tonto, the article is correct in the statement that some states do not require Masters Degree. However, those I have been associated with must have a Master's Degree within five years. And, many universities require five years or a Masters Degree to get a teaching degree. I recall in 1963 coming out of college with a BS degree earning $4,600 annually.
Many local small school districts wanting to keep their local real estate taxes low, totally relied on the State and Federal moneys to support their education system. They appeared to take the position of one of the districts from my dissertation which had the philosophy, "manage by common sense." When further pushed, the Superintendent stated he indicated his statement interpreted was, "not to rock the boat."
With a Board of education using the patronage system to hire their own family member, having a philosophy, students having the opinion, "what was good for my dad when he went to school then it is good enough for me," and telling the State and Federal government to keep out of their local board decisions requiring the quality of education, what can we expect from some of our local community school systems and student performance. Having worked for the State department of education, school finance, I had some superintendents and board members say, "just send me the money, and the keep the State out of our local districts district business."
The problem with this philosophy, "we now live in a global economy where our students compete with other students with high valued skilled sets. Business go to the most qualified individuals from a World workforce and those willing to work for less.
With a school district having high expectations, having the revenue to hire the best and brightest employees then student performance will be advanced. But, with school districts and the public wanting more for less they will get potential employees going to those vocations where they can get the greater return on their investment contributed to colleges. Student performance will not improve unless the US re-evaluate the value of education and pay accordingly!!!! With state universities charging $18,000 in annual tuition alone, what students and families have the abilities to send their kids to college, or trade schools. In my opinion, we may be headed to a society of the "haves and have nots. |
