What It Truly Means to Be
an Effective Teacher Is Becoming Lost

Teni Clark

"I'm blessed with patience," said Clark. She spends most of her time and skill getting at the heart of what is disturbing the 40 children she sees each day in this working class Detroit suburb and helping them learn their subjects: reading, math, science, social studies, writing.

But under the so-called "No Child Left Behind" law, all states must have "highly qualified teachers" in all core subjects, from math to history, by the end of the 2005-06 school year. "Highly qualified" means teachers must earn bachelor's degree, state certification and show knowledge in each of the subjects they teach. In Clark's case, this means discounting the experience, dedication and the effectiveness of special education teachers who often are called upon to teach multiple grades and subjects.

"The beauty of this classroom is that I have the flexibility to deal with behavior," she said. "I can't help my children if I end up not being able to teach anything but math."

And Clark is struggling to find money to pay for the classes and testing needed for the additional five subject certifications. The 10,000-student district is already grappling with finding and keeping special-needs teachers; Clark is one of four who teach middle-schoolers and says she is the lone teacher educated in specified techniques for reaching emotionally disturbed children.

"I just can't believe some legislators can now come and tell me I am not doing a good job," she said. "It makes me wonder where education is going…obviously not in a direction that helps children."

Her story is yet another reason why the National Education Association (NEA) and the Pontiac school district, as lead plaintiff in a suit against the federal bureaucrats, simply want the Administration to follow its own law and either provide adequate funding or stop unfairly labeling schools as "failing" and teachers as "unqualified," and forcing parents to use their own local taxpayer dollars to meet these new federal mandates.

"What most people don't understand is that whatever is affecting you emotionally will also affect how you perform academically," said Clark, who explained in an Eastern Michigan University master's thesis that self-esteem and academic achievement are intertwined.

"Somewhere in the nation's capitol, someone is saying a test is the answer," Clark said.

And what it truly means to be an effective teacher is becoming lost in unfunded mandates, arbitrary goals and testing bureaucracy.

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