NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #20/NN_1992_20.iso/spool/misc/educatio/3301

Internet Message Format | 1992-09-08 | 3.8 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!menudo.uh.edu!nuchat!elgamy!elg
From: [e-mail] (Eric Lee Green)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 5 Sep 92 10:01:11 CDT
Newsgroups: misc.education
Subject: Re: each for Amer.
Distribution: world
Organization: Eric's Amiga 2000 @ Home
References: <[e-mail]>
Lines: 57

From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail]:
> i would just like to say a few things about alt. cert. if you're interested
> in teaching and are serious about it, go through a university training program.
> alt. route is not accepted in all states. so if you're in texas or new jersey
> the alt. route cert. is only good for those states. if you plan on getting
> cert. the easy way through alt. route and then plan on moving back to your
> home state ready to teach think again. most states, those that care, want
> a professional sequence of courses from an accredited institution.

I take it that you are in a teacher education program? I'll note one thing
for you, then: the ticket you get at the end of that program will be
worthless in every other state of the union. You'll have to take a
DIFFERENT professional sequence of courses at that new state in order to
get a teaching certificate in that new state. Not that it matters -- if you
have three years teaching experience in public schools in another state and
a valid certificate from that state, they'll put you on a "provisional"
ticket until you finish that professional sequence.

In the meantime, I wouldn't put too much stock on "a professional sequence
of courses from an accredited institution". I *AM* taking a professional
sequence of courses from an accredited institution. The vast majority are
vague and worthless. I've gotten a little bit out of a reading course, but
everything else has been a tossup. I loved EDFL 500, "Educational Research"
(which all first-year grad students are required to take by
accredidation-board mandate), but it peeved me that no attempt was made to
make sure that my fellow grad students could tell good research from bad
research. No attempt was made to educate them in typical pitfalls that they
could fall into when they were reading or actually doing research. Instead,
it was all vague hands-off stuff and a bit of statistics.

Similarly, EDFL 502, "Philosophy of Education", is required by the
accredidation board. It, too, is similarly worthless.

The only real good I've gotten, sad to say, is from the universally-derided
"methods" courses. Most of them did not focus enough on the research, but
at least they were a valuable source of various teaching methods for me to
read research about.

In the meantime: In almost every state of the United States, there are
shortages of teachers in particular areas. There's plenty of History and
English teachers, but not so many Special Education or Math teachers. If I
taught here in Texas for three years on a certificate gotten via
alternative certification, I could go to Louisiana and teach tomorrow. It
wouldn't be on a valid Louisiana teaching certificate, of course. It would
be on an "emergency" certificate, with the requirement that I take courses
each year towards fulfilling Louisiana requirements. But it's education's
little secret that "emergency" tickets and such do exist, and are widely
used -- for example, here in Houston many of the teachers, until this year,
didn't have a single course towards certification. They were "long term
substitutes", put into the classroom because of a shortage of classroom
teachers, and with no educational requirement other than that they have
completed at least two years of college.

--
 Eric Lee Green  [e-mail]         Dodson Elementary
 [phone]  uunet!nuchat!elgamy!elg      Houston, TX
                "Kids are kids, no matter what"