What path makes for a better teacher? Does having a degree in education or child psychology or early childhood development make someone more adept at getting through to the kids? Is raw enthusiasm enough? Is it a natural talent thing, and you either have it or you don’t? Should the inexperienced but gung-ho Teach for America and The New Teacher Project people be thrown into the public school lion’s den? Clearly, those folks have made their choice to sink or swim, but are the parents, the students and the other degreed-up teachers going to be pleased with the inexperienced newbies?

I have no idea. The exact thing that makes a bright, shining star of an educator is probably some elusive logarithm of innate skill, empathy, and ass kickery combined with smarts, traditional and non-traditional learning, personality, the ability to look ahead while being fully in the moment with a kid you’re about to have a breakthrough with on long division, training, lack of training, real life experience, and the awesome talent of being able to withstand the trial by fire that absolutely is the first year of teaching (regardless of one’s level of training or higher education).

Fully educated teachers are capable of have crappy teaching careers, and the same can be said for wet-behind-the-ears whippersnappers who’ve had little or no learning about the teaching. And the untrained twenty-somethings can be in possession of that confounding logarithm which enables them to bring inspired brilliance to the classroom, as can the teachers who’ve collected several pertinent degrees in educating the children.

My own personal theory is similar to the Spaghetti Test. It’s highly scientific, of course (do I ever do anything not well-tested and science-y?). Much like the Spaghetti Test, it involves pulling a few strands/prospective teachers out of the pot and flinging them against the wall/into a public school. Whatever sticks is good to go.

Further Reading:

More Teachers Take Nontraditional Path to Class
The Knowledge of Educators
Local Heroes
“The Curse of the Class of 2009”
Teach For America Attracts More College Grads
If You’re Pondering a Teaching Career
The Manly Art of Teaching
“Altruism Meets a Weak Job Market”

Posted by Alexa Harrington

(image source)