Credentials.. Huh...Yeah...What are they good for!?

Question

There was a question in regard to the California credential requirement. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag5w5cxra..FoAAQU8wGvV7AxQt.;_ylv=3?qid=20080310115545AAI3xXK

One woman answered with:

"would you want a dentist drilling your teeth who has no training?"

Well, of course not! But, I am not drilling a hole in my child's tooth, am I?

Would you come to my house and eat dinner if you knew I was not a professionally trained chef?

Have you never cut your child's hair, even though you knew you could, because you lack a barber's license?

Do you have accreditation to teach your pre-schooler the ABC's? Day care centers without the accreditation can't, so why should you?

Do you refuse to do repairs on your house without a contractor's license?

People who are against homeschooling... THINK! We all do things for ourselves ALL THE TIME, without being certified.

Homeschoolers, can you list any other examples of things we do without credentials? :)

Answer 1

I agree... teachers need credentials to be accountable for their jobs, not because it automatically makes them work better with children. Parents can acquire the information and resources they need to teach a subject just as easily as a school teacher can.

Answer 2

When I was in the education classes, getting my teaching certification, several professors said the same thing -

You have learned everything, subject wise, you need to know to be able to teach high schoolers when YOU were in high school.

And they were right. For most people.

However, for those who didn't pass the classes, didn't understand the classes - it is likely they still don't understand the subject material and should seek someone else's assistance in teaching that subject to their child.

Having worked in a museum, I have seen excellent, organized home schoolers whose children were a credit to them, and wonderful intelligent children.

HOWEVER -

I have also seen parents who claim to be homeschooling, yet let their children run loose in the museum without any supervision; the moms sat on benches and gossiped.  these children had trouble even forming sentences verbally and can't even manage to ask questions, stare at you with a blank look when you try to engage their minds, they have no manners and barely any hygeine.  I feel very sorry for those children, and consider it a form of abuse.

Maybe accreditation is not the way to go, but a plan of educational action by the parents, a semi schedule of events, a certain number of hours each day required to be spent soley on education.  A lot of states require this, or the parents are not allowed to homeschool.  I cannot find a plan of action to be a bad thing in the least.

Answer 3

The best teachers I know just happen to not have credentials.

The finest teacher I've ever met has a degree in robotics engineering...he got into teaching homeschool kids when he saw the lousy science education the public schools provide.

And he controls the class nicely, thank you.

Answer 4

Well said, YSN!

Personally, I'd sooner put my education in the hands of an uncertified person who could teach me to THINK, than a trained teacher who wants to teach me to memorize and spit out facts on state tests, not ask questions, not do my own research or find my own study methods, not discover and independly adapt things to my own learning style, not think outside the box and challenge ideas until I'm satisfied with the answers, not find the resources I need independently, and to have to have everything spoon fed to me and treat education like a chore and not something cool and fun for the rest of my life.

Answer 5

When the state schools start showing some better results, they can start making suggestions to homeschoolers and not before. State legislators, the NEA and public school systems need to tend their own knitting first.

Answer 6

Legislators / U. S. Presidents, Vice Presidents, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Education

Farming / agriculture

Reporter / News Anchor

College professors

Actor or Actress

Singer

Song writer

Novelist / Author / Journalist

Scientist

Inventor

Entrepreneur (think Bill Gates)

Investor

Artist

Ambassador

Systems Analyst

Animal Trainer

Baker

Banker

Diplomat

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Operating Officer

Computer Programmer

Juror

Auto Mechanic

Sales person

Football player

General

Admiral

Airport Security

Fundraiser

Lobbyist

The list goes on and on and on...

By the way, the norm for quite a few occupations is a college degree or other advanced training but even that for many is NOT a requirement.  

Plus, a Harvard physics professor with a Ph.D. would not be considered "qualified" to teach high school science because they are not "certified."

I do wonder how colleges manage without "certified" instructors...