Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: `Highly qualified' teachers

States must emphasize mastery of subject matter, not pedagogy

Several teachers across the country are grumbling about the new federal requirements demanding that they show they are "highly qualified" to be in the classroom.

Within the next three school years, teachers who specialize in core subjects must prove they meet the standards -- and that has several educators up in arms.

"I'm still in a state of anger and resistance," Rebecca Pringle, an eighth-grade teacher at Susquehanna Township Middle School in Harrisburg, Pa., told The Associated Press. "It's not fair to change the rules in the middle of the game. ... I have prided myself in staying current and being active in the field. For all that to be reduced to a multiple-choice test is an insult."

Really? If you are "active" in your field and "current," why would you fear taking a multiple choice test to prove it?

The key here, of course -- and the factor most likely to ensure students are instructed by teachers who know what they're doing -- is the Bush administration's emphasis on knowledge of the subject matter rather than college pedagogy credits.

Under the new law, The AP reports, "new middle or high school teachers must pass a rigorous test in all academic subjects they teach -- or they must hold an academic major, the coursework equivalent of a major, a graduate degree or advanced certification or credentials in all subjects they teach."

In addition, "new elementary school teachers must pass a rigorous state test to show teaching skills and knowledge in reading, writing, math and other areas of basic elementary level curriculum."

Experienced teachers can meet a standard set by their state, which might include a test in their subject matter.

To the extent that the law pushes junior high and high school teachers to actually major in the subjects they instruct -- math, English, history -- instead of spending the majority of their campus experience taking pedagogy course in education colleges, it should be a rousing success.

That will infuriate the teacher union militants, but it's a risk worth taking. Their stance on the issue is untenable: They'd rather have an education major teach a high school physics class than a retired Harvard physics professor lacking an education degree.

Nevada education officials who set the standards for how teachers may demonstrate mastery of their subjects must emphasize clear knowledge of a teacher's area of expertise. If they don't, Nevada students will be the ones who ultimately pay the price.