The problem was that the federal government stuck its nose in the locality’s business. We in Virginia had a solution to a problem that worked failry well. The federal government forced a change in the rules during the middle of the game. They also made creative solutions to real problems nearly impossible. Our school system would have been literally punished keeping me on, and could have risked federal funding if they had too many teachers on an alternative route. That made such an option not really much of an option any more.

Yes. Follow the rules. But bitching about the rules because they are stupid is a God-given, and very American right and past-time.

I now have a Ph.D. in physics. I study physics education and pedagogy for a living. I’m slowly becoming an expert in scientific reasoning and teaching physics to non-science majors (like those you would find in a high school.) I conduct workshops with elementary and middle school teachers on teaching techniques in physical science. All of that said, I’m still not “qualified” to teach physics at the local high school.

http://blamp.com/blog/2006/04/kips-law-sighting-michigan-education.html

Although I point out that money is not the fundemental issue. For me, freedom is the most important issue. I liked teaching because of the freedom I had. I get paid almost nothing to do research right now. But I have freedom. I get to play with ideas. I get to build things. I get to discover and explore. And when this gig is up, I’ll most likely go back to teaching, either at a private school or by starting my own private school.

I really think because of the said “hoops” that you have to jump through to teach, it really ruins the quality of the teachers we have. Personally, I’m now wondering if the reason 3 of the best teachers we had at our school quit because of these regulations (one of which being a PhD.) I notice the replacement for the computer science teacher isn’t even a computer science or math major. Why? I doubt it’s because an English major with no prior experience in programming was the most qualified man they could find to teach outside of these regulations.

Even worse than what we’re seeing right before our eyes is the effects that these changes will have in 1-10 years when these are the students out competing in the real world. I think it is having a huge negative effect outside of highschool as well, and not just because kids got only half an education in a public school.

A note to those I taught at St. Catherines: Leaving was the hardest decision I have had to make in a long while. Right now we would be through with nasty vectors and I would probably be taking a pounding in the stomach with a sledge hammer. I miss that.