A 'certifiably' questionable hiring practice

Will uncertified teachers be prepared for education’s inside-out worldview?

Originally published in the Moultrie News.

What do you think about the new South Carolina law that allows uncertified teachers to teach classes?

Other states have tried this and have backtracked, but advocates claim the South Carolina pilot program sidesteps many of their pitfalls.

The first thing I always ask of any new initiative is “What problem are we trying to solve?” Without a clearly defined target, our solutions simply hatch new problems. In this case, the problem is clear: There aren’t enough teachers to fill classrooms.

My strategy would more directly aim at the issues causing that problem: discipline, pay, and working conditions. But since they didn’t ask me, let’s roll with the plan they’ve chosen.

The program would allow (not require) districts to hire up to 10 percent of uncertified teachers who have at least a bachelor’s degree and five years of work experience in the field in which they teach. Those teachers must also enroll in a certification program within three years of being hired.

It may alarm some people to read the word “uncertified.” In concept, "certification" places a seal of quality on a prospective teacher. In reality, it does no such thing.

Certification generally involves jumping through bureaucratic hoops and completing coursework in the field of education. Most of those courses are widely ridiculed by teachers as easy, trend-driven, and utterly ineffective at preparing them for the slings and arrows of the classroom. So bypassing that part of the process alarms me not at all.

However, certification also involves a period of student teaching — a kind of “apprenticeship,” where individuals gain on-the-job experience under the supervision of a veteran teacher. This is a crucial part of preparation for the job, and I wouldn’t place someone in a classroom without it. From what I can tell, the South Carolina program doesn’t address this component, presumably leaving it for districts to determine.

The South Carolina law oddly requires participants to enroll in a certification program within three years of being hired. Say what? That's like requiring your doctor to go to med school three years after he gives you brain surgery. If a teacher can successfully do the job after three years, filling his free time with a lengthy bureaucratic certification process will do little to improve his performance.

My biggest concern is that people coming from career fields into the classroom will not be prepared for education’s inside-out worldview. Remember, schools are primarily operated by people who have spent their entire lives inside education’s cages. That means the common sense and real-world practices these new teachers bring into schools may not be tolerated.

For example, an accountant or data expert will likely want to infuse math class with practical applications and efficient algorithms. Can they embrace laborious common core techniques like using multiple steps to solve simple problems? Will they be able to accept kids using calculators and box methods to solve formerly automatic multiplication problems like 5 x 6? Districts will likely demand fidelity to the more specious methods.

Likewise, schools may clash with new teachers who expect strong administrative support for handling misbehavior. I’ve known several alternatively certified teachers who formerly managed fields where they had to deal with employee laziness, tardiness, entitlement and outright disrespect. They assumed schools would be tough on such traits, but were dismayed to discover administrative indifference to them. They assumed that a student sent to the principal for disrespect would return transformed and ready to learn. For anyone who hasn’t grown up inside education’s chateau, realizing that schools can actually be a breeding ground for some of the workplace’s worst habits is enough to drive them out in frustration — and, for many principals, the frustration will be mutual.

Or maybe not. Maybe their presence could nudge education’s culture in a better direction, pulling groupthink a little closer toward common sense and sound practice. From alternative certifications to alternative perspectives, today’s schools could benefit from embracing alternatives.

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Jody Stallings has been an award-winning teacher in Charleston since 1992 and is director of the Charleston Teacher Alliance. To submit a question, order his books, or follow him on social media, please visit JodyStallings.com.