Teachers deserve respect, development

In a year that has seen teacher strikes across the nation and record numbers of teachers running for elected office in November, we marked World Teacher Day Oct. 5 with a sober view of the depth of the challenges facing educators in America today. It should serve as a clarion call for policymakers and leaders - at the federal, state and local levels - who believe that a sound education is an essential building block for both individual success and a vibrant society. Teaching isn't just a job - it is a highly skilled and expert profession. Like medicine, law and many others, we should value it and our effective teachers that way.

One wouldn't give a complex surgical case to a medical intern, nor a major legal proceeding to a novice attorney without guidance and coaching, but that is what we frequently do with novice teachers. To become effective and develop expertise in the classroom, they need not only initial training, but also repeated practice, professional development, and opportunities for feedback.

Teaching requires not only deep knowledge of content and sophisticated pedagogical skill, but also being hugely sensitive to the needs and context of individual children. This presents a daunting set of challenges, but we ask our teachers to rise to it every single day.

Colleges of education play a pivotal role in preparing classroom-ready teachers. But to make teaching the valued profession it deserves to be requires far more investment, focus and leadership than we as a nation have been able to muster. Aren't our children worth the investment?

Robert D. Muller, Dean, National College of Education

National Louis University

Wheeling