One of the most disheartening aspects of the current reform movement is its disdain for the education profession. In many states, governors and mayors have sought out non-educators, or people with meager experience in education, for positions of leadership. They have at times selected non-educators as state commissioners of education and district superintendents. Sometimes they choose a business leader, assuming that education should operate like any commercial enterprise, recording gains every quarter. Or they choose a lawyer, assuming that he or she has the legal skills to negotiate with others. Or they choose a military leader, assuming that command authority may overcome all barriers to change. Some of the worst education policies today, especially those that rely exclusively on standardized testing, have been imposed by non-educators who were wrongly hired as state or city commissioners of education. People who have devoted their careers to education are rightly offended when someone with little knowledge or experience of education is chosen to rule over them and redesign the conditions of their work.
To raise the quality of education in our schools, states and districts must strengthen the education profession.
Ideally, teachers should have a four-year degree with a major in the subject or subjects they plan to teach. Those who enter teaching should be well educated. They should be able to pass qualifying examinations for entry into professional education programs by demonstrating their command of reading, writing, and mathematical skills, as well as mastery of their subject or discipline.
Once they are admitted into a professional education program, they should engage in a year of study of such subjects as cognitive science, literacy, child development and adolescent psychology, the sociology of the family and the community, cultural diversity, the needs of students with disabilities, the nature of testing, and the history, politics, and economics of education. They should deepen their knowledge of the subject or subjects they plan to teach, with opportunities to plan lessons and work with mentors. They should practice teaching under the guidance of an experienced teacher. No one should be allowed to teach who has not spent a year in the study and practice of the profession.
Once hired, they should work closely with a mentor teacher. The school and the district should provide frequent opportunities for professional development, collaboration, and intellectual stimulation for teachers, giving them opportunities to learn more about their field as well as to work with colleagues who share their interests.
Principals should be chosen from the ranks of master teachers. Before they become principals, they should have at least seven or eight years of experience in the classroom. Their most important job as principal will be to evaluate and help teachers. They can’t do that unless they are accomplished teachers themselves.
Superintendents should be experienced educators. In order to have the respect of those they lead, they should have a strong background as a teacher and a principal. It is foolish to choose non-educators to run school systems because they don’t know as much as those they lead. This is a recipe for hit-or-miss leadership. The superintendent should be knowledgeable about teaching and learning, about children, about curriculum, about building relationships with parents and communities, and about defusing conflict. Working with a business manager, the superintendent should make decisions about the budget and capital planning from the perspective of an educator who puts the core mission of the schools first.
Teachers, principals, and superintendents should work closely with parents, enlisting their support and explaining how they can help their children do well in school. Knowing how important parents are in the education of their children, educators should cultivate respectful and cooperative relationships with parents.
Other advanced nations recognize the importance of the education profession. Finland, for example, would not allow anyone to teach or to be a principal or superintendent who was not a professional educator.
It is unfortunate that many states are actually lowering standards for teachers, principals, and superintendents while claiming to be raising standards for students. This is inconsistent. It makes no sense. Students need well-prepared, professional teachers; teachers need experienced principals whom they trust; and the school system needs a steady and wise hand at the helm.
Colleges of education should raise their standards for entry and enrich their curricula. They should develop partnerships with colleges that teach the liberal arts so that future teachers may work to strengthen their subject matter knowledge as well as the pedagogical skills to teach it.
States should raise their standards for certifying teachers. They should not accept credentials earned online. Future teachers need practical, hands-on experience in real classrooms with real children, not a point-and-click virtual experience.
Governors and state boards of education should appoint experienced educators to manage the state education department and educational institutions.
Members of the public should insist that those who teach and lead the schools enrolling their children be well qualified, well prepared, and experienced.
The education profession must become more professional, not less so. In a professional environment, professionals have the autonomy to do their work and are not expected to follow scripted programs or orders written by nonprofessionals. Good schools cannot be mass-produced like automobiles; every good school has its own culture, reflecting the character of the community and competence of its staff. All past efforts to make schools “teacher-proof” have failed. Schools should not operate like factories that turn out identical products. Good schools are akin to families, in which every member of the family is different and every member of the family matters; they are akin to orchestras, a cooperative effort that requires skilled performers in every role, guided by a skilled conductor.
Teachers must be free to express their concerns without fear of reprisal. Principals should be free to question district policy when they believe it is harmful to students and staff morale. Superintendents should be free to challenge the school board. There should be healthy dialogue about education issues. No one should fear to speak openly about issues of concern to all.
In a healthy profession, all those who engage in its practice are professionals. They are well prepared. They are responsible to do their best and to adhere to the expectations and the ethics of their profession. To have a great educational system, we must build a respected profession. And politicians should stop telling educators how to do their work.