Describe teachers' motives for teaching.
They vary from love of children, desire to impact knowledge, interest in and excitement about teaching, and desire to perform a valuable service to society
Identify ways to increase the diversity of the teaching corps
Teachers from a cultural or ethnic minority group are in a better position than a nonminority teacher because they serve as a positive role model for minority students that could be in their classroom. The AACTE has propped legislation for various new programs to increase the number of minority teachers.
3. Describe employment trends for teachers.
Being a teacher is such an important job. Going through a long process to get to where you need to be requires many things. First, check your state's certification requirements, and make sure you journal everything when you're visiting classrooms. Also collect information on schools and check for vacant positions. Make sure to build a nice clean resume, which is very important. Begin to apply for jobs as soon as possible. Lastly, make sure you take time to make sure others are aware of your philosophy of teaching students.
4. Identify variables affecting the supply and demand of teachers.
When teachers' supply exceeds demand salaries tend to decline. High demand and low supply tend to increase salaries.
5. Describe conditions and variables influencing teachers' salaries.
More experienced teachers who have higher degrees and who have been there longer get paid more than those with less experience or lower degrees. Also, teachers who stay after to help out with after school activities like coaching a team, get extra pay. However, teaching pay varies by states.
6. Identify opportunities for teaching in nonpublic schools.
Private schools enroll 10% of nations elementary and secondary students. Private schools often hire teachers who specialize in areas such as science, math or English.
7. Describe teacher certification requirements, alternative routes for obtaining teacher certification, as well as residency programs.
Teaching certifications depending on the state are only valid for 3-5 years. Certifications for general education classes are usually about 30-75 hours. Things for alternative routes include things like armed forces. This route is for people who did not attend traditional college. Residency places candidates in a full year residency under supervision of experienced teachers.
8. Describe trends, current issues in the design of teacher education programs, and preparation for teaching in diverse settings.
Trends include reflective teaching which means teachers can change their plans accordingly. Computer and technology use, teaching students with disabilities, and preparing to teach in diverse settings. For the Praxis teachers need to know how to teach children in their classroom who come from many different cultural backgrounds.
9. Compare standardized test performance of students majoring in education to their counterparts in other majors.
Potential teachers in the 1970's showed that performances of tests such as the SAT declined during this time. This was also the case for students who were majoring in business and various other subjects. But according to some studies done they figured out that the average test score of a teacher were almost the exact same as college educated adults.
10. Identify major issues and concerns involving the testing of pre-service and current teachers.
Many testing of teachers involve basic skills testing. According to some people those who score low in general subjects such as reading, math, and communication are most likely to be ineffective while teaching others. However, this is not always true. Many critics support the fact that just because someone does not do well on a paper and pencil test does not mean they will be a bad teacher. There are tests that teachers have to take now, to make sure they are tested for their knowledge such as Praxis. Some also say tests are biased against minorities.
11. List teachers' reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their careers.
According to a survey taken many teachers are more satisfied with teaching than when they began their career of teaching. However, even though many teachers are satisfied with helping children learn there are a lot of reasons why they are not satisfied. Things such as not having enough time to plan lessons, bad behaviors of students, not enough pay, intense paperwork, and unresponsive administrators are all a part of dissatisfaction.
12. Explain how state and district standards can contribute to teacher stress.
By making students take uniform tests it makes teachers feel very intense pressure into making their students score high on these exams. Most times it is the only concern for teachers because the scores reflect a student's school and teacher.
13. Identify strategies for coping with stress.
Exercise, rest, hobbies, good nutrition, meditation, vacations, and occasionally taking a personal day helps to relieve yourself from the job. Working with kids does get very stressful but by balancing things out it makes life ten times easier.
14. Discuss national and local reform efforts to improve the status, salary, and quality of teachers within the larger context of improving educational quality.
One of the most recent reform efforts is the No Child Left Behind. One idea to make this job more rewarding is to set higher standards for entry into the profession. Another way is to improve teachers' salaries so that they are competitive and performance based. Also, add an additional month of teacher employment with pay, make something called a career ladder so they can gradually work up from bottom to top, and involve teachers with higher degrees into supervising other teachers. Things like the no child left behind act which in turn sets the goal of having every child make the grade on a state defined education standards. Another recent effort is called race to the top that provides competitive grants for projects and approaches that reform educational systems and helps to improve student achievement.
15. Identify recent efforts to enhance the teaching profession and workplace.
There are many efforts being done, such as teacher empowerment activities which ranges from increasing the role of teachers in school wide classrooms. Another effort is professional learning communities, these are defined in terms of how groups of teachers and others that work together in the same environment give each other good ideas on how to improve their lessons for the students.
16. A large percentage of the teaching force is nearing retirement age. How do you envision this "golden generation" of teachers being replaced?
