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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Classroom 'Crisis': Many Teachers Have Little Or No Experience

As children around the country settle in for the new school year, millions of them are sharing more than desks, sandwiches and sniffles. Chances are good that they are being taught by teachers with little or no experience.

The odds that a child will be taught by a new teacher have increased dramatically over the past two decades. In 1987-'88, the most common level of experience among the nation's 3 million K-12 public school teachers was 14 years in the classroom. By 2007-'08, students were most likely to encounter a teacher with just one or two years of experience.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Want to know why? Because the teachers who have experience do not want to deal with the kids today with such low wages. I am not a teacher, but I do know from first hand experience that kids today have become almost impossible to control since if you touch them there is a charge waiting to be field. Parents are younger and more inexperienced as well anymore...

Anonymous said...

Teaching today is like working in a Prison.

Anonymous said...

I am retired from teaching and wouldn't want to go back considering what so many of the schools are like. The post focuses on "inexperienced" teachers from the standpoint of number of years in the classroom. Many of the young people coming out of college now have a very good background and come loaded with knowledge and skills needed for the 21st-century classroom, particularly in the ever-increasing use of technology. SU, for example, has a wonderful Education Department. In many cases, these new graduates are better equipped than those with just years under their belts. When I taught, I worked with student teachers (now called interns, I believe) whose skills eclipsed mine. It's too bad,though, that so many well-qualified current and potential teachers are scared off by conditions in the schools. I wouldn't go so far as 9:29 does in equating schools and prisons, and salaries are fair now (about $40K for a beginner), but teaching is definitely not for the squeamish!

Anonymous said...

Teaching today is like getting paid like a college Professor but doing the job of a daycare mother.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe children are any different today than they were 30 years ago. I think how we handle the children has changed.

For instance, if 2 students are throwing punches, there are no consequences for their actions, so they will never learn that fighting is not acceptable. If you have a student who can not read basic grade level books, they are pushed through to the next grade, with the hopes that one day the can read. There is no longer holding a child back in a grade. They, even at a young age know that they can do the bare minimum and get away with it. Again, no consequences.

For a new grad, this is a lot to take on. I commend them. I also appreciate the veteran teachers who have chose to leave the system, because they too have realized they can no longer teach to the NCLB standards.

NCLB is a joke and has ruined our education process for an entire generation. It is easy to blame a teacher for this, but in reality it our lawmakers who have done this to our system, and guess where the lawmakers kids go to school?? I would bet 99% go to private institutions.

Anonymous said...

maybe we just need zoo keepers!