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Let’s raise our voices on
controversial new reading requirement proposed by state
A
controversial new reading requirement was brought forward
over the summer by the Alaska Dept. of Education and Early
Development and opened for public comment by the state Board
of Education. The board is proposing to require that all
teachers pass a three-credit course called Alaska Reading:
current teachers, to qualify for recertification, new
teachers when you move from initial to professional
certification.
“In the
first place, the quality of this course is suspect,” said
NEA-Alaska President Bill Bjork. “It’s that
one-size-fits-all approach that all educators know doesn’t
work. Everyone from kindergarten to calculus teachers would
take the same course.
“We
teachers are great believers in professional development,
and we’re committed to lifelong learning. If the state
wants to create a reading course, make it a good one, and we
will come. But don’t come up with some untried, half-baked
class and decide everybody’s got to take it.”
Bjork
notes that a required online class can cost as much as $800,
which amounts to another tax on teachers.
This
would be especially onerous on new teachers.
Already
the requirements for new teachers under the new
performance-based system are rigorous and time intensive.
Within the first two years new teachers are now required to
submit two unedited 45-minute tapes of uninterrupted
instruction. The tapes will be scored by state trained
assessors.
New
teachers must also complete two three-credit courses:
Alaska Native Studies and multicultural or cross cultural
studies. If the Alaska Reading course is added on top of
these two, that adds up to nine credits and two passing
tapes required of new teachers when they can barely survive
each day in the classroom.
“At
what point do you say enough is enough?” asks Bjork. “How
much can we reasonably demand of these new teachers? This
time it’s a reading program. Next time it’ll probably be
math.
“While
these programs may be valuable, there’s a larger
consideration: Fully two-thirds of our teachers have to
come from the Lower 48. We’re losing so many of our new
teachers—to other states and other professions. We’re
already facing non-competitive salaries and the dismantling
of the state retirement system. Now out-of-touch
bureaucrats are proposing to add yet another unreasonably
stringent, cumbersome and inflexible certification
requirement.
“All of
us in the education family are working toward the same
goal—a quality education for Alaska’s children. But
requiring that all teachers take this ‘flavor of the month’
new reading program isn’t the way to get there.”
Questions? Contact UniServ Director Mark Jones at
mark.jones@neaalaska.org.
How to
comment:
http://www.eed.state.ak.us/regs/comment.html.
Deadline for written comments is November 9.
Aug08/07 |
