This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I am disappointed by the recent ruling of the Utah Board of Education to allow people with no degree or training in education to become teachers. The board is supposed to uphold the value of education as the keystone of a healthy society that ensures an intelligent and productive citizenry. This ruling makes a farce of this duty.
This decision devalues the formal education of teachers, replacing these requirements with a single test. Research shows that evaluating a person based on a single test does not give an accurate measure of a person's ability. Mandating that a single test qualifies someone to teach infers it is only the test that is important — not the process of obtaining a high quality education.
State school Board members made this emergency decision in an attempt to mend Utah's severe shortage of teachers instead of addressing the real problems creating the lack of qualified applicants — low pay and unrealistic working conditions. This ruling will put even more pressure on career teachers, as we will have to pick up the slack of individuals who have been hired to teach but have no formal training necessary to inspire and manage 30-40 students.
This rule will only increase number of teachers who enter and then quickly leave this important but difficult profession. The board should require all teachers to have a high quality education before they enter the teaching profession. This, coupled with raising salaries and reducing class size, is the solution to the current teacher shortage.
Michele Jones
9th grade teacher, Salt Lake City