| The power of pedagogy and the art of teaching |
6/8/04 7:51 PM |
| Author:
Mike Clem
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Every kid can learn but, not every adult can teach. Teaching is more than just knowing the government defined and directed subject-matter curriculum. Teaching involves knowing how and why kids learn. Teaching is a science but more importantly it is an art. What does highly qualified really mean? To be considered highly qualified, "a teacher must have a bachelor's degree, be a state certified teacher, and have shown competence in teaching their subject area." This isn't any different than what my state has required since I started teaching in 1980? Even though I'm highly qualified, I've applied with at least 4 different charter schools and haven't been hired yet. In some cases it was because I had too much experience and in other cases I cost to much or didn't fit into the culture of the school. For many of these schools, they wanted new, and often younger, teachers so that they could have more control over their development and attitudes. Finally, it often takes time, support, dedication, commitment and experience for good teachers to develop into highly qualified teachers that are effective and successful with all students. How is competence demonstrated? It seems obvious that student involvement, parent satisfaction, administrator observations, peer acceptance and a combination of student produced products should demonstrate competency. This means that charter schools need to invest in providing: a safe atmosphere for growth through risk taking, experimentation and staff development opportunities. Therefore, charter schools need to be above all else, learning communities.
Posted as a reply to:
NCLB's "Highly Qualified Teachers" Requirement and Charters by Bob Montgomery 
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