Chapter 5 Posting
Hearing the three case studies about Connecticut, North Carolina, and California was very interesting. There were many things that went into improving education in two of these three states. North Carolina and Connecticut used funds to build up their teachers, increasing salaries, providing mentors and professional development, and even using money for early childhood education. As a former kindergarten teacher I think that using funds to help early childhood is extremely important. I saw students who did not know how to hold a book the right way, let alone read, and then I had students who were reading Junie B. Jones or Horrible Harry books and comprehending everything! Students start at such different levels that it would be nice to have more support, and an emphasis on schooling before they even get to kindergarten. Jamie made a great point that Darling-Hammond supported, if you invest in students early in life, you will not need to pay for it later…incarcerationL
Another thing that I found interesting in the reading was the training teachers in Connecticut are going through. Connecticut sounds like it is moving in such a great direction. Maybe it just sounds like a lot when it is listed as it was in the book, but I started to think, maybe Idaho’s requirements to become a teacher sound difficult to some when listed like that too…you have to get your 4 year degree, you have to have passing scores on the Praxis, you get a pay increase for taking credits, you have to take a minimum number of credits every five years, you get a pay increase for getting your master’s and or Board Certification. I guess, like North Carolina, Idaho makes it more of a choice if you want to move forward, rather than a requirement, like Connecticut.
What matters? For me, I am able to see what works and that emphasis on teacher training truly can help. It matters where the money goesJ
After reading Jennifer’s post, it made me think back to when I was just getting started with my bachelor’s degree. It did feel like a lot to me and I guess the process I went through was made lengthy by my own choices. After completing my Bachelor’s degree in education and student teaching, I didn’t obtain a classroom until many years later. I even let my certification run out due to family obligations. When I finally, decided it was the right time for me to go back into the classroom, I had to renew my certificate and teach in a preschool setting to gain experience. After the successes I had in that atmosphere, I was ready to try out the elementary school. I moved to Idaho, obtained my temporary certification, passed the praxis, and just finally finished up my credits to get my regular Idaho certification. If I would have taken all of this as a whole, I would have felt overwhelmed. By doing it step by step, it felt more manageable. I guess what I’m getting at; we all have a path to take, no matter where we teach at. I did love the model of North Carolina that showed us a very supportive state where, education majors were rewarded and valued.
ReplyDeleteWhile these chapters gave us a "snapshot" of these three very different states (Connecticut, California, and North Carolina), I would be interested in seeing the "whole family album" of this change process. I would love to hear stories from individual schools, districts, teachers, and teacher preparation programs to get a better picture of how the struggle to change a flawed system actually changed people and practices (not just student data). While the changes in large educational organizations are large, daunting, and time intensive, we all can learn from the practices that have actually worked (and not worked) in these three states.
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