Assessing Teacher Recruitment and the Public Schools

There is much discussion of the shortage of qualified teachers and the need for teacher recruitment, but punishment strategies legislated in many states to motivate teachers to do the extraordinary are also publicized. There are positive approaches that can be used to motivate teachers, including improving facilities and classroom conditions, increasing funding, improving human relations programs, and providing recognition for teachers. It might be productive to compare the medical and legal professions to that of teaching in terms of status and accountability. The recruitment of teachers from universities is an essential first step in addressing the teacher shortage. Appropriate and considerate hiring practices should encourage interest on the part of qualified candidates, and applicants should present themselves as qualified and competent when they are interviewed. The results of teacher tests must be regarded with caution; scoring well on a test is not the same thing as teaching students. In addition, tests may have flaws that hide the abilities of good candidates. Many schools have, or should have, recruitment programs in which prospective teachers actually teach in the school as they are considered for employment. (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document