Teachers should turn over every three years.

[Took]

Daisyyy

Teachers are required to re-certify every __ years. (Insert number here based on your state.) Not to mention all the CEU's that are required to keep your license. Most teachers in my district have their Masters and a few have their Doctorate degrees...

so honestly...I think teaching is a profession where PD is mandatory...


I think PEOPLE should have to go to PARENTING classes and get a license to have children...

I agree (with this last statement, in particular).

 

[TN Hockey Mom]

I don't think teachers should turn over every three years but I do think too many stay past their prime.

My DS9 has major anxiety and was put with an older teacher one year. This did not go very well. She was set in her ways and refused to change anything about the way she dealt with children. She didn't love her job anymore. She was counting down the days until she could retire. It was her way or the highway.

My son saw a Psychologist on a regular basis (sometimes twice a week while in her class). When I would try to talk to her about what the Psychologist had to say she wouldn't even listen. She would immediately disagree and say to me, "you're paying for it I'm not." My husband hated going to conferences with her but felt like he had to (in case he needed to pull me back across the table).

Fortunately, at my kids school, we can write a letter at the end of every school year and NON REQUEST one teacher for the next year (we can't ask for a particular teacher but we can asked that we not be with a particular one). Instead of listing a teacher we don't want by name, I write a letter explaining what type of teacher we don't want. I always remind them that my son does best with a younger, newer teacher, not set in her ways! So far so good. He's had some great teachers since having the horrible one (she has since retired).

 

[rabyoga]

I think the guy is thinking about keeping things fresh. As a teacher, I believe that teachers should keep up to date on new things and wiling to stretch and grow as a teacher. After 5 years of teaching 2nd grade, I choose to move grades. I am now going to be teaching 5th grade. I'm very excited and think the move is good for me as well as the students who will be getting a teacher who is very jazzed about teaching them.

 

[portocall]

I agree with a PP who said that whole word was a disaster. My sister still can't spell and my brother still can't read. Both are in their 20's. They both had fresh, new, teachers who didn't know better. My cousin, who had an older teacher and refused to do the whole word program in it's full form, reads and spells fine. A lot of times, these new fangled programs are nothing but a money fest.

To the PP who said they didn't agree with performance bonuses. I for the most part don't either. But perhaps you would like them more if your school did it the same way ours does. In our school EVERYBODY gets a set amount for every .25 of a point raised in our yearly growth. From the Principal down to the janitors and cafeteria workers. The administration said that everyone was responsible for the growth of our children including having good meals and a clean building to learn in. Some of the classroom teachers were up in arms at first about it, however, when you really think about it, the administration was right.

I don't think there is a difference between a new bad teacher and a old bad teacher. Either way, I don't want my children in their class. Can't always be helped, but I find the best teachers for the most part are the ones in the middle of their career. I have seen excellent first year teachers and excellent teachers on their 30th+ year of teacher. A blanket statement is hardly a way you handle the occasional bad apple.

 

[DawnM]

I have to be re-certified every 5 years. I think most states are similar.

Dawn

I don't think teachers should become too comfortable with their job, and teach it the same way they taught it to our parents.. (some of our teachers were teachers when I was a kid)... but that being said... I think they need to be re-freshed... and maybe tested and recertified every so often.. maybe every 10 years... there are other professions that should apply to as well... doctors... lawyers.. etc.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I think PEOPLE should have to go to PARENTING classes and get a license to have children...

And, so it begins....

 

[DawnM]

Not only in-classroom evaluation, but word of mouth. I guess I really didn't realize it until I became a counselor, but parents talk and word gets out which teachers are liked and which are disliked. There is also classroom management and how many kids a teacher sends out, etc.....all of that builds your "reputation." Right before I left the classroom and moved to the counseling office I had my performance review. The principal came into my classroom and stayed about 15 minutes. He saw exactly what was going on and later told me he had no reason to stay because coming to my classroom was a "formality" as he already knew my reputation, and yes, it was positive.

A good teacher, IMHO, not only loves the subject matter, but loves to see the kids learn and enjoy the learning process. People most of the time don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Students will give you the world when you show an interest and encourage them.

This is one of the reasons what is going on today with testing and NCLB makes me glad to have left the classroom. I can still spend time with students doing what I love most, talking to them and caring what the outcome of their decisions will be.

But I worked in high schools for 16 years, it may be different for elementary schools.

Dawn

I
Now, we are also evaluated in the classroom every couple of years, and really, THAT is what is going to keep us accountable. We re-sign contracts every year. If a teacher isn't doing his/her job, they're put on a growth plan and possibly not offered a contract the following year. I really think that THIS is where you're going to keep teachers accountable - by looking in the classroom and doing it often.

 

[DawnM]

How ridiculous.

Yes, I got 2 MAs in the field of education to only work 3 years.

Whatever career that man was in, I sure hope he got canned after 3 years. Sheesh, what a stupid comment.

Dawn

That's what someone said to my husband yesterday. I'm not sure what his rationale was except saving money. DH told him that "you really want experienced teachers in there too" then proceeded to tell him that he was a teacher. The guy sort of backtracked and said that teachers should have another job before teaching. DH told "I used to be an engineer." The guy quieted down.

I wish he asked him to insert other professions into his first claim like "Doctors should turn over every three years" or "Auto mechanics should turn over every three years." Why do some people think the way they do?

 

[disney1990]

So 3 years as a teacher and you're done. What the heck do you do then??????