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Research Articles:
History
of Teaching
3- TEACHING IN THE
UNITED STATES
Until the late-20th
century, most people in the United States and elsewhere
believed that the teaching profession required mostly
human-caring skills rather than a high degree of
instructional expertise. Because of this perception,
teachers usually received little formal preparation before
entering the classroom, particularly at the elementary and
secondary school levels. This perception changed in the
1970s, as schools began placing greater value on formal
preparation for teachers. For example, some schools offered
higher salaries to teachers with degrees in education, while
other schools made teacher training a condition of
employment.
A- Preparation of
Teachers
The landmark report A
Nation at Risk, issued by the U.S. Department of
Education in 1983, began an era of education reform in the
United States. The report called for the development of
rigorous national standards of teacher preparation. It also
acknowledged that teaching had become increasingly demanding
in the United States, due in part to more diverse student
populations and more complex educational technologies that
require additional training.
The 1996 report of the
Department of Education’s National Commission on Teaching
and America’s Future presented a clear program for change in
teacher education. This report cited several barriers to
improving teaching in the United States, such as inadequate
teacher education programs; poor teacher recruitment
efforts, particularly in such subjects as mathematics and
science; poor administrative practices that typically saddle
new teachers with the most challenging and demanding tasks;
and lack of rewards for teachers who demonstrate outstanding
skills and performance. To overcome these problems, the
commission challenged the nation to accomplish six goals by
the year 2006: (1) for all children to be taught by teachers
who have the knowledge, skills, and commitment to teach
children well; (2) for all teacher education programs to
meet national professional standards, or else be closed; (3)
for all teachers to have access to high-quality professional
development; (4) for teachers and principals to be hired and
retained based on their ability to meet professional
standards of practice; (5) for teachers’ salaries to be
based on their knowledge and skills; and (6) for
high-quality teaching to be the central investment of
schools, with most education funding directed toward
classroom instruction.
To achieve these goals,
the commission made specific recommendations. For example,
it recommended that funding be made available to expand the
work of the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (NBPTS). Founded in the late 1980s, the NBPTS
specifies levels of competency and expertise for teachers.
Experienced teachers can become certified by the NBPTS only
after passing a screening based on both their knowledge of
academic subjects and their performance with children. This
certification has afforded teachers recognition as
professionals and, in many cases, has enabled them to
command higher salaries. It also has helped to establish
national standards for quality teaching.
B- Teaching
Opportunities and Salaries
Since the mid-1900s the
demand for new teachers in American elementary and secondary
schools has fluctuated dramatically. For example, in the
late 1970s approximately one job existed for every two
trained teachers in the United States; during the 1980s,
however, teacher shortages developed, particularly in
science, mathematics, and foreign languages. These shortages
were relieved in the early 1990s, but in the mid-1990s a
serious shortage of teachers recurred. Teacher shortages or
surpluses may vary greatly depending on the location of the
school. In general, large urban school districts experience
the most severe shortages.
In 1997 public and
private schools in the United States had 52.4 million
students and about 3 million teachers. Experts estimate that
the number of students attending American schools will
increase to 55 million by 2006 and that to serve this
increase adequately will require 3.4 million teachers.
Experts also project a massive number of retirements within
the nation’s teaching force in the early 21st century,
creating a need for an unusually large number of new
teachers.
Teaching traditionally
has been one of the lowest-paying jobs available to college
graduates. The starting salaries of public school teachers
in the 1995-1996 school year averaged $24,507. The average
salary of all primary and secondary school teachers was
$37,643. Salaries varied widely from one school district to
another and from state to state. For example, Connecticut
teachers received an average salary of $50,938, while the
average salary for teachers in South Dakota was just more
than half of that, $26,369.
Source:Encarta
Encyclopedia 2004
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