Comments on: The Learning Revolution: Rethinking Teacher Certification http://conversationed.com/2014/07/05/the-learning-revolution-rethinking-teacher-certification/ Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:03:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.1 By: amferry http://conversationed.com/2014/07/05/the-learning-revolution-rethinking-teacher-certification/#comment-522 Tue, 22 Jul 2014 12:20:04 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=3498#comment-522 Suzan,
This is exactly why I ditched my plans to go back to school to become a counselor. There is not much time to provide any guidance to students when scheduling demands and testing requirements suck up so much of your time. I always thought it would be my dream job, but I have decided I can actually mentor more kids in my current role, save some precious time and aggravation, and let my own children pursue their dream careers (nurse practitioner and lawyer) without stealing from their college funds to pay for my master’s level courses. It is a sad state of affairs right now.

]]> By: Tree Trimmer Jim http://conversationed.com/2014/07/05/the-learning-revolution-rethinking-teacher-certification/#comment-502 Sat, 12 Jul 2014 03:37:34 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=3498#comment-502 Who certifies the certifiers?

How does a certification insure that the student will be moved faster towards becoming a highly trained specialist in their chosen career?

How does certification move education from a cookie cutter system that mass produces and graduates student according to a calendar to a system that produces specialists? Every minute another specialize products arrives in the market place. None of those products are the result of single person, they are the product of increasing number of specialist providing components fresh from the imaginations of people who have never met each other.

We know from history that persistent, focused effort for an extended time is needed to get an advance degree. Therefore it is reasonable that beginning the process of training specialist as early as possible in their life will result in a longer period of productivity.

“The recipe for perpetual ignorance is a very simple and effective one: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge” ~ Albert Einstein

]]> By: Suzan Harden http://conversationed.com/2014/07/05/the-learning-revolution-rethinking-teacher-certification/#comment-501 Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:09:10 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=3498#comment-501 And then there’s the flip side: those of us who worked hard for a degree and have a job for which that degree is a requirement but who are not allowed to practice our area of expertise. I am a school counselor. I have a master’s degree in education and 30 years’ experience, and my value to my school is to be a customer service representative. I have moved up, though. In my last job, because I had the great misfortune to agree to be the test coordinator, I was nothing more than a glorified clerical worker in the minds of my administrators. When I started in my new school last year, one of my new colleagues told me, “You’re not a counselor and neither am I.” I was shocked into silence, which is unusual for me. That will never happen to me again. My master’s in counseling was a 72-hour program when administrative degrees were 45 hours. And I’m under-qualified?! I did my practicum experiences with alcoholics, drug addicts, and schizophrenics. If that isn’t counseling, nothing is. I’ve tried to talk in a “mature, adult way” about my frustrations, but I’ve been patronized and condescended to. Now I’m just plain mad. (And, yes, I know about the definitions of the terms “mad” and “angry.”). I go to work every day battling anger, frustration, and depression. I don’t know why my administrators have decided my career goals have no value. I am enraged that they put no value on my skills. But I am trapped. I have learned little worthwhile in 9 years, so I would have no value to another district. I have no opportunity to do anything for which I can feel pride that my goals have been achieved. I’m not encouraged to participate in professional organizations or to recognized for my leadership abilities. I’m too close to the end to bail now. I HAVE to endure. I can’t help myself, but I want it to be better for school counselors in the future. I want them to have a chance to BE their dreams. So, yes, let’s change not only the way teachers are certified but also stop the practice of deceiving parents and students into believing they are receiving services the district has no intention of providing. And for anyone still reading, I’m having one of my better days!

]]> By: amferry http://conversationed.com/2014/07/05/the-learning-revolution-rethinking-teacher-certification/#comment-500 Thu, 10 Jul 2014 11:02:21 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=3498#comment-500 Dawn – I love that you say, “we’re all supposed to be life-long learners.” Yes, yes we are. Too bad learning has become so tedious for some that they begin looking for ways to avoid learning! I am a true believer that when you stop learning, you stop living. We live in exciting times with the world literally at our fingertips. Shouldn’t learning for kids and adults mirror that excitement?

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