[NLA] Certification, state-approval, and the AELS

[Awilderast@aol.com]

All:

I truly hesitate to enter this fray, but here goes.  This is my own 
experience and observation.

1)  I taught for 10 years in a private school without certification, it 
wasn't required.

2)  Then I got a master's in LD, also a certificate, this enabled me to teach 
in public schools and to teach in other states. I ended up in a 
Pakistan/American public school among other more local spots.

3)  After my doctorate I worked as a consultant to a principal in a middle 
school, and picked up a principal's certificate, too.

4)  Then I worked with over school age adolescents in court remand (I think 
that's the term), then to adult literacy.

Conclusions:

1)  In MA there is a fair amount of coordination between requirements and 
what might actually be useful in the classroom.

2)  I was never impeded in any way by my ed courses and internships, they 
helped me to my next positions.

3)  My core experience came from my first position at the private school, 
that taught me what was possible without certification.

4)  Now, that school is an official training site, state recognized, for 
teacher training and certification.  It accepts applicants for its teacher 
training course based on having a liberal arts degree and experience in the 
field.

5)  I think state certification is a good idea because it puts a floor under 
applicants.  It never hamstrung me from trying out what seemed best, so I 
would knock that argument out of the ring. 

6)  BUT there is Nancy with her volunteers, who she trains before they begin 
teaching, I assume they don't have certificates and wouldn't volunteer if 
certificates were required.     

7)  There may not be "one best way," there may be multiple ways.  My route 
was pragmatic, but I did learn a lot, and it opened up doors.   

8)  Education in this country has always been a public/private mix and it 
certainly is today.  This makes it messy.  

9)  If I wanted to give a billion dollars to adult education, I would find 
the best programs--most organized, goal directed, clear outcomes, and I would 
expand them.  I would also use some of those teachers/administrators to carry 
the news to other programs, or invite other teacher/adminstrators to serve 
apprenticeships and internships at the first batch of schools. Then I would 
focus on a couple of experimental schools that were struggling but looked 
promising.  Because I've only got a billion, I would figure out how to make 
the programs self-supporting after I left the scene via links to local, stte 
and fed authorities.  Because I know that women in our country are under 
appreciated and underpaid, I would insist (it's my billion) that equity and 
its realization be central to literacy programs.  

This scenario comes from my own experiential learning, there are probably 
other schemes that arise from the experiences of others.  Different 
experiences, different viewpoints.

Andrea
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