Many Teachers Can't Get Certified?

Question

I don't believe that passing a state exam(s) can make a teacher anymore than going to McDonalds can make anyone a hamburger. However, state exams get more complicated and more expensive as the years go by.

Now, what is your view of people who want to teach full-time but cannot pass certification exams even if their life depends on earning a state license? I personally know people who have a Master's Degree in different fields of study but are not certified because they cannot pass the NY State Teacher Certification Exams.

I personally do not want a teacher in the classroom teaching my son how to read and do basic math if he or she is struggling to pass state exams, which are not easy but at the same time, not impossible to pass.

What is your view of people who want to teach full-time, call themselves teachers but cannot pass state exams?

Your view?

Answer 1

56 year old recently retired elem teacher here who had the highest test score in elem every year in classes and students still come to see me over and over. I graduated from OSU in 1973 when the focus was "can you touch a child, can they understand you, do you love them, etc." We spend many hours in the real elem classroom with the kids to see if we "matched" and blessed them. These tests are so so so so anal and are driving the good teachers out of teaching.
But this is the way of society now, speciliaze to the max and merit pay is idiotic because the ones in my building over and over that got teacher kudos were the kiss butts to the principals and that is who will get the merit pay but my heart is full and happy now because I gave the students what they needed, I empowered their God given gifts for success, and that is why they still love me. I am very smart,but these anal tests are just that.:very very anal especially for elem and middle school teachers certification If you want nurturance and a good education for your child and are finding this testing a problem find a very very good private school but be very astute in watching uncertified teachers, they can be the best or the worst and cover it up, but love of children is how children operate as long as the teacher teaches them the academics they will need for their future and the ones that match their gifts :)

Answer 2

That's where it all begins. Becoming a great teacher requires practice, time in the classroom, and ongoing continuing education.
Becoming a teacher in the first place requires passing a state exam.
I would not trust a teacher who could not pass her state exams anymore than I would trust a doctor who could not pass his state boards.

**EDIT**
The other side of the coin is something that I have seen too often. That is, people who want the prestige of being a teacher, but who haven't the faintest idea how to deal with multiple intelligences in the classroom. I have seen some seriously sad situations where someone who "wanted to teach full-time," taught her students as though they were her own kids. That works fine when all your students come from households that instilled the same values you did in your kids. It doesn't work when you consider laws that apply to various situations.
Case in point... a kid picked a fight... ended up getting his head banged against a locker... caused an egg-sized bump on the kid's head. The teacher wannabe, decided that, since he picked the fight, he deserved the bump and that since he walked away, he was ok. Then she was surprised when the parents made a big, ugly stink about it the next day.
Well, the law in schools is this, ANY bump to the head requires parent notification immediately. It is not up to the teacher to decide whether the bump is an emergency or not.