FW: Bill boosts standards for teachers

[Sean Obrien <sobrien@columbus.rr.com>]

Local/State 
Bill boosts standards for teachers
Ohio rules follow federal mandate; future educators say creativity stifled
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Andrew Welsh - Huggins
ASSOCIATED PRESS 




Teacher-in-training Lisa Rose is worried that increasing state standards
will stifle her classroom creativity.

Yesterday, Gov. Bob Taft used Rose¹s classroom as a backdrop to sign a bill
adding new standards for improving the quality of Ohio teachers.

"This is about providing all students with high-quality teachers," Taft
said, addressing a class of 34 Ohio State University education students.
Most are seniors hoping to graduate, become certified and teach elementary
or middle school. 

The bill raises standards using recommendations from a committee Taft
convened three years ago.

The bill, which becomes law in 90 days, will create a board of teachers,
administrators and professors that will develop new standards for educators.

The bill also requires the state school board to develop guidelines for
districts to better evaluate teachers, including regular reviews and clear
expectations for professional development.

It also requires that districts receiving federal money employ "highly
qualified teachers" in core academic subjects such as English and math by
the 2005-06 school year.

That coordinates Ohio law with requirements from the 2002 federal No Child
Left Behind law. Highly qualified teachers must be college graduates, be
fully state-certified and must have passed the state teacherlicensing test.

The new standards mean rethinking how Ohio trains its teachers, said Susan
Tave Zelman, state schools superintendent.

"Educators need to know subject matter, they need to know how to teach
subject matter, they need to know how to have good relationships with their
colleagues," Zelman said. "They need to understand how to have high
expectations for students."

Rose, 21, of Sandusky, plans to teach elementary school after getting
certified next year.

"We¹re all a little worried about teaching to standards," said Rose,
referring to stricter academic standards for students. "There¹s not much
room for creativity anymore. That¹s frustrating."

So much of schools¹ curriculum is geared toward tests that it leaves little
room for new teaching methods, said Joe Waltman, who plans to be a
middleschool math teacher.

"I¹ve heard from friends who get into the classroom with new ideas they want
to try and they¹re stuck," said Waltman, 23, of Zanesville.

Aspiring teachers must balance the demands of new standards on students and
themselves with the need to make school a welcoming place, said Lesley
Colabucci, an Ohio State education graduate student who teaches the class
Taft visited. 

"There are always creative ways to meet the standards," Colabucci said.

Senate Education Chairman Bob Gardner said the need for tougher standards
arose after Ohio businesses raised concerns about a poorly educated work
force. 

"Statistically, if a child does not have a well-qualified, highly educated
teacher for three years in a row, that child is definitely going to fail,
regardless of socioeconomic status," said Gardner, a Madison Republican.


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