Many people who are just getting out of college who are looking for jobs will start to apply. However, being that there are many people in the education field the market is tough. Once teachers start to retire I believe that they won't have a problem filling spots because of how many people are graduating with an education degree.
1. Identify the characteristics of a full profession.
There are ten characteristics of a full profession. They include a sense of public service; lifetime commitment, a defined body of knowledge and skills beyond other people, long time of special training, control of licensing standards, autonomy in making decisions about selected spheres of work, an acceptance of responsibility for judgments made and acts performed related to services rendered, a self governing organization composed of members of the profession, professional associations and elite groups to provide recognition for individual achievements, a code of ethics, and high prestige.
2. Describe why teaching may not be considered a full profession and is sometimes referred to as a semiprofession or an emerging profession.
Teaching may not be considered a full profession because it lacks some of the characteristics listed above. According to critics this "semiprofession" lacks a defined body of knowledge, control over licensing standards, autonomy in making decisions about work spheres, and a high prestige and economic standing.
3. Explain why it is essential for teachers to (a) develop a body of knowledge for education, (b) gain control over entry and licensing requirements, (c) increase autonomy in their work, (d) develop a self governing organization composed of members of the profession, and (e) require higher economic status in order for teaching to be considered a full profession.
a. Teachers, by developing a body of knowledge for education allows them to exercise control over the vocation. By doing this they need to have three key components; liberal education, specialized subject field, and professional education. b. The teaching profession has lacked this but teachers are supposed to pass competency tests in reading, writing, and math. Once teachers have more control they exercise over their own licensing procedures the more teaching will be recognized as a full profession. c. By making professional judgments on the nature of work its gives others who are outsiders more insight. By having other people make lesson plans it is hard for the teachers to sometimes teach a lesson that they did not put their own say into them. It is important for teachers to have a say because they are the ones introducing it to children not the outsiders. d. This is important because people who are in the profession understand more of what teachers actually have to do and accomplish. Instead of hiring those who are not in the profession, they don't understand that it is more complicated than what it looks like. If someone is an organization that was a teacher they understand the steps that need to be taken to get a proper outcome.e. Teaching is a special job; it helps our future. On social status those teaching elementary or secondary are ranked very high. This job is ranked high because of the value it has on society. It is important to keep a high rank because teaching is a hard job, and it needs support but those who don't understand the meaning of teaching won't appreciate it if it is not ranked high
4. Discuss the role of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) with regard to the profession of teaching.
The role of this council is to set standards that determine which teacher education programs meet national standards in the preparation of teaching candidates and specialists about to enter the classroom.
5. Identify current trends in education that enhance the professionalization of teaching.
Collective bargaining, which can enhance teachers' capacity to make decisions about classroom work. There is also something called mediated entry, which refers to the practice of inducting people into a profession through carefully supervised stages that help them apply the knowledge they've learned during school into the actual work force. Another one is induction, which helps teachers as they begin their careers.
6. Analyze how staff development, merit pay, and school-based management help or hinder the professionalization of teaching.
Staff development is essential to the profession of teaching. The goal is to improve student achievement and by developing staff it is important they know how to do that. The NEA and the AFT support this as integral to a teacher's professional growth. Another important thing is called merit pay, merit pay is a supplement to a teacher's base salary to reward superior performance. Money is always a good incentive, it makes people work harder and do the best they can. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way but having incentives are very important especially with having a stressful job. School based management programs could go both ways. I think by having their own school make decisions and policies depending on the district could be bad. To get an outsiders perspective is important.
7. Compare and contrast the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.
There are many similarities and differences between the two. First, the NEA is involved in education on many local, state, and national levels. The total membership is 3,200,000 as compared to AFT, which only has 1,500,000. Unlike AFT it includes both teachers and administrators who are on a national level. The NEA also only supports teachers who go on strike as a last resort and AFT automatically thinks of going on strike to settle arguments. They both have a good amount of members that are also classroom teachers.
8. Explain the role of collective bargaining in connection with teacher unions and discuss recent developments that limit/threaten the traditional scope of collective bargaining as a negotiating tool.
Collective bargaining is under attack for several states. It also is often considered nonprofessional. Governors want things like evaluations, salaries, and tenure that they want removed from the collective bargaining table. However collective bargaining can improve teaching professionalism which gives teachers greater authority to influence their work conditions as teachers in the classroom.
9. List several professional organizations and choose (tentatively) which ones coincide with their interests as a prospective teacher.
NEA, AFT, PLC, NBPTS. PLC goes along with their interests because they are helping the teachers' ways to help the students succeed. Another one is NEA.
10. Identify issues associated with the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
The PTA is open to anyone who wants to help out with the welfare of children in schools and stand up for the wrongs and help make changes. The issue is that the PTA is big and they make their own plans to change what is going on in the schools and the neighborhood. Anyone can sign up and sometimes things don't get accomplished because of the large number.