Reply to Paying 32K and my DD's teacher has NO idea what she's doing

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, bottom line: Private school teachers stink. They have no certification and the jobs are easier to get than in public school, pay stinks, so they don't get the cream of the crop. 
Public school environment stinks, no specials large classes.[/quote]

People I know are very happy and impressed with the teachers their kids have at the Upper School level at pretty much all the independent schools I can think of -- so maybe the complaints about teacher quality are more lower-school oriented?  I can think of quite a few Upper School teachers at the school I'm most familiar with who have PhDs from very impressive institutions in their subject areas, and the toughest critics around (the kids) think they are brilliant and inspiring.  As other posters have noted, the idea that lower pay draws lesser performers does not account for those seeking the classroom autonomy and small class sizes of private school (and, in another point made by some prior posters, I can think of several teachers just off the top of my head who either had successful prior careers or not the primary bread-winner and don't need to make the highest amount).  Lastly, the top salaries at some of the local independents are actually quite good. [/quote]

The benefits in MCPS can't be matched and the salaries are good.
The fact is that MCPS also has PhDs teaching...who also have certificates. [/quote]

I'm sure Montgomery County Public Schools is a great place to teach.  Many people also believe independent schools are a great place to teach -- the two statements are not mutually exclusive.  You as a parent or teacher may think certification is crucial to being a good teacher, others place more weight on demonstrated mastery of the subject at a high academic level and success day to day in the classroom.  Those in the first camp probably won't be comfortable with the approach in private schools to hiring teacher, those in the second will be.  The blanket suggestion that independent school teachers as an entire group are unqualified (or that they "stink" to quote a prior poster) is, to me, illogical, but I don't think either of us will convince the other.  As long as we feel our respective children are being well-served, that is what counts.[/quote]

Private schools often get teachers with subject expertise who did not initially think of going into teaching, but in some cases did so by default. 
I do not need a PhD in math teaching my second grader. New teachers who are certified are better than new uncertified teachers. However, in many private schools there are a lot of "new" teachers because of rapid staff turn over. Who leaves? The scientists and journalists who finally get the job they were looking for working at NIH or JPL or the WSJ. Two PhD friends of ours teaching in independent schools are actively looking for scientist jobs.   
pardon typos[/quote]

Again, this seems focused on teaching the lower/younger grades.  At the Upper School level at the top schools, one doesn't see the rapid turnover you describe, and one does see a number of very experienced teachers with outstanding subject matter expertise.  Or maybe you've come across some lackluster independent schools, which exist.  It does seem that you are not a private school parent or teacher, so in the end how would you really know about the quality of teaching at places like Maret, GDS, St. Albans/NCS, Sidwell, Holton, etc.  just as many private school parents seem to make sweeping and oft-unsupported statements about public school, some of the posters on here seem to be jumping to unsupported conclusions about the competency/efficacy/skill of private school teachers.[/quote]

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