http://www.statenews.com A program proposed in April, which would give certain state residents the opportunity to become teachers with 15 credit hours, has students feeling skeptical of the program’s legitimacy. en-us Gryphon 2.2.3b-tsn (woodward)/Foundry5 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:06:22 -0400 webmaster@statenews.com http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41186 This program is based on a major flaw – “to make up for teacher shortages.” What teacher shortage? My wife is a teacher so I might hear and know more about this than the average person. But there is no teacher shortage in Michigan. With all the schools closing and teachers getting laid off, there is a shortage of teaching positions, not teachers. I’ve seen what my wife went through to get her teaching certification. I wouldn’t want someone teaching my child who couldn’t find a job somewhere else and decided to take 15 credits (one semester’s worth of classes) and become a teacher. NOT the same thing. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:23:01 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41186 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41294 Alternative certification routes are a great idea. The best science teacher I had switched careers after working as a chemist. He was knowledgable and had a passion for the subject. Most of the math teachers (all education majors) I had in school looked like they were going to fall asleep at the chalk board. I wish I had been taught math by an engineer. A degree in education is not a guarantee of a good teacher. You have to evaluate student performance. Homeschooling moms with high school degrees have demonstrated that certification is not linked to student performance. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:21:04 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41294 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41447 I think this program would be great. I am currently in my 3rd year working towards my mechanical engineering degree and it’s only because my high school physics teacher inspired me to. He was an engineer before he started teaching and always made the subjects so much more interesting than the book. He could relate everything in the book to real life stories he encountered in the field. He basically made everyone in my senior year physics class decide they wanted to become engineers after he took us to engineering competitions as field trips. He became a teacher because he said he needed more in life but I’m glad he was my teacher because he was so inspiring to listen to. I had friends who didn’t take physics but were naturally WAYY smarter than me and they entered college not knowing what they wanted to do because they didn’t know any professionals. I’d be really happy if my future children were taught by people who had previous professional experience before teaching. Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:41:58 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41447 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41623 Seriously? Certified after 15 hours? I want the thousands of dollars back that I spent at MSU taking all the courses I had to take to get my teaching degree. Furthermore —- Jason B is right —— NO ONE IS HIRING TEACHERS!!! I’ve been teaching for 25 years in Michigan and teaching jobs have been difficult to find in Michigan since 1980. The only districts hiring are in the inner city of Houston or out in the boondocks of New Mexico. Good Luck with all of that! Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:06:22 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41623