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Lauren McCollum

Lauren McCollum, Editorial Director
Lauren graduated from Princeton University with a major in English and has recently completed her coursework at NYU for an MFA in Creative Writing. Before joining TeachersCount, she worked as a freelance writer and veterinary technician in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in Poetry, Willard & Maple, and New Millennium Writings.

Teacher Certification

New York, August 8, 2006—In an informal online poll that ran during July and the beginning of August, visitors to TeachersCount.org were asked if they thought that teacher certification should be required for teaching in United States public schools. In total there were 539 respondents, 327 of whom described themselves as educators (61% of the total respondents).

Of all respondents, 76% strongly agreed that teacher certification should be required for teaching in U. S. public schools; 11% somewhat agreed; 8% had mixed feelings; 2% somewhat disagreed; 2% strongly disagreed; and 1% were unsure. Interestingly, educators and non-educators had an equal amount of mixed reactions. Of those who strongly agreed with mandatory teacher certification, 65% were educators and 35% were non-educators. 81% of educators overall strongly agreed with mandatory certification, while 67% of non-educators overall strongly agreed.

Responses to this poll came in from around the world. Respondents were invited to share their geographical location. This poll elicited responses from Singapore, Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah, Korea, the Phillipines and many places in between.

The poll invited respondents to comment, and many of them did. Below is a sampling of comments arranged by response:

Somewhat agree
  • “Anyone who has the desire to teach but maybe not the time or finances to attend a four year university should have an opportunity to follow their dreams.”
  • “Second career professionals should be allowed exemptions when teaching from the field they just exited. It seems burdonsome and needless to ask these gifted and learned people to jump through all the hoops that a new, fresh from school teacher has to jump through. Teaching these professionals some classroom management and teaching strategy skills should be enough to get their knowledge in the classrooms.”
  • “ The idea of keeping teachers accountable is good, but too much emphasis can be put on jumping through different hoops. Some requirements can take away from the teacher's time and hard-earned income, further penalizing them for doing the most important job there is--outside of being a parent.”
Mixed feelings
  • “I think that if they have a degree in the trade that they are teaching, then they should be able to teach. Who can educate students better than a future employer?”
  • “While there needs to be some way to determine if someone is qualified to teach, by having standards many people who might consider a career change towards teaching are disuaded by not having the requisite credentials. There needs to be a fast track credentialling system to capture, inspire and motivate folks who are interested in forging new careers in teaching.”
  • “This may be preventing strong candidates who are not typical of the traditional teacher profile from entering the profession.”
  • “I am changing careers to teaching from finance/accounting. I have a BA in psychology & an MBA. I easily passed the subject knowledge exam to get my temporary teaching certificate in FL. However, I still have much to learn and do to get my professional certificate. I believe my experience in the workplace (business management) does not automatically make me a good teacher. I am grateful to have the support of my co-workers and administrators during my first year teaching. As I work toward my professional certificate, I will now have experience both in and out of classroom as well as the coursework/training required by the State. Teaching is no simple task and should not be taken lightly. Certification is necessary.”
Somewhat disagree
  • “It is important to recognize the value of life experience in addition to higher education. With a Master's degree in Education, I am not qualified to teach in Missouri. Yet I have years of experience working with youth, advanced skills in technology, and a passion to guide the leaders of tomorrow.”
Strongly agree
  • “They should also be re-certified, like many other professionals, every 5-7 years..”
  • “We don't let attorneys practice without a license. Doctors can't operate without a license. Even hairdressers can't cut hair without a license. So why would we allow just anyone…to teach our most precious asset? ”
  • “Of course teachers should be certified! We should have some assurance that they not only know their subject matter, but also know HOW to teach it to students. Just because you know a lot about a particular topic does NOT mean you can successfully teach that to others.”
  • “There are still teachers in our system that are not certified to teach in the fields they are in. Having worked so hard for a degree, I feel that every teacher should be certified to do the best job possible.”
  • “Teachers need to be qualified to do their job. We are teaching children. We need to set the example of life-long learning by constantly training and retraining ourselves to be the best educators we can be.”
  • “I realize that there is a shortage of teachers, but too often teachers are taken for granted. Maybe a shortage is what is needed to allow teachers to start getting paid what their degree is worth!”
  • “I strongly agree, however the cost is outrageous. On top of this, if we move to another state we have to get certified in that state in order to be able to teach. It seems in some ways that this is just a way to get revenue for the Department of Education for each state. Could the certification process be all that different in each state?? I think not.”
  • “I think it is important to maintain high standards for teachers in order for teachers to be viewed as professionals and to be respected as such. When people are allowed to teach through an alternative program or other means and are not held to high standards it reduces the perceived professionalism of the teaching field.”
  • “I know that I would not want my child being taught by an individual who had not passed an exam, or series of exams, following an accredited program of study. I have known several people…who have taken our state education exams numerous times before finally passing certain tests (there are three required for elementary education). I realize that some adults, like some children, do not test well, however, there does need to be a level of accountability when the education of children is involved.”