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[quote=Anonymous]And this thread is exactly what is wrong with American public education.  Someone is posting here wondering what it's like to be a teacher. S/he is drawn to the "family benefits."  And folks are responding with answers about salaries, time off with kids, and how easy it is to switch.  I cannot imagine OP posting the same question about becoming a doctor or a lawyer. The training programs for those professions are rigorous and require an intense commitment. There are intense exams that many fail the first time.

And yet, with just a few weeks of training (see Teach for America) someone can be in charge of a classroom in the neediest schools in this country.

We should be following the model in Finland where teacher training programs are long, intense and challenging.  All of the universities are public institutions. The bar to get in is incredibly high in terms of grades, achievement testing, experience and interviews.  No online degrees.  Weed out the folks that just want a career where they get time off with their kids or just to try something different.

There are many things that need to be done in this country if we are going to ever raise our achievement levels among other nations. Overhauling the teacher preparation is just one step in raising the profession.

Stepping off my soapbox now.  I've got a lot of work to do to prepare for school opening and I'm procrastinating on a Sunday afternoon.

--Public elementary school principal who was dismayed by how many awful resumes came across her desk[/quote]

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