ATTENTION TEACHERS!

[themummy]

If more is being required of teachers, more must be allotted to teachers - FINANCIALLY. This would entice more young people to choose education as a profession. If requirements become more rigid and there is no corresponding financial benefit to lure more into the profession, there will be a serious shortage of teachers.

 

Furthermore, I see less and less of a commitment to athletics down the road. Schools may resort to non-faculty coaches more and more. THIS IS SAD!

[ELA]

Mummy... you've got it right! Every year there is less emphasis on athletics and more RED TAPE for teachers and school administrators!

 

By the way... good luck with your new situation! I hope things work out well for you!

[Edited by ELA on 4-17-03 10:10A]

 

[cavalierfan]

It isn't more. They just want teachers to have a degree in the subject they teach. Universities are tired of having to teach students the skills that they should have learned in high school. REMEDIAL. More and More college freshmen are having to take these classes.

 

Elementary education is a degree in itself. They would not have to take extra hours for each subject they teach.

[Edited by cavalierfan on 4-17-03 11:41A]

 

[SpaceCowboy]

This may be a little off topic and highly controversial. If you really want to improve classroom performance institute performance based pay. The teachers who get it done in the classroom get paid more. I have had a few teachers in both high school and college who had all sorts of degrees and certifications, but couldn't teach rain to fall. Making someone take a class isn't going to improve the situation; removing lousy teachers will. I am a teacher at an alternative school, and would love performance based pay. Teachers always gripe about pay and lack of respect for our profession. If you want respect you must earn it. We must begin to act like professionals. There is no other profession where pay and rank is determined soley by years of experience and education. Performance is always factored in. The big question that arises is: How do you gauge performance? You can't base it on test scores alone. It must be a combination of comparative test scores, observation, and training/continuing education. All other professions have a method of evaluations, why can't education?

[TNBballMan]

Ok...here's where the road is questionable for me as an aspiring teacher. I will be starting college in August, and this poses a problem. I had planned on majoring in Business Education at MTSU and be able to teach a variety of business-related classes but with this new law, that won't be possible. Tell me, what is anyone's advice?

[cavalierfan]

Get a K-8 certification or get History and Government. Most schools won't hire someone Just for business. That is what I would do. I teach music so my certification is K-12.

[ELA]

Get a degree in a subject you want to teach! NEVER get certified in an area that you don't like or you may find yourself locked into a situation teaching that subject forever. With the new law, many things will change in public education. I would talk to the certification personnel at college and ask them what they think about the new law. I would go to one of the larger high schools and ask to speak to someone in their business department and ask them questions. Teachers will always be in demand and this new law will just mean there will be more openings in five years! It should only bother people who are already in the profession.

[LiLolme]

If this is true,why are you the 1st to know? why hasn't TEA NEA,LEA spread the word?Are you privy to info that they are not? :confused: :confused:

[ELA]

I found out about this while talking to school directors and principals this semester. I have interviewed at thirteen different school systems and I was shocked to hear the details. I thought to myself, surely this will apply only to the new college graduates and all of us who have been teaching will be "grand fathered in," so I called the State Department of Education and talked to the individual who is "at the point" for the State of Tennessee implementing the The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. He said that the Federal Legislation requires all teachers to be certified by each state to be "Highly Qualified" by 2005. Each state will have some flexibility to make this determination; however, each state's plan must be approved by the Federal Government. The State of Tennessee has submitted a plan that will require each teacher to have a MINIMUM of 24 credit semester hours in any subject area that they teach in grades 7-12. Each teacher will also have to hold a "High Degree" and/or pass the Praxis II Test in every area they teach. There has been a lot of negotiation between the TEA/NEA, the state, and the U.S. Department of Education. There is a meeting to be held on May 2, 2003 and the details of the final plan will be presented to every school district's NCLB2001 representative. I called the Tennessee Education Administration on Friday to confirm what I had been told by the State Department of Education and they had a copy of the "final" plan. The representative informed me that every teacher will be required to have a MINIMUM of 24 credit hours in the subject areas they will teach and current certifications will have to be "CERTIFIED" by the state as "Highly Qualified," by the Fall of 2005! These are the facts and every school district has sent representatives to these meetings. Any school system or state that doesn't respond accordingly will have all federal money withdrawn from their schools.

[ELA]

Here are some links to help you understand what is going on with the NCLB ACT OF 2001.

 

U.S. Department of Education site: http://www.nclb.gov/

 

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/

 

http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/107th/education/nclb/nclb.htm

 

http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/library/policy/nclb.htm

 

http://www.cec.sped.org/pp/OverviewNCLB.pdf

 

http://www.nga.org/center/topics/1,1188,D_3308,00.html

 

Tennessee References:

 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/education/states/tn.html

 

http://www.state.tn.us/education/acctfedprogs.htm

 

http://alexander.senate.gov/news/r-20030318.cfm

 

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/nclb.8600.schools.htm

 

http://www.mff.org/newsroom/news.taf?page=337

 

http://www.nasbe.org/Membership/NCLB/NCLB.html

 

http://www.state.tn.us/education/accttnconsolidatedapplication.pdf

[ELA]

I'm not trying to make this a political issue but I do want us in the Education Profession to examine what is happening and who is behind this legislation. I want each of my friends and fellow educators in public schools to be informed about these changes. This is the largest education reform legislation in history and the federal government is placing itself in the "Driver's Seat" in education in America. All of you Republicans who have been telling us you are in favor of taking the Federal Government "Out of the State and Local Education Systems" need to pay attention to what is being done. Some of this legislation is needed, but in my humble opinion, it should have been done by each state rather than having "big brother" force it on us from Washington. The problem is we can't fight this now because it is already signed into law.

[ELA]

This will be a windfall for many colleges and universities at a time when the cost of education is going up! The only problem is that most Universities budget's are being slashed and I'm afraid if we have a big influx of returning non-degree seeking students, there will be many problems.