An improvement in student performance entails getting better teachers to teach the young minds effectively. Students can be difficult to teach and at other times even impossible to handle. Not even the most intelligent teacher can succeed if he doesn’t know classroom dynamics and how to impose discipline at some time.
The number of college students taking up Education and going into teaching is decreasing in numbers. There are various reasons why but the most stated cause is because it doesn’t pay enough to meet the daily demands of living. In a TIME magazine poll 76% of the participants said that most intelligent people don’t go into the profession of teaching because of low salary. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that an average public school teacher earns around $49,000. The lowest of the range earns around $32,000 while those belonging in the highest bracket earns up to $78,000. While others perceive that teachers get paid less than other blue collared job, this can be misleading and unreliable. The true reason behind the decreasing popularity of the noble profession is that it lacks the prestige it once had. In the past when one is asked about his profession and he answers, “I’m a teacher”. There is this certain awe that follows and respect is automatically given. Now teenage students don’t even care to look at a teacher with a small amount of respect to stop and greet them. Shouting and disrespect is common in the classroom when students feel rebellious.
A program called Teach for America (TFA) takes on the challenge of encouraging the brightest college students who graduated from prestigious schools to teach in public schools for two years before they pursue individual careers on to the corporate world. The task is not easy but the advocacy of changing the face of education is an invitation one cannot easily say no to especially if the future leaders of the nation will come from these students whom you’ll get a chance to teach. It works in 3 ways- you can donate to help the members in their advocacy, enlist to teach or refer a friend who would be interested to take part in the program’s aim and objective.
The US Department of Education foresees that around 1 million teachers are needed by 2014. Another challenge is how to make new teachers stay. Most new teachers get tired and exhausted which leads most of them to give up teaching in their 2nd year when they are just learning how to work a classroom. Exemplary teachers are not initially good at what they do the first year they enter into teaching. They undergo a process in which their experiences make them better teachers as the years go by. What they need is guidance and ongoing training to develop their skills to help them become effective teachers to their students. Programs that offer supplemental training and knowledge of teaching styles, methods and trends should be made available to teachers through programs initiated by the government. This will give the teachers a sense of fulfillment and importance as they see their professional career grow and flourish.
