Schools Should Look For Experts, Not Just Degrees
September 18, 2002
I hate to use a hackneyed expression but it's time our public school administrators started thinking outside the box. We constantly hear these days about a shortage of teachers. The reasons why are varied but one solution is so simple to be obvious except to the gatekeepers of knowledge. There are plenty of qualified people who want to teach in their areas of expertise. These people have real world experience in their fields. Instead of just speaking French, these people have lived many years in France. Instead of just knowing the notes on a piano, these people have played for large symphonies. These people have all the qualifications to impart their wisdom and knowledge yet they are barred from doing so.
You see, these people lack the traditional four-year degree required by the states to teach. Secretary of Education Rod Paige says the shortage of public school teachers could be ended if states put qualified non-teachers in classrooms. However, one group seems to be standing in the way at every turn - the National Education Association, the nation's biggest teachers union. “There are still some guardians of mediocrity out there fighting to keep the status quo," Paige said, referring to the NEA. “I have been very troubled by the positions the NEA has taken and in general consider them to be guardians of the status quo.”
That's not to say that every Tom, Dick and Mary should be allowed into the classroom to teach our children but qualified teachers shouldn't be locked out either. There is a lot to be said for life experiences. There must be a way to quantify a teacher's level of expertise in a subject without requiring years of sitting in a classroom as proof.
Many colleges and universities already accept such proof of knowledge through tests like the CLEP, the College-Level Examination Program. You can walk into most major colleges and universities and ‘CLEP out' as they say. In other words, without ever setting foot in the classroom, you can take a test to prove your level of knowledge in that subject. If you score high enough, you get the college credit without taking the class.
This same principle can and should be applied to teachers. Why not allow those who want to teach a particular subject to ‘CLEP out' and obtain certification that way. The NEA remains opposed because they want to maintain their stranglehold on our public education system. If people begin to circumvent the NEA, then they begin to lose their grip and pretty soon will find themselves irrelevant.
Once again, the NEA has placed the education of your children behind their own goal of power enrichment. Everyone involved in education should have one prime goal in mind and that's the best education for the kids. If anything supersedes that, those people should be cast aside.
Think about it this way. Let's say you have a high school class on filmmaking. You have a teacher with a four-year degree with a major in film and you have Steven Spielberg. Which one would you say is more qualified to teach that class? According to the NEA, Spielberg is out because he doesn't have a college degree. Get the picture?