Some effects of NCLB on UAB's education programs

Ms. Harper's questions on my previous post have prompted me to comment on a new phenomenon in teacher education -- attempts at control by state and federal forces. Governmental agencies have become uncommonly aggressive in deciding proactively the outcomes they wish to see in teacher preparation. The No Child Left Behind legislation is the federal version of this, while in Alabama it is the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards. Although these laws apply to education in general, the parts of the laws dealing with teacher preparation standards are the ones that affect us most.

Everyone agrees that the best "fix" for public education is to have a high quality, well-prepared, knowledgeable and caring teacher in every classroom. NCLB mostly addresses the academic part of the preparation. Its implementation has led many of us to the conclusion that the general philosophy behind that part of the law is that the better your academic preparation is, the better teacher you will be. In some areas, anyone with a degree in their teaching field is considered qualified. As I am fond of saying, we all have had teachers who were brilliant in their fields but couldn't teach worth a lick. Academics are important, but they are not enough in and of themselves.

The best teachers are, in fact, strong in their content. But, they also have teaching skills; they know HOW to teach. Knowing how is not something that people learn accidentally. Teacher training is essential to bring out a teacher's best instincts about sharing knowledge in age-appropriate ways. Policy makers don't always understand that part. They were willing to let me begin teaching with a BS in mathematics, and I did. The best thing I did was to immediately enroll in a teacher certification program. I was lost as a teacher until my professors guided me during my long and scary process of learning on the job. The policy makers had finished their work -- they had signed off on my job and started paying my salary.

44 years later, my story is still being repeated across the country, thousands of times.

Alabama has a better record in that most teachers have to go through an accredited teacher preparation program either before or very soon after they begin teaching. That's a good thing. The best part of it is that it gives prospective teachers skills they can use, but also that it gives new career teachers opportunities to reflect on and think about their experiences. This is an incredibly important factor in being able to stay in the profession. Resilience is a feature of survival and self-reflection is an important ingredient in our ability to remain steady in the face of adversity.

I do not agree that knowledge of subject is sufficient for good teaching. Federal and state agencies increasingly create situations in which content knowledge substitutes for the full range of preparation teachers need. Our philosophy here at UAB is so much broader than that limited view. We are confident that our graduates are fully ready to teach, and, in fact, we guarantee it! Seriously. We guarantee that our graduates will be successful teachers and we offer school systems or graduates any followup help necessary to help our recent graduates get off to a good start.

In contrast, NCLB has within it a serious of punishments for unsuccessful teaching. Schools that don't reach federal targets in terms of test scores are sanctioned and restricted. We like our philosophy better!

Back to School

I have been "going back to school" virtually my whole life. It has been 60 years and many schools from a downtown Wilmington, Delaware parochial elementary school to now, UAB. I have gone back to school in Wilmington, Kennett Square (PA), South Bend, Baltimore, Pago Pago (American Samoa), Honolulu, Amherst (MA), and the Alabama School of Fine Arts and UAB here in Birmingham. Each year my hopes are higher than the year before, and this year is no exception. A new research study has confirmed what I have known instinctively all my life -- teachers lead satisfying lives. Teaching is a wonderful way to experience the benefits of a life connected to people who need you. With the skills you get here at UAB you are prepared to interact with thousands of people in POSITIVE ways. Most "people jobs" have significant aspects of negativity attached to them, but teaching, when done well, has the potential to be uplifting to the teacher every day. I know, I know -- the pay isn't very good. But, it is literally true that money isn't everything and most teachers are able to live a comfortable, middle class existence. It has been a great life in great locations for Lyn and me. It can be the same for you!

SOME BREAKING NEWS:
The state recently required program revisions in all of our undergraduate programs to comply with the new Alabama Quality Teaching Standards. Our programs were approved in record time. This means we begin the year with refreshed confidence that we provide top quality programs in every area of our curriculum.

Another area where students will see new energy is in student communications. We did some experimenting last year, but we will be going full bore this year. This blog is but one example. I hope you'll take the time to post comments and questions often. I will be personally moderating the discussion and I hope to see many of our students out here in cyberspace.

Another example is our Student Concerns Digital Drop Box located on the web at: http://www.ed.uab.edu/scc/concerns.htm. Concerns raised by students and delivered at this site are reviewed by faculty and administrators regularly and are delivered anonymously. One caution -- if you have a question or complaint about a class or an instructor, go see the instructor before you do anything else. We insist on it! The reason we insist on it is that it is only fair and since most of you are training to be teachers we know you'll see the logic of working with the instructor to fix the problem.

Homecoming will be a big deal this year. Please help us out by contacting Ashley Cacioppo at ashmcap@uab.edu. There are floats to decorate, skits to perform, races to run and prizes to be won, so come on down!

Best wishes for a great start to the new year.