Let's Make it easier

 Let’s make it easier

 

There is a considerable shortage of teachers all across the country.   In Maryland, the larger counties are scheduled to end the school year with still well over 200 vacancies.  Baltimore County is taking the approach of just eliminating those positions.   

Both the State Department of Education and the State Legislature are taking a different approach.   Right now, in order to get a license as a teacher, an individual must pass an exam called the Praxis I, which is a national exam to measure basic skills in reading, writing and math.  The Educational Testing Service has established cut off points for passing.  Many teacher candidates, especially candidates for elementary teachers, fail the math test.  On the one hand, you would think that a college graduate should be proficient in basic academic skills, yet failing parts of the test once or even twice is not out of the ordinary.

Under proposed new guidelines these tests would be gone.  Instead, school districts would develop their own onboarding requirements which the MSDE would need to approve.  Will that get more folks interested in becoming teachers?  We don’t know.  But the corresponding question is do we want people who can’t pass a test of basic academic skills teaching our kids basic academic skills?  

The teacher shortage is serious.  There is no disputing that fact at all.  What does appear to be in question is just what is the best way to address the shortage.

The Maryland Blueprint for Education will raise starting salaries to 60K within a few years.   Will better salaries attract more teachers?   What happens when people discover that in order to afford the higher salaries, school districts are doing away with the customary year 2 and year 3 longevity increase steps?  

Teaching is a hard job.   And teaching is one of the most important jobs in our society.  Maybe we should work at giving teachers the professional respect they deserve.   Let THEM decide when their students are ready to move on in the content rather than the pacing guide.  Let THEM come up with creative ways to deliver the content instead of cookie cutter lesson plans.  And most importantly, let THEM develop relationships with their kids rather than keeping them long distance.  In the old days, that is what attracted teachers.  It was hard, but there wasn’t a shortage.  Will making it easier work?