The Future of Teacher Preparation: Two Experts Share Their Thoughts
The future of teacher preparation is in flux. There is no one answer to the question of what will make future teachers successful, but two experts share their thoughts on the matter.
Lynn Ziegler, author and president of Teach for America, believes that new methods of teacher preparation are necessary in order to equip educators with the skills they need to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Ziegler is a proponent of alternative teacher preparation models, such as the Teach for America Corps, which pairs recent college graduates with low-income schools to provide them with the training they need to become teachers.
“We want people who come out of Teach for America not to be just teachers but really change the trajectory of students’ lives,” says Ziegler.
On the other hand, Deborah Meier, president of the National Council for Teacher Quality, believes that traditional teacher preparation programs are adequate for the current needs of educators. Meier argues that there is no need for new methods of teacher preparation since the current model is working well.
“We see no need to completely overhaul the system,” says Meier. “There is no evidence that alternative models do a better job than traditional teacher preparation programs.”
The future of teacher preparation is still in flux, but both experts agree that traditional teacher preparation programs are adequate for the current needs of educators.