[NLA] Volunteers and credentials

Thu Jul 4 22:52:22 EDT 2002

IN response to Andres response to Kelly below, I have to say I agree with 
you. Andres. I'm in much the same situation you are. I teach computer 
literacy skills to TANF recipients. I've been using Word, Excel, and 
PowerPoint for the past 8 years and am MOUS certified in all three. 
However, because I do not hold a Masters degree in Business Education or 
Information Technology, I do not qualify to be a full-time instructor at 
the local Technical College (even though I'm a contract employee through 
the same TC teaching in the New Connections to Work program.) By the same 
token, I could not go into my daughter's middle school and teach technology 
or computer literacy because I lack the required middle grades 
certification. To acquire it, I'd need 48 hours of Education credit and the 
PRAXIS I and II. All that despite the fact that I'm currently 12 hours away 
from having a Master of Education in Instructional Design. Way too much 
specialization if you ask me. Prior to taking the position I hold now, I 
worked for a University as a Publication Specialist. I wrote tutorials and 
documentation for computer use for the campus community. In addition, I 
taught multimedia, web design, and basic office software to faculty & 
staff.  However without the appropriate credentials (the certificate or 
degree), none of my experience seems to count for much.

I have looked at taking the PRAXIS II exam for technology education. I was 
appalled to find that under the guise of technology fall subjects such as 
construction. It's no wonder to me that the current Tech teachers at the 
middle school my daughter attends have very little applicable knowledge of 
the software their supposed to be teaching when they are expected to be 
jacks-of-all-trades, masters of none. I'd much rather have someone with 
years of real world experience under the belt teaching my child than 
someone who only has the education theory and pedagogy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking K-12 teachers in general. I am 
knocking the system that lumps construction, horticultural, and computer 
technology into a group together. I must believe in the system to some 
extent, or at least be willing to work within it, because I've already 
started pursuit of a second Masters degree in Information Technology to 
allow me to teach fulltime. My plans past that include a Ph.D. in Adult 
Education.

One irony in all of this is that in the New Connections program we aim to 
help our clients gain the skills they need to acquire self-sustaining 
employment. By definition self-sustaining employment provides benefits, 
fulltime hours, and a salary of $30k or greater annually. According to that 
definition, as an instructor in the program, I am NOT employed in 
self-sustaining work. I receive no benefits, am limited to working 19 hours 
or less per week, and you can figure the salary for those hours is 
substantially less than $30k. Were it not for a husband who helps pay the 
bills, I could not do what I love. I consider myself a volunteer. I left a 
full-time job with benefits to make a difference and do what I love - 
teach. I don't think having Adult Education certification (or k-12 for that 
matter) would make me any better as an instructor.

-just my thoughts

Robin

At 03:23 PM 7/4/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi Kelly:
>
>In the USA, to teach k-12 and in most ABE programs you need to possess 
>teaching credentials. A teaching credential is a state certification from 
>a teachers ed program. This would usually entitle people to teach. To be a 
>principal of k-12 people need to get an k-12 administrator's certificate. 
>I don't have any of this so technically, I would probably not be able to 
>teach or administer a k-12 program with the current requirements, and if 
>we create an ABE certificate, I would probably not be able to work in ABE. 
>The irony is that I probably have more knowledge of education and ed 
>admin. than two thirds of the ed professionals in this country with or w/o 
>credentials. I am not being conceited, but I have spent an extraordinary 
>amount of time money studying and doing applied work in education. Because 
>I have done this on my own, I have not been tied to some program's 
>requirements of what I need to learn to be an educator.
>
>Regarding the disparaging of Ph.Ds, I can give you and easy example, that 
>I have been using lately, since you are at Harvard. There is a saying in 
>Latin that says: "lo que nature non da, salamanca non presta" (not sure if 
>I spelled it correctly). This means: what nature does not give you, 
>salamanca, (or harvard) won't loan you. going to the Harvard example we 
>have the president of the most prestigious educational isntitution on 
>earth. presumably, his title and education should have given him extensive 
>knowledge and brilliant intellectual abilities. Now, I only have a 
>master's degree at UTEP and do not carry the credential of "very smart" 
>that a Ph.D., or an academic position at harvard would give me. However, 
>w/o any muy "macho" credentials I "know" that cornel West is a brilliant 
>mind and a significant academician, cultural researcher. I also know that 
>there are a lot of other professors at Harvard that are way more mediocre 
>than Cornel West.  Essentially, I am arguing that a person can have Ph.D. 
>and be the president of Harvard and still will not know or understand 
>certain things that I would think should be known to people with that 
>level of education. This is one of many examples that I can come up with. 
>Problem is that Ph.Ds specialize people in one small area at the expense 
>of other knowledge. so, in addition to people becoming invested in a 
>paradigm,  people's minds get narrow not broad. The scientist that works 
>in the lab does not take any responsibility for the bombs that are killing 
>millions of people in afghanistan. The Ph.D. compartmentalizes people's 
>minds so that they will not have to feel responsible for anything outside 
>of his/her compartment.
>
>Andres
>
>
>In a message dated 7/4/2002 12:43:14 PM Mountain Daylight Time, 
>bruceke at gse.harvard.edu writes:
>>Andres,
>>
>>Although I recognize the tongue-in-cheek nature of your most recent post, I
>>have a couple of questions for you.  First, you wrote: "I don't have a
>>single official entitlement that credentials me to administer or teach at
>>an adult education program or the K-12 system."  Your terms confuse me.  In
>>the context of this thread, what is an "official entitlement?"  Do you mean
>>a college degree?  Do you mean a certification?  (They are, of course,
>>different things.)
>>
>>Second, why disparage the Ph.D?-and, by extension, any formally-obtained
>>degree, though I am inferring this last part, and you can certainly correct
>>me if it is only the doctorate that is the target of your ire.  Diploma
>>mills have been around since, I assume, the first person paid tuition.
>>Tomorrow, I can pay $99.95 and receive in the mail next week a piece of
>>paper saying I have earned a B.A., M.A., and doctorate from the University
>>of Southern Utopia.  That's nothing new, though much more expensive than
>>your penny.
>>
>>I love irreverence and gentle mockery, and if that alone was your point,
>>fine; I shall lighten up.  At the same time, and in the context of this
>>discussion thread, if your larger point was that we ought not to require
>>any of our ABE teachers to have degrees because that just means that they
>>have been indoctrinated instead of having learned anything, well, then
>>that's an argument that we can all take up.  If you do feel this way about
>>formal education credentials, what in the world do you do when a learner
>>tells you he or she dreams of earning a college degree?
>>
>>Cheers,
>>Kelly
>>
>>
>>Kelly Bruce
>>National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
>>Harvard University Graduate School of Education
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>
>
>andresmuro at aol.com
>Visit my art webpage at: http://www.geocities.com/andresmuro/artwork.html

Robin Witcher
What does not destroy me, makes me strong.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

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