I have a question for the Republicans and/or McCain supporters out there. I hope you can answer something for me that has been bothering me since the last debate but I don't know enough about his beliefs to figure out what he meant by this statement.
McCain stated in the debate on Wednesday:
"We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations which -- or have the certification that some are required in some states."
It sounded to me (and to many others) that McCain was saying that just because you served in our military, that somehow qualifies you to be a teacher. You don't need any training, classes or certification.
Can you help me figure this out?
As a public school teacher, I find this outrageous. To imply that ANYONE can teach well: without years of training and qualifications, is insulting. What's next: "Troops to Nurses" or "Troops to Doctors"??? Why is teaching perceived as so "easy" that you can do it without any sort of training whatsoever???
I tried to find some reasoning for McCain's statement over the last few days and I can't seem to find any. Oh sure, there's a few folks out there (mostly military families) who think it's a great idea because they know just how hard their family members work to preserve our freedoms abroad. I have the utmost respect for them and the tremendous sacrifices they make for us and I don't want this post to diminish that in any way.
However, I went to school for 7 years to get my Bachelors Degree. I worked 2 jobs most of the time and I took highly specialized classes focusing in Child Psychology, Literacy, Special Education and Math. Then I worked for 2 years in a low-income school district as a student teacher while taking Masters classes. I now have my Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Child Psychology. I owe many thousands of dollars in student loans that I will be paying back until I die. I've attended many conferences, including the International Baccalaureate Program training in New York, Lynda Franco's "English Language Learners: How Best To Reach Them?", the Literacy Conferences each year in Denver where I've taken classes on writing, reading, special education, science and vocabulary. I'm certified in LindaMood-Bell literacy techniques and I've volunteered for Teach for America. I am the Gifted and Talented Cluster Teacher for my 2nd grade school and have attended many trainings and workshops for this cause. I even taught English as a Foreign Language in Tortona, Milan and San Remo, Italy for 3 months where I recieved my T.E.F.L. Certificate after intensive training. I mentor new student teachers and I constantly attend professional development opprotunites throughout the summer and the school year in order to perfect my skills and knowledge. I've tutored kids after school, held open houses and communicated with families of my students for over 8 years now.
Even with all that, I still find myself struggling at times. With all that education and experience, TEACHING IS HARD!!!! I have over 18 combined years of experience and training and I still don't have all the answers. To assume that just because you put in your time in the military qualifies you to just walk into my classroom with out ANY training and to be the best teacher you can be for our kids is crazy!
That's why I need someone to explain this to me. I'm confused on how just because you know how to hold a gun, clean a weapon and drive a tank, you would be a qualified teacher in today's world...where our students are struggling with poverty, 2nd languages and budget cuts. Where special-ed students are included in the regular classroom and you are expected to meet their every need. Where N.C.L.B. has forced all the resources out of your building because schools need to concentrate on "teaching to the test."
In trying to find an answer to this baffling question that McCain raised, I came across this message from an Independent Voter: I think she says it best.
The teachers at my school are the cream of the crop—passionate, dedicated, unbelievably hard-working, and fully committed to the success of their students. These are highly qualified, highly certified professionals who have worked through years of college, internships, and second jobs in order to train and prepare for their invaluable role as educators to our children. I am proud to be one of these people. So it is an insult to these hard-working professionals when John McCain says that we need to push programs that allow military troops to “go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations -- or have the certification that some are required in some states.”
It baffles me that John McCain feels these troops should be exempt from having to pass licensing exams or receive certifications in order to become teachers while hard working citizens like me and my colleagues have spent thousands of dollars and years devoted to education in order to earn these jobs. I committed myself whole-heartedly to my undergraduate years and received my bachelor’s degree with honors. $40,000 dollars later I applied and was accepted to one of the top 25 Graduate Programs in the country for education and I have devoted my heart and soul to training for this profession.
Forgive me if I am enraged by the fact that John McCain completely discredits my years of hard work and thousands of dollars worth of tuition money by claiming that certain people should be exempt from the standards that the rest of us are held to. Forgive me if I’m outraged that John McCain belittles my knowledge, passion, and qualifications for such an honorable position. --Molly Gum
Again, if anyone out there has a reason that makes any sort of sense regarding John McCain's statements, I'd be glad to hear them. Right now, I'm just confused.
