Strengthening the nation's base of teachers isn't just about recruiting the best candidates and focusing on high-need districts, but also about creating the right pathway so new teachers feel capable and comfortable enough when they first enter the classroom to stay beyond their multi-year commitment, Inside Higher Ed reported.
That's the aim of a new program proposed by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Somewhat similar to an ROTC program, their idea is to recruit teachers as early as high school by offering students entry into a four-year education program, which requires an additional three years at a high-need school.
"AACTE's proposed approach rests on the notion that colleges and universities are still the best place to prepare teachers," writes Inside Higher Ed's Arthur Levine, who later notes that some people in the industry have been critical of how colleges prepare future teachers, and instead champion certification programs. Though he didn't mention it, Teach for America would categorize as one example of an out-of-school program that also focuses on regions in need of more qualified teachers.
Even as Levine admits he authored a 2005 study about college graduates and their lack of confidence in their first jobs as teachers, he points out that 90 percent of teachers take the path from college education curriculums to the classroom; thus, programs such as the AACTE is recommending are not only a good idea, but should remain among the nation's focus.
In his time as president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, however, Levine has found that master's programs are typically more effective training grounds than bachelor programs because they represent a one year time commitment and thus are one quarter of the cost. It's worth adding that in order to enter a master's program, one would have to attain his or her bachelor's degree anyway, so perhaps the extra year is best served for college's looking to save money and students who don't wish to be pigeon-holed into the education field so early in their college careers.
Levine's final point of interest (for me; he also went on to support the AACTE's stance towards state-based education initiatives) was to mention the ideal contract length (three years) for first time teachers, specifically those assigned to lower income districts. Similar to the thought process behind a master's program, exceeding three years leads candidates to question their commitment. More so than the master's program, Levine considers this way of thinking a psychological thing, for most of the budding teachers in his programs tend to stay beyond their three years. They just like the feeling of an out clause (which is hopefully the logic that the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony follows this offseason!).
