Teaching Then and Now

After reading the story on teachers, it helped me to have a better understanding of just how far the teaching profession has come over the years. From the colonial times, to the present day. I was very surprised to read about how in colonial times, teachers were no more than indigent servants. These people were either apprentices to master teachers and were teaching to hitch a ride to America on ships or they were working off debts to the wealthy by teaching their kids. They really had no formal training to speak off. To add insult to injury teaching was thought of as a woman’s job. I saw the contract these women had to sign prior to getting the job, it was very intrusive into their personal life as well, and it’s like signing over your freedom to the school. They weren’t allowed to date, get married, ride In a wagon next to a man, stay out past seven, seems a lot to give up for a measly $75.00 a month. If a teacher were to break any of those rules it was cause for immediate dismissal.

For many years since the colonial times, there was no real significant effort made to improve the way teachers were viewed and treated by the society they served. Some teachers did not have any more than a third grade education and others were drunks and thieves. Which were not the types of people now days anyone would want to teach their children? In 1823, Rev. Samuel Hall; established the Normal School in America. The Normal school was a method used by the French to better train their future educators.

During the 1980’s, was when real improvements were being made in the education field. Two influential educational groups in America, the Carnegie Forum, were very influential in establishing the NBPTS. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Their goal was to recognize professional teachers and to get them board certified, thus making the teaching field a more professional filed, like a doctor or lawyer that has to pass a board prior to getting their license to practice their craft, teachers were now held to those same standards. The program further its efforts into forcing colleges and universities that offer education as a field of study to make it a four year program rather than the usual two year regular academic studies. Now they were offering four year and even a five year master’s program.

The TFA or Teach For America. This program takes people who want to teach and without any formal training place them in a real classroom to teach. This reminds me of the way teaching was during the colonial times. This program is taking teaching backwards to those dark times when teachers were not respected at all. Now teaching is a profession we should stick to the way it is and not move back. Teachers should get their degrees and also become board certified before being hired to teach on any level of education. There should be no shortcuts.