DeSoto teacher job fair draws over 250 applicants

Did they interview for actual vacancies or was it more of a meet and greet? Also was it open to the public so just anyone could walk in off the street without proof of certification?

Probably both. A job fair is one way of building the pool for applicants. DeSoto doesn't struggle with vacancies with the rate they pay. However, you need to look at the big picture if you are considering a job change.

The way the State is touting the alternative certification, what does certification mean anyway. At one time when you went into the classroom you had classroom management skills, had a half semester of student teaching under the guidance of an experienced teacher trained to coach student teachers. You had a four year degree preparing you to teach.

Now you can get your masters degree and your are dubbed TEACHER. With that master's degree you do NOT attend any sort of education on how to manage a classroom or class. Not hard you say? Step into one of our open enrollment schools and sub for a week with 28-30 of those little darlings in one class. You will get a new appreciation for teachers. School now isn't what you remember.

The State is creating a monster with that situation. Instead of addressing the issue as to why we don't have people going into education, they just did a work around. We know what the problem is, but we can't afford to fix it. Anyone can teach, right?

Truth wrote:

. Instead of addressing the issue as to why we don't have people going into education, they just did a work around. We know what the problem is, but we can't afford to fix it. Anyone can teach, right?

What?! I thought teachers were modern day robber barons living high off the hog of our tax dollars! Has Scott Walker and the rest of the right wing noise machine lied to me or is teaching in public schools really a thankless job that pays a wage on which you can live but never really retire and often need to get a second job just to pay the bills?

Truth wrote:

Probably both. A job fair is one way of building the pool for applicants. DeSoto doesn't struggle with vacancies with the rate they pay. However, you need to look at the big picture if you are considering a job change.

The way the State is touting the alternative certification, what does certification mean anyway. At one time when you went into the classroom you had classroom management skills, had a half semester of student teaching under the guidance of an experienced teacher trained to coach student teachers. You had a four year degree preparing you to teach.

Now you can get your masters degree and your are dubbed TEACHER. With that master's degree you do NOT attend any sort of education on how to manage a classroom or class. Not hard you say? Step into one of our open enrollment schools and sub for a week with 28-30 of those little darlings in one class. You will get a new appreciation for teachers. School now isn't what you remember.

The State is creating a monster with that situation. Instead of addressing the issue as to why we don't have people going into education, they just did a work around. We know what the problem is, but we can't afford to fix it. Anyone can teach, right?

Actually I was asking because I am in charge of a job fair for a parish in the southern part of the state and was curious as to how other parishes operate. Our fair is by invitation only & we hire for actual vacancies for the next school year.

Unfortunately I see alternative certification fail often. However there are few teachers that are a product of that program and are fantastic. A lot of it depends on the type of program the university runs. Trust me, I could tell you which programs are better than others. Also, the state recently passed a new requirement that an individual must have 80 hours of classroom experience before they can be eligible to hold a Practioners License (temp license that will allow you to teach while completing certification requirements) if they are pursuing only certification and not a Masters degree.