klein, teachers should be recruited from the top third of prospects. I agree that teachers should be challenged to be a top prospect. If students who planned to become teachers knew that only the top third of the class was going to be hired, then this would push students to strive to become better educators. 

Change How we Reward Teachers
   Personally, I believe that teachers should not always be rewarded just because they have been teaching for a while. Teachers should be rewarded on their effectiveness and pedagogy skills. I feel that some teachers who have been teaching for a while become slack because they know their teaching position is safe. I do not agree with this. A new teacher comes in, who is actually more effective than most of the other teachers who are considered seniority, but the new teacher gets let go only because he or she is new. Do not get me wrong, I believe seniority does count in some circumstances. I just find it unfair that the teacher who is slacking gets to keep the job, which also negatively affects the students. Teachers should always be up to date. Teachers are all also basically paid the same, when some teachers provide  more for students than others. If teachers were rewarded based on their actual performance, I believe it would help motivate teachers and in return students would obtain a better education.  

Develop a Demanding "Knowledge-Base"
   Klein mainly discusses how teaching should be professionalized and that excellence should drive the profession. Having a demanding "knowledge-base" would benefit both teachers and students. Teachers are not taken seriously like they should be and they do not get the respect they deserve. I believe that if the content teachers are required to teach is improved then it will help teachers gain a better respect when students are successfully learning. Teachers should teach in ways that students have no choice but to learn.