We simply cannot have the splendid educational system we need until we have a high proportion of splendid teachers. Many things have to change for this goal to be achieved and the more obvious are now listed. The colleges and universities should make special arrangements for the pre-service teachers to be given a broad liberal arts education. For example, the courses offered in most science departments are designed largely for preprofessional students targeting medicine, engineering, and graduate school. Some are both useful and necessary for teachers, but they are insufficient.
Special courses are also necessary.
The colleges and universities must accept that the education of in-service teachers is one of their more important duties. This has been a festering problem for years, and it should bee studied and a solution reached that enhances the education of pre-service teachers. Another unnecessary hurdle that hinders some of the very best students wishing to enter the teaching profession is the often Byzantine system for certification. Certification should be a device for ensuring that first class individuals enter the teaching profession. It high standards are set for certification, an effort should be made for certification in one state being recognized nationwide.