To read more about the Alberta Task force, please refer to the articles below:
https://inspiring.education.alberta.ca/initiative/teachers-2/
http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/Teachers_union_pans_competency_review_recommendation_258053591.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/alberta-teachers-pan-task-forces-politically-driven-certification-plan/article18461743/
As I learn more about Jeff Johnson's education task force, I become more frustrated. I have just completed my 5 year BSc./BEd. degree through the University of Lethbridge. This degree is highly competitive and it pushed me to work hard and achieve professional teaching standards.
After reading about the Alberta Education task force recommending that there would be no requirement of a teaching degree for teachers that have a specialty in a certain area, I am frustrated. I am partly frustrated because I just spent thousands of dollars and 5 years in school to get a degree in education. With that said, most of my frustration stems from the fact that I deeply VALUE my educational training. What I have learned over the past five years in my education classes and practicums has prepared me to be an educator. Whether it is classroom management techniques, assessment strategies, or learning about project based learning, I think that this should be training that ALL teachers should experience so that our students are getting the highest quality education. We all remember certain professors that were very knowledgeable in a subject area, but that did not necessarily mean that they were effective teachers. This same dilemma could arise in the public education system.
I understand that as teachers we are in the public eye and we are heavily influenced by both the government as well as the public. I do think that it is good that we are insuring that teachers remain accountable to their students and parents in terms of meeting and maintaining KSAs but I am not sure that a 5 year certification appraisal is the way to do this. We review our goals and standards in our teacher professional growth plans on a yearly basis which has a part in insuring the accountability. In most other professional settings, an under qualified or under achieving employee would be dismissed by their supervisor. It surprises me that the government feels the need to intervene in this process.
In my past five years of schooling, Finland has been discussed and raved about for their advanced and highly successful education system. What I find interesting, is that teachers in Finland are not appraised by the government on a yearly basis like here in Alberta. There is also minimal standardized testing and yet these students are arguably doing the best in school. I don't necessarily think that the Alberta government being the puppet masters of teachers in Alberta will be a solution to this so called accountability "problem". I do understand that there could be some teachers that are not remaining accountable to their students, but I don't know that this would alleviate that problem. I think that if there were to be issues with a person in a division, that the principal and superintendent would act appropriately and professionally to deal with this issue.
Some recommendations of the task force, in my opinion, are good supports for new teachers such as mentorship, longer practicums or internships for pre-service teachers, as well as providing a framework for more time for lifelong learning and professional development.
I think it will be interesting to hear how this will pan out over the next few days, weeks, and months.
Again, I'd like to reiterate that my opinion of the Alberta Education task force is a small portion of my overall positive opinion of the Alberta Education system and inspiring education.