Even though I retired in May
2018, I still constantly get updates and reports on the status of education in
the United States and in countries literally around the world. In my estimation, however, the most serious
problem facing the future of education in the United States is the decreasing
number of college students interested in going into education, especially K-12
education. The article I have just read was a study completed in Michigan; the
number of students interested in becoming teachers has dropped up to 90% at
some small private colleges.
The first question most
people ask is: Why is this happening? You usually get similar reasons, often
centered around low salaries, lack of prestige, and history. Unfortunately,
these are accurate to a degree, so in order to recruit new teachers to the
profession and strengthen public education, we must come up with some new
strategies.
Since I was a teacher for 44
years at the middle school, high school, and community college levels, and I
taught in the Maryville College Teacher Licensure Program for 28 years, I have
a thought or two to share with you. First of all, K-12 teachers do not set the
standards for teachers, nor do they govern who enters the profession. In the
United States of America, education is the responsibility of state government,
and not the national/federal government. I often had students from other
countries in my classes at Maryville College, and they could not understand how
something as important as education could be left to state government. When
this type of governance is mandated by the Constitution, there is one
guarantee. The numerous, and often small, school districts fall into one of two
categories: rich school districts, or poor school districts, based on the
wealth of the districts.
When I examined the local
school districts that worked with our
Maryville College program, I found it amazing that you could get in your
car in one school district, drive less than 30 minutes, and find yourself in
another school district that did not provide the same advantages for their
children. Teachers who get trapped in some of these lower-performing school
districts are eager to get out. If they are successful at being hired by one of
the higher-performing school districts, they will make more money and have more
respect and prestige from the community. This is one of the hardest battles we
face in this country with local school districts. The educational experiences
are not the same.
I am concerned that on many
occasions teachers are their own worst enemies. They actually do not want
people in the larger community to know they are teachers. You can attend almost
any college recruitment day, and it will not be long before you hear the
following statement from one of the parents, “I will pay for your college
experience in any field--except teaching.” I am not certain we will ever be
able to change this perception. But there is one thing I know for certain: if
you build a high-quality teacher licensure program, you can still recruit good
students into that program. In short, it all starts with the teacher education
faculty. However, the program must also have the full support of the college
administration and faculty in order to equip new, high-quality teachers for the
profession. This can be done, because I played a small part in doing it.
We often told our teacher
licensure students at Maryville College, “If you want to be TREATED like a
professional, ACT like a professional, SPEAK like a professional, DRESS like a
professional, and INTERACT with your students as a professional would.” For, you see, teachers earn the status of
“professional” from the community by working hard for that recognition by
modeling the significant traits of a professional. There is, however, one thing
to avoid: Do not camp out in the teachers’ lounge every day at lunch, because
you will turn into the teacher that you do not want to be. It’s a place where
things are said about kids--and their parents--that a true professional should
not be discussing in public. As a teacher, you will find out personal things
about your students and their families that you should take to your grave and
never discuss with anyone.
Teachers should be involved
in their communities in all aspects of community life. These are places where
teachers can earn the respect of the community. I’ll never forget one day,
after church in the town where I was teaching high school, when a member of the
church was discussing with me my job in the community. I told him I was a high school history
teacher, and we began discussing a few of my topics and other things I was
doing in class. He responded, “You know, I think you could really teach
history.” Those are the battles we must fight and win. Most of the adults in
this country do not have kids in school, but we must sell our programs to that
very community. It can be done.
Bless You My Children.
Terry L. Simpson, EdD
