If we would like to do a bit of "story telling" to see who can top everyone
else in terms of ridiculous situations, try this one.
High schools are searching for licensed physics teachers. I get several
calls a year asking if we have any physics teachers coming through our
system. Often our students have gotten job offers even before they have
completed student teaching.
However, in a high school not too far away is a person teaching physics with
an "emergency temporary license." This person does not have a teaching
license in physics. In fact, he does not have a teaching license in
anything. He is not a certified teacher at all. He has been teaching as an
"emergency teacher" for the past four years.
Last year we had a good physics-teacher graduate whose home was not too far
from this school. Therefore she thought this would be a good school for her
to teach at. She went to the superintendent and asked if she could be
considered for the physics teacher position. The superintendent said there
was no opening. She said she knew the current teacher had no teaching
credentials at all, let alone physics. He said that with the previous
physics teacher (who was a real physics teacher) he got lots of complaints
the teacher was too hard. The current "physics teacher" is popular,
students love him, and the superintendent has had no complaints from
students nor parents in the several years this "teacher" has been there.
Therefore he is keeping the current "teacher."
I told our graduate that "emergency teaching licenses" require the
superintendent certify (on an annual basis) that no qualified teacher could
be found. Since she walked in and offered her services, the superintendent
could not make this certification without lying. I said she should consider
reporting the superintendent to the State of Ohio Board of Education. She
said (probably correctly) that it wasn't worth it because it would not be
good to teach in a situation under a superintendent who pulled a trick like
this. (That shows she was a pretty astute young teacher.)
She got a job someplace else, is doing a wonderful job (I hear), and the
"non-teacher" is still teaching and is still "popular" with the students.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817