Harvard doctor not qualified to teach

by Kristin Darguzas (Subscribe to Kristin Darguzas's posts) Oct 12th 2006 11:30AM

Jefferd Huyck was a teacher at Pacific Collegiate, a charter school in California. Despite a doctorate from Harvard and 22 years of teaching in high school and college, and despite numerous awards by his Latin students, he was not considered "highly qualified" to teach by California officials.

Education decision makers in that state have interpreted the No Child Left Behind law to require that every teacher complete a certification program geared two beginners that lasts two and a half years and costs about $ 15,000.00.

Rather than submit to what Mr. Huyck deemed an expensive, time-consuming indignity, he resigned his job at the school to teach at a private facility. I can't say I blame him.

Advocates of the certification program say that teachers with doctorates and instructional college experience should not be immune to the pre-requisite course demanded by the NCLB law, noting that accomplished teachers "need to learn how to work with children in immigrant families who have limited English skills and students being moved from special education classes to regular ones."

I would feel privileged if Nolan had a Harvard educated teacher at his public school, and I believe there must be some kind of exceptions possible here. What do you think?

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Comments (12)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Wally' dad 10-12-2006 @ 11:59AM

I don't think simply having Harvard listed on the ol' sheepskin should be an automatic pass on the certification. Neither should 22 years of teaching. If anyone should be used to "red tape" it would be an educator.

I'd also like to add that if we should be re-testing senior drivers for their license, shouldn't we be re-certifying teachers after a certain time period as well. This is our kids we're talking about here. There should also be a mandatory background check every 5 years, at least, to make sure the people we're entrusting our children with haven't been hiding something from us.

Michelle 10-12-2006 @ 12:20PM

Everyone has to go through the process. Teaching at a university is much different than teaching public school children. He'd just get to start much higher on the salary schedule with his advanced credit hours. And the cost of $15,000? Well, maybe he could do it in more time and pay less at a public university. The $15,000 figure sounds like the tuition from a teacher diploma factory.

As far as being re-certified? Well, teachers have to take continuing ed classes to renew their credentials (at least here in California). I agree on the background check business.

Franni 10-12-2006 @ 12:38PM

The teacher being discussed here was teaching at a charter school and not a university. I don't think most teacher would have a problem with continuing ed classes but at the cost of $15K. How much do you think teachers make?

I am all for recertification every few number of years and background checks at the same time. How does one recertify teachers? Test them? # of continuing ed classes attended? As for "classes" they have the same requirement of doctors but what ends up happening is a big sales pitch opportunity for pharmas pushing their drugs.

There are no easy answers here.

HG 10-12-2006 @ 12:40PM

Here's a vote for the other side. It's a travesty that the "certification" causes this kind of problem. I've known plenty of "certified" teachers who can't teach for crap. I know plenty of "uncertified" teachers who are fantastic at what they teach and I'm not afraid to admit that I am one of them (I teach on the collegiate level too - 18 year old freshman currently, rather than 18 year old seniors - oooh the difference ).

I started on the teaching track in my undergrad days and decided that I didn't want to waste credit hours and money on the education courses that I had to take for certification. But I also think that you can't teach someone how to teach.

Franni 10-12-2006 @ 12:43PM

After reading the article fully, this is the reason for my objection. Does certification in this manner really present any benefit for the teacher and the student.

"Mr. Huyck had watched his wife, Sarah Whittier, also a faculty member at Pacific Collegiate, plod through a certification course. At the age of 53, after receiving a doctorate in English literature and winning a statewide award for excellence in teaching — both at the University of California, Santa Cruz — she was racing most afternoons straight from Pacific Collegiate to teacher-certification classes 90 minutes away in the Monterey area. There, seated among classmates in their early 20’s, some of them headed for positions in elementary school, she received lessons in such topics as writing a lesson plan and maintaining classroom order.

“To me, it’s a badge of shame,” she said of the teaching certification. “It’s an embarrassment. It’s infantilizing.”

Having witnessed his wife’s humiliation, Mr. Huyck decided to leave Pacific Collegiate rather than comply with California’s requirements under the federal law. Going against his characteristic modesty, he also made certain that people around the school knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. “I wanted my position to be known,” he said in an interview. “I think knowledge in this case inspires indignation.”

CONNIE TCHIR has stayed at Pacific Collegiate as a Spanish teacher, but she shared that indignation. She is taking 17 hours of teacher-certification classes every week, even though she has a joint doctorate in Spanish literature and women’s studies, and a dozen years on college and high school faculties.

Those 17 hours, and the time she spends commuting and doing assignments, have come at the expense of her commitment to her Pacific Collegiate students. She gets up at 4 a.m. on weekdays to catch up on their work, and even so, she said, she does not have the detailed sense of each student’s skills and progress that she always had in the past. She has given up the after-school tutoring she used to provide and the extra field trips to Spanish-language films and Day of the Dead celebrations."

Kimberly 10-12-2006 @ 3:06PM

I'm all for certification. I'm actually impressed that there are places in the States that require it. Here in Ontario a university degree isn't enough, no matter how fancy a university it is. You also have to obtain a second degree specifically in education, and then become certified by the college of teachers in order to legally teach. And I'm ok with that.

I think in this case they could have looked at each individual case for veteren teachers and made decisions accordingly, but I think certification is a great idea. I've known quite a few Ph.ds who couldn't teach at all. The fanciness of the lambskin and the string of letters after the name is not what makes a good teacher.

