Discarding the thoughtful, thorough and progressive preparation characteristic of all expert professions, Teach for America coaxes half-committed aspirants through just six weeks of summer crash course work in pedagogy. Then, with the connivance of local and state education officials, they are turned loose on kids. Sure, and even more amazing things happen when these aspiring educators take the trouble to learn something about kids and teaching before they start. In his thoughtful book, Teachers for Our Nation's Schools , John Goodlad's says this about such back doors to teaching as Teach for America. Few matters are more important than the quality of the teachers in our nation's schools.
Few matters are as neglected.
Most parents exercise considerable care in deciding who should baby sit for their children. Those who want to teach in our schools are required to meet no tests of character or commitment. For instance, at La Salle University where I have helped educate teachers for over 20 years, we painstakingly developed, implemented and refined a nationally recognized elementary and special education teacher preparation program. Using a developmental theme to totally integrate elementary education and special education, La Salle's program carefully encourages the expertise necessary for creating and implementing instruction of elementary aged handicapped and non-handicapped learners. Teachers trained at La Salle can deliver content in a way that more closely matches the needs, abilities and learning styles of all of their students.