[PapaBear3625]

I have a good friend who attended West Point, served 6 years in the Army, then worked as an electrical engineer in the electronics industry for a few years. She woke up one day and decided she wanted to teach, here in Florida. State authorities didn’t think much of the idea since she had not been “indoctrinated” by a university to become a teacher. Never the less, she took their required courses and was soon certified to teach multiple subjects. A middle school quickly picked her up, probably because she could fill any position, unlike some of her “peers” who taught subjects for years without being certified in them. Anyway, she’s been teaching for about 8 years now. I wish our kids had more teachers like her.

I would love to see more former-military teachers. Officers and NCOs spend much of their time teaching complex skills to young recruits, and that experience could be used in the schools.

As for the "uncertified" teachers you mention: I would like make teachers have to take the SAT Subject Test for each subject they teach, with failure to score at the 75th percentile (or better) being grounds for dismissal.

[cripplecreek]

After walking on the moon, Neil Armstrong went into teaching.

[cyclotic]

Sounds like my brother. He was a robotics engineer who decided to teach instead. He had to take all sorts of remedial classes, way below his level of knowledge to qualify for the right to teach. It was insane. He’s in Michigan and I fear he’s slightly sipping the kool-aid.