In my review [Hake (2005a)] of Stephen Swidler's (2004) fascinating
ethnographic study "Naturally Small: Teaching and Learning in the
Last One-Teacher Schools," I concluded with:
"In my opinion, veteran educator Larry Cuban (2003) has it right: " .
. . I know from both experience and research that the teacher is at
the heart of student learning and school improvement by virtue of
being the classroom authority and gatekeeper for change. Thus the
preparation, induction, and career development of teachers remain the
Archimedian lever for both short- and long-term improvement of public
schools."
Evidently various professional organizations agree with Cuban, though
one might disagree with their plans for increasing the effectiveness
of K-12 teachers.
For example, the prestigious National Academy of Education
<http://www.nae.nyu.edu/>, composed of the most illustrious American
educators (only one physicist), recently issued a report that advised
Congress to pay for the development of a **national teacher test**,
using performance to judge accomplishment, and to require that the
test results be incorporated into state licensing requirements. The
controversial NAE proposal is discussed by Bess Keller (2005) in a
recent Education Week article entitled "Panel Urges New Testing For
Teachers."
For those who are interested, I have "beckered" (i.e., copied - in
honor of the redoubtable math educator Jerry Becker) a referenced and
hot-linked version of Keller's article into the AERA-L archives at
Hake (2005b).
Swidler, S.A. 2005. "Conversation and control: Emergent progressive
pedagogy in the last of Nebraska's one-teacher schools," Journal of
Research in Rural Education 20(4); online at
<http://www.umaine.edu/jrre/20-4.htm>.