(Oh, we have to complete a criminal reference check annually, btw.)

Phc 10-12-2006 @ 5:22PM

Here is the problem:

Ask any teacher how much they gained from their certification process, and the answer is close to nothing. Certification does not make someone a good teacher. Once someone with some actual power can figure that out, we are going to be a lot better off.

I also agree that just because someone goes to Harvard does not make them a good teacher. Obtaining knowledge and distributing knowledge are different skills.

Brian 10-12-2006 @ 10:29PM

Sorry, Mr. Vila, you can't teach shop class. Ms. Ray, that goes for you and home ec. Mr. Paterno, you won't be coaching the football team until you pass the necessary background check/diversity training/anger management/first aid/group hugging courses. No dice on the physics-teacher opening for you, Mr. Hawking...

Kimberly 10-13-2006 @ 9:37AM

"Sorry, Mr. Vila, you can't teach shop class. Ms. Ray, that goes for you and home ec. Mr. Paterno, you won't be coaching the football team until you pass the necessary background check/diversity training/anger management/first aid/group hugging courses. No dice on the physics-teacher opening for you, Mr. Hawking..."

Brian, I realize you meant that as a mocking statement, but you've hit on something important. Yes, those people all have great skills. And they seem to be excellent teachers. When they have no actual students requiring their attention in front of them, no curricula but their own to follow, people who are willing and eager to absorb the information and skills they are offering....essentially, not really a realistic classroom setting.

That whole "necessary background check/diversity training/anger management/first aid/group hugging courses" that you mock, *is* important. I sure as hell don't want anyone interacting with my child who hasn't undergone a criminal record check. And given the ugly nature of the racial issues that plague today's school, combimed with an ethnically diverse population that is still being education by a largely white middle class, yeah, I'd say diversity training is pretty important. Students from different ethnic backgrounds learn differently. If you don't understand that, and know how to work with it, you will not be the most successful teacher Jose or Pawel or Billy ever had. Anger management? Maybe not. But knowing how to manage a classroom is key. 30+ different learning styles, home backgrounds, ability levels, and motivational levels is a drastically different situation than the "Perfect Pupil" conceit that drives the "teaching" of a Bob Vila or Rachel Ray. And the "'group hugging"? Sometimes that is the most important part of a teacher's day. Because we do more than simply program information into young brains. We provide support, encouragement, a safe place to figure out who you are, a positive role model for a good human being who finds value in those around us....

The simple fact is that teachers have specialized skills. And they're not all focussed around subject matter. Knowing stuff, and being able to teach it, under any circumstances, are two different things.

Amy 10-14-2006 @ 9:04PM

The music teacher in my school is passionate about the kids, loves teaching, is honored and respected by the community and the governor, won a Grammy award last year--and is not "Highly Qualified." There is nothing wrong with holding professionals to high standards, but when the measurement tools to determine if a teacher is qualified or not are so terribly flawed, then it's time to reevaluate the system.

High School Teacher 10-16-2006 @ 4:07AM

H.G., Franni, Phc and Amy all "hit the nail on the head." They're right. “Certification” can't and won't make someone a good teacher. I currently work with a few “certified” teachers who act more like immature idiots. I’m sure most parents (if they knew what these people were really like) would NOT want them teaching their kids.

I, too, believe that you can't teach someone how to really teach. Think back to a teacher in your own life who stood out and managed to capture your attention. Chances are they were not “taught” that unique and rare trait. One can learn techniques and pass a required class. But, that doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to apply those techniques in a way that will reach children.

As a teacher (in California) who is in a similar situation, I believe that the re-certification and "highly qualified" issue is nothing more than a way to make it seem as if something is actually being done to reform the U.S. public education system. To make things worse, many of us teachers have to pay for these classes out of our own pockets which aren't very deep to begin with.

I believe that it's going to get to a point where no one will want to teach. Why? Because of unreasonable expectations, government pressure in the form of the NCLB Act, increasing violence and disrespect in schools . . . . all topped off with low pay. There have been several articles published on the declining number of students entering education programs as well as the number of teachers who opt out of the field within a few years. I truly believe that at some point there will be a teacher shortage equivalent to what is occurring and expected to occur in the nursing field.

I now understand why my mother (who earned a Master’s degree and taught for nearly 30 years before retiring) never wanted me to enter the profession. She stated shortly before retiring that “teaching isn’t the same.” She was an excellent teacher who was regularly featured in the local newspaper regarding her class projects and the positive impact that she had on her students. She still says that she misses teaching. She simply loathed the bureaucracy of it all.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for keeping up with and learning the latest in the field. All teachers do that through mandatory workshops and “In-Service trainings” that are held several times within the school year and during the summer. I think it’s essential to most careers and I can say that I’ve learned a lot during those workshops/training sessions. However what the state of California is requiring is equal to earning another degree. And, don’t teach multiple subjects in Special Ed. That’s another troubling issue. Add to that all the money spent on classes, books and passing tests such as the CSET and RICA . . . it’s mentally, physically and financially exhausting!

Mom, I now understand. (I’m sure she would love to hear that!)

Jamal El-Rafih 10-22-2006 @ 1:08AM

I am like the doctor. I am not qualified to be the principal of Almadina, however I lied to myself and everybody else and cheated to chair this position. Everything is justified when you can cheat and lie to get something. Everybody is so stupid because i have out smarted everyone, except for myself.

Thank you for listening becasue I can't tell this to anyone else.

Sincerely,

LieingCheating Principal

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