Can the teaching profession be trusted?

If teaching is to be treated as a profession, it must act like a profession. Mr. Hitz argues that acting like a profession means having a single set of national standards and only one accrediting body for the nation’s teacher preparation programs.

Teacher preparation and licensing are constantly under attack from both national and state policy makers. The extraordinary reporting requirements imposed on university-based teacher preparation programs through Tide II of the Higher Education Act and the promotion of “alternative routes” to teacher licensure by the federal government and some states are indicative of the negative attitude toward and mistrust of the teaching profession.

Policy makers realize that teacher qualifications are important, but they do not trust the teaching profession to hold itself to high standards for preparation. Policy makers and the community at large are crying out for direction, and, as we in the profession struggle to reach consensus and unity, other entities fill the leadership void. The disunity in our teaching profession makes the profession vulnerable to harmful micromanaging and bad policy decisions. The result is poorly prepared teachers in too many classrooms, especially classrooms serving the students who are most at risk.