http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-924097.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – Republican state senator John Huppenthal said it's wrong to
assume that someone who has a degree in education will be a
better teacher.
(The tragic fact is they've now shown the college of education
degree doesn't show higher academic gains when you compare them
with long-term substitute teachers, there's no difference. And
that's a tragedy.)
Huppenthal said he's not saying a degree is a bad thing but said
the colleges of education at the state's three universities need
to do better. In any event, he said, he said the current
requirement to have a degree in education -- or at least some
certification of training in how to teach -- is unnecessary.
(I think if somebody has a college degree, then the local school
district should make that decision, not us at the central level.)
Democrat Penny Kotterman, a career teacher, said Huppenthal is
wrong in saying that an education degree doesn't matter.
(There are studies elsewhere, if we want to battle on which
research works, that say that having a degree in education and
the experience that goes with it has a tremendous amount of
impact on student achievement and on teacher quality.)
Kotterman said that doesn't necessarily mean a teacher needs
bachelor's and master's degree in education, essentially what is
required now. She said someone with a lifetime in a specialized
field should be allowed into a classroom -- with preparation. She
said that could include mentoring and internships with those
already in the profession.
(But what I don't think we should do is open up the doors and say
that anybody that wants to be a teacher for six months or six
weeks can just walk into a classroom without any preparation or
any support and do that job.)
The pair also disagreed on how best to teach students to read.
(Whole language is still alive and well in colleges of education.
And that is just a detestable thing. It is victimizing students
across this nation as a concept.)
Whole language involves some phonics, where students are taught
to sound out words. But it also focuses on teaching students how
to recognize whole words. Huppenthal prefers a phonics approach
along with phonemic awareness, teaching how sounds relate to
written words. Kotterman, who taught reading, said there is no
one ``right'' way to teach it.
(You have to create a combination of helping kids understand
phonemic parts of words and you have to help them understand
words in context and in meaning.)
Kotterman said her own two children went to schools where they
taught whole language and she said they did, in her words, just
fine. For Arizona Public Radio this is Howard Fischer