Chancellor stresses teacher training

Reed emphasizes a better teaching system

By Alison Young, On-Line Forty-Niner

Monday, August 24, 1998

There is an immediate need for California State Universities to produce more well-trained teachers, Chancellor Charles Reed said at Wednesday's luncheon on teacher education.

It is the teachers, Reed said, not the parents, school location or class size, that determine a student's reading, writing and math abilities. The teacher education program at Cal State Long Beach has remained in the top four for the past five years in the CSU system and makes up 7 percent of the state's teachers with credentials.

One solution in training more and better teachers is to develop a more accountable and efficient system. One way to increase accountability would be to instill a five- to six-day a week schedule that would include working summers for faculty and staff, Reed said.

Reed's vision of a year-round schedule would entail a pay increase for faculty and staff and would require students to attend school January through December.

"I want to do that [a year-round schedule], and I want Sacramento to fund it," he said.

California is currently in high demand of certified teachers because of the initiative to reduce class sizes to a 20-1 ratio. The CSU system needs to offer a reasonable alternative to a teaching certificate.

"Currently, it is easier to become a doctor in California than a teacher," Reed said.

"I am convinced we can certify high quality teachers in four and a half years," Reed said. Currently, the average time it takes to acquire a teaching certificate is a minimum of five years.

As for longevity, teachers do not have the best track record. Within three years, 50 percent of California's teachers quit, Reed said.

"If we can get new teachers to stay beyond that three years, we can make some headway," Reed said.

For new teachers the first few years can be the hardest, Reed said. Teachers should gradually gain classroom experience, rather than be thrown into a full-time schedule with minimal pay.

"We are in need of a more support-based system for first and second year teachers," Reed said. If CSU had experienced teachers on call to answer questions and aid rookies, more teachers may remain intact after the first three years, he said.

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