I had the privilege of helping a teacher prepare for The
National Board certification. It reminded me of my school districts portfolio
requirements. At one point in time we
were required to submit a portfolio which demonstrates teaching ability, growth
of student learning, and connections to the school community. The various areas presented with the
portfolio entry, also coincides with TKES. I learned that the process is
rigorous, but it is simply your ability to show the high level of teaching and
learning which is taking place within the classroom. For the Early Childhood/Generalist standards,
there are a variety of areas which you can demonstrate content knowledge that
is appropriate to an early childhood setting.
I learned that the National Board Certification process allows for you
to find a field and certification type which best accompanies your teaching
practice. I am always interested to
learn how teacher certification processes are created and out of what
turmoil. During my reading of the
history on The National Board for Teaching Professional Standards (2011) I
leaned that “The task force’s final report — A Nation Prepared: Teachers for
the 21st Century — released on May 15, 1986, called for the creation of a board
to “define what teachers should know and be able to do” and “support the
creation of rigorous, valid assessments to see that certified teachers do meet
those standards.” It did not surprise me that the need for a new certification
process was developed from the idea that teachers were not well equip to teach,
even though they were already certified.
Teacher certification seems to be closely tied to economic conditions and political discourse. When there was more money in the state budget for education, there were was support of National Board Certification. When there was political discourse on colleges of education student's grades and SAT scores, colleges of education raised admission requirements. New requirements like edTPA also became mandatory.
ReplyDeleteSherelle,
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you the last time I heard of someone wanting to become National Board Certified. In fact is has been so long since I've heard someone mention it that I actually thought it no longer existed. It used to be such an professional goal for many teachers to achieve, but I always questioned if it really promoted teacher quality or just another avenue for more money?