cranberry on professional development

When I hear, "improving teacher quality," I don't think, "why, more teacher development courses are the way to go!" I think, prune the deadwood, and hire people who can spell, write, think, and have a thorough knowledge of their subject areas. Union contracts don't allow this, of course.

Doctors and lawyers are subject to stringent licensing standards, much more demanding than teacher licensing exams. In order to be accepted to medical school and law schools, candidates must score acceptably on the LMAT or GMAT exams. After their strenuous professional schools, they must either pass the bar exam, or the medical board exams.

As a consequence of professional misconduct, doctors can have their license revoked, and lawyers can be disbarred. This happens upon the basis of duly investigated complaints, on the authority of independent boards.

Measures such as the medical and legal professions have chosen to live under would go a long way towards "improving teacher quality."

By the way, for both doctors and lawyers, the required professional development happens on their own time. Due to the structure of professional partnerships, every day spent in training is a day they're not making money.