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6 comments:
I think it was probably a mistake on McCain's part when he said the arned service member would not need certification. From the Troops to Teacher Website:
"DANTES assists eligible members of the armed forces to obtain certification or licensing as elementary school teachers, secondary school teachers, or vocational or technical teachers and to become highly qualified teachers. The program also helps these individuals find employment in high-need local education agencies (LEAs) or charter schools."
And:
"This program supports the highly successful work of the Department of Defense's Troops-to-Teachers program. The program was established by the Department of Defense in 1994 to help improve public school education by providing funds to recruit, prepare, and support former members of the military services as teachers in high-poverty schools."
And:
"Members of the armed forces who wish to receive the program's assistance for placement as an elementary or secondary school teacher must have a baccalaureate or advance degree, and their last period of service in the armed forces must have been honorable. In selecting members of the armed forces to participate in the program, the Department of Defense must give priority to those members who have educational or military experience in science, mathematics, special education, or vocational/technical subjects and who agree to seek employment as teachers in a subject area compatible with their backgrounds."
http://www.ed.gov/programs/troops/index.html
So clearly from this, it is already a federal program (McCain would not be creating a new program) the troop does have to have a degree- and then the program helps the troop get certified for teaching.
It actually looks like a good program- they give high priority to those members of the Armed Forces with background in math, science, etc. or where their background in the military is compatable with teaching. So if a troop was a cook, it doesn't sound like he'd have priority in the program. But a troop who worked with computers, engineering, etc. would be.
I would bet, McCain was trying to make the point that he would encourage these programs, where a troop wouldn't need a degree in education, but they would already have a BA/BS, and then they would get the certification.
Clearly these programs work with only qualified former armed services members to get them the certification they need to be trained teachers. I highly doubt McCain meant this, as it came across.
I think it just came out wrong, and he misspoke. He should probably issue a correction to this though. E-mail his campaign, and see if they respond.
By the way, there is a Troop to Nurse Teachers program- again, they have advanced degrees & have to be qualified to teach, & the program helps train them to become nursing teachers. :-)
Okay, it sounds a bit better. But what about certification? I have so many hoops to jump through every 3-5 years with the State of Colorado Dept. of Ed. to keep my teaching license. I have classes to take, books to read, new teachers to mentor, etc. It's crazy.
Do these troops have to do that? If not, why????
URG... I just typed out a really long response, but it never posted.
Anyway, I didn't read anything on the website that said these troop teachers would not have to abide by the same rules as other teachers.
Thinking more about this, & reading between the lines, the website did not say that the troops have to have certification immediately, but it says it helps them obtain it.
McCain could have been correct when he said these troops would not have to have the certification to start teaching.
Correct me if I am wrong but didn't CO have a program like that when they were short teachers in the state years ago? Don't (at times) they allow qualifed people with the education and background to start teaching, IF they agree to get their teaching certificate within a time period? Isn't that how our Uncle M started teaching for that year?
I think McCain phrased his sentence poorly, and if I remember right, he was out of time. So he could have been planning on explaining that the troops for these programs had to have their BA/BS or an advanced degree, AND have relevant background military experience in the subject too, & then the program would work with them to get them started as teachers, (without the certification), but they would have to agree & work with the program to obtain their teaching certification in the time allowed.
I think he ran out of time- who knows what more he would have said, if he had more time to explain, but he didn't state what he did say, very well. But I really doubt he meant any disrespect to teachers, their education, or their work.
I think he was trying to make the point that there are programs that can get former qualified military members to work.
Hope that helps. I know McCain isn't your candidate, but I think he has a lot of respect for military members and teachers both him and Obama have similar views on education-even Obama said this was an area that they mostly agree on-they only disagreed on vouchers). McCain said a few times that he supported pay for performance, and was for (as Obama was too) getting the ineffective teachers out, and finding them new jobs.
So I just can't see him thinking just anyone would be a good teacher. It doesn't make sense. Why get rid of ineffective teachers, & then add teachers from the military, with no certification-ever?
He did mention the two Teaching programs for the troops, and I'm sure he meant they would be working within the guidelines and rules of these programs. :-)
CO used to have an emergency teacher program...it's what Uncle M did to become a teacher. It says you have to take a certain amount of classes while teaching and then take the Praxis test within a year or they'd kick you out.
I hope he means to have his teachers abide by the same standards that apply to the rest of us...doesn't seem like we'd be getting the best teachers for our kids if he doesn't.
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