It's only teaching ... anyone can do it.

November 8, 12:36 PMPhoenix Charter Schools ExaminerYvonne Watterson

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There, I said it. Not everyone can teach. After about 25 years in education, I've had ample opportunity to observe the very best and the very worst in teaching practices.  Whether in traditional district classrooms, charter schools, universities, or community colleges, I've found myself defending the need to professionalize our profession in a state where the conventional thinking is that all it takes to be a good teacher is the desire to do it.  We hear it all the time.  Last year, we heard it fall from the lips of former presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, who suggested in his NACCP speech in 2008 that "We should also offer more choices to those who wish to become teachers. Many thousands of highly qualified men and women have great knowledge, wisdom, and experience to offer public school students. But a monopoly on teacher certification prevents them from getting that chance. You can be a Nobel Laureate and not qualify to teach in most public schools today. They don’t have all the proper credits in educational “theory” or “methodology” — all they have is learning and the desire and ability to share it. If we’re putting the interests of students first, then those qualifications should be enough."  

Enough? Just three qualifications to teach: learning, desire, and the ability to share it?  Senator McCain, the "ability to share it" comes from those classes in pedagogy, where people who love their subject learn how to teach that subject.  Where perhaps the Nobel Laureate learns how to teach to a class full of recalcitrant readers. It comes from student teaching, where prospective teachers practice under the watchful eye of an experienced teacher. 

Just last week, the 'anyone can teach' mantra was being played again, this time by Yuma Union High School Superintendent, Toni Badone. I happened upon an article in the Yuma Sun which reported on Badone's suggestion that Arizona should "ease its teacher certification requirements." To improve education in Arizona, Badone suggests that our state should "certify candidates with bachelor's degrees automatically if they pass the Arizona Professional Knowledge test."  Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is unique to our profession.  I doubt we would ever apply it to the medical profession. Would we ever license doctors if they merely presented a Bachelor's degree and a passing score on a test? 

In Arizona, the myth that anyone can teach is alive and well. Our students continue to fare poorly on standardized tests when compared to other states. Our community college classrooms are filled with young people who are choosing the cheaper tuition of the junior college over that of the state universities. I wonder how many of these students are being taught English 101 by instructors who might be published poets but don't know how to pass out papers let alone scaffold instruction in their content area. Throw into the mix the fact that the student population is  more complex and diverse than ever before and then ask yourself why in the world anyone would entertain a discussion about easing certification requirements. 

For those of us in charter land, where certification is not required but teachers are required to be "highly qualified," as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act, we need to step up to provide job-embedded professional development to address the damage done by the unfortunate myth that it's only teaching - anyone can do it.