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The Latest Bogeyman: Teacher Retention; and Other Coments by Jack Wenders
Putting the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, and Teacher Retention Rates, in Perspective ![]()
Over the past half century, there have been a number of well-publicized national reports lamenting the sad state of teacher education and certification in the US. In 1963, James D. Koerner, the President of the Council for Basic Education, described teacher education as: "A weak faculty operates a weak program that attracts weak students." Koerner further concluded that the academic content of the courses taught at the colleges of education exhibited "intellectual impoverishment" and were filled with jargon that "masks a lack of thought, supports a specious scientism ... and repels any educated mind that happens upon it". Nothing has changed since Koerner's assessment. Boston University president John Silber recently observed that "The willingness to endure four years in a typical school of education often constitutes a negative intelligence test". My favorite quote is from the late Idaho State Representative Jim Stoicheff, a retired teacher and administrator, who cogently summarized teacher education: "An education degree has about the least value of any degree they give out. All you need to get a master's degree in education is glazed eyes, stuffed ears and a hard bottom."
Mr. Wenders has published comments on several other issues. |