ATTENTION TEACHERS!

[ELA]

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 will be the main agenda at the May 2, 2003 State Board of Education meeting. By 2005, all teachers will have to be reevaluated and deemed to be "Qualified" by each state and the federal government. The proposed regulation in Tennessee will require ALL teachers to pass the Praxis Test in each subject area they teach in and have a minimum of 24 Hours in the subject area. In essence, your current teaching certificate will become worthless in 2005, and each of you will have to go back to school if you don't already have the hours necessary in the subject area you teach. These changes will effect Elementary teacher much more than it will secondary teachers because most of you don't have a major concentration in the areas you currently teach. I am posting this on all of our message boards to help you figure out where you stand.

[boneal52]

Is it not already a requirement to pass the Praxis in your subject area?

[ELA]

It is but there are many teachers who hadn't been required to take the test. Many thought they would never have to take the tests but even those teachers that have been teaching for twenty years may have to take the test now.

[Gridiron32]

And i know exactly what is going to happen, many of those teachers with 20+ years will decide to get out of teaching. My mom retired after 25yrs because of all the red tape that affected her time in the classroom. She spent so much time with paperwork that it cut into the time that she had to teach. She loved teaching, but when more and more is asked of teachers with less reconition, qualified teachers and those who might have considered becoming educators will choose other careers and our society will lose. Teaching is a rewarding and critical aspect of our society, next to parenthood, it is one of the most difficult but also one of the most important.

[nonews]

...are you STILL doing the "Chicken Little" routine?...

...BTW, how did your interview in West Tn. go? ...were you inpressed with the setup there?... what are the chances of you re-locating to the upper West corner of Tn.?...

[boneal52]

So will teachers who had to originally pass the Praxis to begin teaching have to retake the test again? And is this going to be a just a statewide move or is it on a national scale?

 

Also, in my quest to become a teacher, I've been learning about alternate routes to certification, like field experts who pass the Praxis and military veterans. Will this also affect people who haven't taken the standard route to teaching?

[ELA]

NONEWS... this is for real. I spent three hours today on the phone with the State Department of education and they are predicting 20-27% of all teachers nationwide will have to go back to school over the course of the next two summers to get up-to-date. Since I've been interviewing for jobs across the state, I have began to receive information about this issue. IT IS VERY TRUE! We will all receive the final documents on May 2nd... but I got a "sneak peak" at the state proposal today. Ask you district TEA representative about the issue... it is for real!

 

Bobby... once you've passed the Praxis, you don't have to retake it... but many teachers have never been tested in the field they are presently teaching.

 

The two schools I visited in WEST TENNESSEE are both great!

 

NoNews... are you my Sicilian friend?

 

I visited a school today and I will visit another one tomorrow. I am waiting to get an official offer of employment from the school in West Tennessee... until that time, I shall keep searching. To answer your question, I was very impressed with the facility and overall program(s). My wife and I also looked at property in the area. Both job offers are very good!

[Edited by ELA on 4-16-03 10:12P]

 

[nonews]

...Sicilian? Not sure what you are referring to, my ethnicity is more Northern European I'm afraid...

... as for the recurring jibe(s), is it possible that you are perhaps over-reacting to (alleged) rumors regarding teacher certifications?... haven't these sort of "doomsday" scenarios benn mentioned before?...

[ELA]

This is real. Talk to your school principal or Director and ask them about the new law (passed in 2001), or better yet, call the local state board of education and ask them. It has already happened! If you teach, check out your areas of certification and see if you have at least 24 hours in each subject area... if not, you're going back to school. There is no grandfather clause in the law and it is on the books.

 

(Forget the other reference!)

 

If you want to email me I will give you the phone numbers at the NEA/TEA to contact.

[WillieTheWildcat]

I thought it would effect Middle School teachers to a much higher degree than Elementary teachers. I've heard there are Middle School teachers trying to move down to Elementary schools in order to avoid the new regulations.

 

Also, which Praxis exam are people having to take, I or II? Thank you.

[ELA]

II... subject areas!

[ELA]

nonews... I wish it were not so! I think in the short run it will hurt education, in the long run, it might help!