Certification: Something of Value? by Bernier Mayo, Headmaster of St. Johnsbury Academy "...certification and licensure have nothing to do with competence in the classroom or quality of instruction. Now, depressingly, they serve more often to bar the door of the classroom to exciting, potentially excellent teachers." also by Bernier Mayo: The Vermont Education Association Unmasked (12/17/99) Over the past three weeks, I have read dozens of letters-to-the-editor in statewide newspapers addressing the issue of whether Bill Corrow, a volunteer and an expert in social studies, should be allowed to continue teaching a social studies course in a Vermont public school in face of the facts that he is unpaid and not certified. A third of the letters were from Vermonters who are very upset that the Vermont Education Association (VEA) has filed a grievance against Mr. Corrow, claiming that his lack of certification disqualifies him from teaching and demanding financial penalties for the district's allowing him to teach without compensation. Two thirds were from members of the VEA, or from their apologists, asserting with righteous zeal that the VEA is only protecting Vermont from unqualified teachers. One went so far as to bray that we ought to thank God for the VEA and its willingness to stand militant at the gate against teacher-pretenders. Jay Craven couldn't teach filmmaking; John Hall couldn't teach municipal government; and Graham Newell couldn't teach Latin. Dale Wells couldn't teach construction trades or project management; Caroline DeMaio couldn't teach small business management; Bobby Kourkoulis couldn't teach culinary arts; and B.J. Murphy couldn't teach entrepreneurship. Rosalie Harris couldn't teach citizenship; Lisa Von Kahn couldn't teach library science; Rick Gagnon couldn't teach sports medicine; John Stetson couldn't teach animal care, nor could Sally or Craig Calamaio. Jay Sprout, Joe Lively, and Mel Richardson couldn't teach comparative religions; I couldn't teach English; and Judy Kelley couldn't teach history. | |
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