Blog Post #14

Joel Klein's article talks on things that can be improved to provide our children with the best education they could possibly receive.
Problems and solutions:

1. Better teachers: in order to improve teachers we need to pick from the best. The teachers need academic training in order for them to provide the education the students deserve.We need a new way of recruiting teachers that would require us to recruit from the top third of graduate. Lastly, we should reward teachers.
2. Seniority: When layoffs happen, the teacher who has been there\ the least amount of time goes, but that does not rid the school of bad teachers, but rather newer teachers and possible new ways of teaching. The least effective teacher should go, allowing school to flourish and not downgrade. Lower class schools deserve great teachers, too.
3. Lack of Professionalism in teaching: Attract our best students,  developing a demanding "knowledge base" along with a "formal set of … peer relationships." It was even suggested to require an internship that could last up to three years. Given this amount of time, performance can be evaluated.

Joel Klein makes some wonderful points. Being an educator is no longer looked at as highly as a law degree or medical degree. The respect for it has plummeted and because of that, teacher's do not strive to be their best, do their best, or even go above and beyond. I agree to an extend with the ideas proposed to help take the degree back to the professional standing it deserves. Our future rests in the hands of these educators and we should provide nothing but the best of the best for our students. Would you go to a second string doctor who was bottom of his class when you know you could have the top ranked doctor? No. Then why should our future leaders not have the same opportunities?

It is important that we fill our classrooms with the best teachers around. It should not matter how long a teacher has been at a school. A job should not be guaranteed if they are not producing the results that are necessary to create classrooms full of learning. Everyone is replaceable just like everyone deserves a chance to prove they are the better candidate. In order to keep everyone working to their full potential, they need to understand slacking will not be tolerated. Professional positions understand that halfway doing something will not get them by, This is a necessity for acquiring knowledgeable people to fill the role of teachers who lead our future.

It is important to provide our children with the best possible education they can have. This starts off with the role of the teacher. This type of work is not easy and should be taken seriously at all times. In order to guarantee our future get what it needs to succeed, we must provide them with the necessary tools. Most importantly, a well-known and seriously PROFESSIONAL to teach them.