The Providence Journal reports that Rhode Island schools are facing a shortage of science teachers (12.26.12).
“Fifteen years ago, I would have had 20 students applying to become secondary science teachers,” says Paul Tiskus, chairman of the education studies department at Rhode Island College, which trains the majority of the state’s teachers. “Last year, we had four. This year, we have six.”
Here’s one possible way of getting science grads interested in teaching: Waive the education courses required for certification. No college student casually backs into organic chemistry or particle physics or microbiology. People study science because they love it and they have the sort of mind that enjoys rigorous scholastic inquiry. Scientists like collecting and analyzing precise data, testing hypotheses, comparing results with other scientists; we can not expect these same people to devote months and months of their lives reading about the philosophy of early childhood and all the squishy studies and theories (cloaked in that infamous soft-science edubabble) that are required for teaching certification. It is torture and they will stay away in droves.
The RI Department of Education Office of Educator Quality and Certification offers ‘Transcript Analysis’ as one path to teaching ‘Secondary Grades Physics’ whereby a person with science credentials could get certified, but they will still have to complete, “Not less than 18 semester hours of course work to include work in each of the following areas: Adolescent Psychology, Secondary Methods, Measurements and Evaluation, Identification of and Service to Special Needs Students, Teaching of Reading in the Content Area, and [the dreaded] Foundations of Education.” Each?! (That last one alone will send any sane person screaming into the night.)
Try something like this: Create an intensive two-week program with the first week devoted to classroom management, curriculum planning and filling out lesson plans. The second week should be devoted to performing labs. Then into the classroom with supervision until they are confident. Could the results be any worse than the situation now?
For the last four months students at Alvarez High School have been taught physics by a social studies instructor who admits she knows nothing about physics. The Providence Superintendent of Schools Susan Lusi responded to this report, “At least we have a good teacher in the classroom.”