Teacher: If I were Bill Gates (here’s how I would help improve the profession)

02-14-2011

Guest blog by Susan Engel/Washington Post

If I were Bill Gates (or someone like him) here is what I would do: I would endow several of the best colleges and universities to create a new kind of teacher education program. Entrance to these programs would require good grades from a liberal arts institution (it’s hard to be a good teacher if you yourself are not well educated), a well written and lively essay, and an intensive interview. The goal would be to attract ambitious, smart, thoughtful people, who demonstrate some of the interpersonal qualities essential to good teaching: comfort and ease with others, a genuine love of kids, and confidence in one’s own capacities. Programs in clinical psychology know that interviews matter when you are selecting people whose work depends on connecting with others. Programs in teaching should borrow this notion. (more...)

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Teacher: If I were Bill Gates (here’s how I would help improve the profession)

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