Teacher Certification

I was very fortunate that I was able to find the teaching job that I did, and my South Carolina certificate pretty much transferred over.  One thing that I needed to acquire was a certification for English Language learners.  There are a couple of different routes that I could take to gain this certification.  One, I can go the university route, which could cost $10,000+, or I could take three standardized tests that would cost me around $300.  Obviously, I tried option two first.  I took the three tests in early December, and will find out how I did on them January 14th. 

I feel fairly confident that I will pass at least one of the three sections, which is all I need to do this year.  I didn't study for the test like I needed to, but I did review a little, and I didn't think two of the sections were all that difficult.  Section two is the one I feel the least confident in, simply because I feel like what the website would be on the test, wasn't.  I felt like most of the questions had multiple right answers and was trying to get you to pick the correct teaching style.  The problem is, there is no correct teaching style.  What works for one teacher may not work for another.

The thing that I think is plaguing education the most for both teachers and for students, are standardize tests.  If I pass these three tests, (which I hope I did) I will have no more knowledge of how to best help English language learners, but I will have the necessary paperwork.  I think we lose so many potential quality teachers because of the certification hoops that you have to jump through.  None of these prove how good of a teacher you are.  None of these "test" how  you interact with your students, and yet, these are how teachers are continually judged.  Same with students.  These high stakes tests can often dictate their futures, without really allowing them to prove what they know. 

Hopefully, in January, I will find out that I successfully cleared another hoop, and then I can focus on truly meaningful professional development that would actually make me a better teacher.