Teachers are generally seen as being engaged in spending their lives and talents in service to our society. Educating youth is considered to be a noble profession.
Today’s public school system, both locally and nationally, betrays this public trust. Leading trends in pedagogy have increasingly been dedicated to undermining our Western Civilization in hopes of replacing it–and us–with something “better”.
Our Constitution, history, and current society are all cast as being so flawed that they are not worthy of continuation. Instead, some variant of utopia which will simultaneously solve all of the problems of our human condition is offered.
This is why our public schools are failing and have been for generations. From the moment when American educators adopted the progressive ideals of John Dewey over a century ago, our schools have been taken increasingly off course.
This is all a direct result of how teachers are trained. Today’s educators have earned their credentials by mastering the mishmash of psychological pseudoscience and left-leaning philosophy that is at the heart of all Educator Certification programs. This ideology pretends to offer “scientific” solutions to teaching everyone anything, under all circumstances.
Nothing can be further from the truth! Human beings live in a context of time-and-place; circumstances are defined by motivations both personal and cultural.
There is absolutely no such thing as an objectively universal effective educational technique that bypasses the volition of every student and the characteristics of each teacher. Without building trust and developing functional relationships, no teaching will ever be effective.
Instead, teachers must demonstrate that they are individuals who have something of value to offer. Integrity must be the watchword of every teacher.
The teacher must strive to be true to their subject, teaching history, science, or whatever authentically and without distortion. This can only be done by someone who has acquired a masterful understanding of their topics of study.
For example, many accomplished research scientists would love to step away from the corporate and academic rat-race and become K-12 science teachers. However, their real-world expertise is counted for naught by teacher certification programs. Schools are thereby deprived of recruiting scientists as teachers.
Anyone seeking to become a teacher should demonstrate real mastery of their subjects, either through coursework, employment, or examination. For example, a would-be history teacher might take the Graduate Record Exam in history to demonstrate the scope and depth of his or her knowledge.
Teachers must strive to be true to the needs of each student. Each teacher must understand the qualities of the students entrusted to their care. This makes lessons intelligible. This simpatico can be accomplished with a combination of developmental psychology coupled with rich encounters with a wide variety of students.
Every teacher needs to be true to his or her own self. Teachers are not abstractions where one-size-fits-all. Just as different students and groups of students have diverse qualities, so does every teacher.
Teachers must test themselves in a series of ordeals that will reveal their strengths, weaknesses, traits, and blind spots. Each teacher must employ subjective judgment, in consultation with a seasoned building Principal, to craft the very best lessons for their students.
Teacher Certification, all educational certification, must be thoroughly transformed. The role of abstract theoretical pedagogy must be eliminated.
Instead, a rich and varied apprenticeship should be the new model for earning credentials. Would-be teachers should serve as assistant teachers in a wide variety of school environments.
Working for a semester in a special needs-oriented school would inculcate a humane compassion for all students, as well as the confidence that can only be earned by working with individuals who face personal challenges.
Working for a semester in schools that teach students from poverty-ridden urban or rural communities will give prospective teachers hands-on experience with trying to connect with students who face unusually difficult social challenges. Successfully grappling with the disciplinary problems in such schools will build a teacher’s skills at classroom management. A first-hand view of these situations can also provide apprentice teachers with a realistic view of what schools can actually accomplish.
The teacher apprentices should then work for a semester in an academically-oriented, high-performing school. The special needs of students who are highly motivated and able are just as acute as those of students facing profound physiological or social challenges.
Finally, each aspiring teacher should serve as a Student Teacher for a semester, practicing the wisdom and skills each has acquired two years of such semester-apprenticeships will solidly prepare able teachers to face the diverse challenges of teaching most every student in most any school.
Similar methods could be applied to reforming the certification process for school administrators and many school specialists. In such a reform, there certainly is a place for reading worthwhile books and discussing educational theory, law, finance, and history, but these should be secondary to practical field experience.
Frequent discussions with other apprentices, guided by veteran teacher mentors, will help each to be reflective and learn the best lessons from both positive and negative encounters.
Only when teaching and administration are freed from the false doctrines of pedagogy, and become grounded in a rich real-world orientation will the quality of education improve in our schools.
