HI all,
Some thoughts to add to Robin's:
It's true that better training for teachers and tutors will result in
more and better student outcomes. That's kind of an inarguable point.
However: that is also assuming that there is a plethora of teachers and
tutors out there, and we have the luxury of being highly selective when
it comes to choosing volunteer tutors and teachers. That's simply  not
the reality. Oftentimes the opposite is true: we have to accept those
who are willing to learn but inexperienced, and do the best we can to
inspire and train them. 
Teaching has never been a field that attracts a huge number of people.
There are realities around pay, job security, and benefits that have had
the effect of reducing the numbers of people interested in this
profession.  I consider myself lucky when I get someone in my office who
expresses an interest in teaching for me on a part-time basis, who may
have limited teaching experience, but has a sincere desire to "give
back" to their community.  
So the question really is:  Should we aspire to fewer, but better
trained teachers and tutors (which would be the reality if we became
more stringent in our selection criteria)? I know that if I were to
require additional training and certification for tutors and teachers, I
would lose a significant number of my teachers. And know that these are
GOOD teachers, but most of them work full-time during the day, or are
stay-at-home moms, and work for me in the evenings teaching part-time,
and they don't have much spare time beyond those commitments.  
I don't have the answers, but it's important to balance our idealism
with the realities of the profession when considering future directions.
Sandy Cheek
Sandy Cheek 
Director of Basic Skills 
Big Bend Community College 
7662 Chanute Street NE 
Moses Lake, WA  98837 
509.793.2305 
toll-free 877.745.1212 
fax 509.762.2696 
 

________________________________

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Missy Slaathaug
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2006 8:41 AM
To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] teacher professional development


Hi Robin - it was South Dakota, one of those nameless flyover states!
 
And I couldn't agree with you more that teachers absolutely need to be
trained and educated in this.  My comment was only that too much
information in the very first teacher training may be wasted or even
counter-productive.  Teachers can only absorb so much in one six hour
training, and usually until they have begun to teach they don't have a
conceptual framework to help them process much information.  They are
hungry for classroom strategies and techniques - they want to know what
to DO in the multi-level classroom that they are facing the very next
week.  
 
But as for ongoing training and higher expectations for adult ed
teachers, and the entire rest of your posting, I couldn't agree with you
more.  
 
Missy Slaathaug
Pierre, South Dakota
 
-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
robinschwarz1 at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 6:28 PM
To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] teacher professional development
 
Hi --this is in response to the person from Oregon or Washington and to 
Janet Isserlis on another list, both of whose topic was teacher 
professional development and the fear of overloading teachers with 
information.
 
This topic is near and dear to my heart.  As I indicated in another 
posting today, it is surprising to me that the field of ESL does not 
seem to prepare teachers for the sort of really hard-core learning 
problems that several readers and responders have mentioned.
 
In another message on one of the NIFL lists the notion of profesisonal 
development qualification standards for teachers in adult education was 
mentioned.
 
Frankly, what I often see is that it is too common that teachers in 
adult education and adult ESOL education are woefully unqualified to do 
what they do.   Then learners suffer.   My article in FOB indicated 
that in some of those cases, teachers were simply not prepared to ask 
the right questions or to consider the key issues in adult ESOL 
learners' situations that significantly impact the learners' progress 
in their settings.
 
Those of you who know me, know that I get pretty passionate on this 
topic.  I believe, as do my business partners, Laura Weisel and Al 
Toops, we are supposed to be in business for the learners, not for the 
tutors and teachers in our programs.  In other words, it is not the 
needs and limitations of the teachers or tutors that should drive 
decisions or policies about how our programs run but rather the needs 
of our learners.  I have advocated for years that there need to be 
minimal qualifications for hiring teachers or tutors to teach adult 
ESOL learners.  I can write an entire book-- and someday will-- of 
stories like those in the article where the learner was somehow blamed 
for no progress when in truth the learner's teacher had no idea how to 
address the learner's real needs.
 
I agree strongly with Janet that it is essential that the nature of 
learning challenges-- of all kinds, including language learning 
challenges-- be constantly put out to teachers and required reading for 
them.    Though I am sure no program is going to fire its tutors 
because I say so, I certainly hope you will consider a far more 
stringent approach to requiring that those already in your employ 
inform themselves about adult learners and adult ESOL learning,  about 
the very most basic principles of language instruction,  about the 
culture of their learners. etc.    Also, program administrators have 
everything to gain by requiring more training for tutors and better 
experience and qualifications for teachers.  In the end, they will be 
more effective and programs with have better outcomes.  The NCSALL 
research project on learner persistence (2005 --at NCSCALL.net) 
indicated that when tutors were better trained, not only were learners 
happier and tended to persist longer, but tutors also persisted because 
they did not feel so helpless in helping those with significant 
learning needs.
 
Somewhere recently I saw reference to the suggestion or proposal that 
adult education teachers be subject to qualification much as K-12 
teachers are.  This can only be a good thing for our learners.
 
And as for LD issues, I know for a well-documented fact that having a 
tutor or teacher who is well meant and kind but does not "get" LD and 
language learning challenges is actually worse for the learner than 
just sitting in a class and trying to absorb something.
 
Just as for learners, having high expectations for teachers and tutors 
is critical to having an effective program.
 
As a start for ESOL and learning challengs,  programs might want to 
look at the handbook : Taking Action: A Handbook for Instructors of 
Adult ESOL Learners with Learning Dissablities"  produced and 
distrbuted by the Minnesota Learning Disabilities Association (visit 
www.ldaminnesota.org to find it).  This walks teachers through the 
topic of LD and an approach to determining if other problems might be 
at the root of learning difficulties.
 
There is also a great handbook for tutors teaching reading to 
English-speaking adults  called The Adult Reading Toolkit ( ART)
 
Both of these are designed for tutors and teachers who have little 
prior knowledge on the topic--and they are extremely user-friendly and 
beautifully thought out.   --And no, I don't have any financial 
interest in them......
 
 
 Robin
 
 
 
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