Merrow Reports on Need for Teacher Supports

We need to give teachers the opportunity and tools to be accountable because most educators want to make a difference, John Merrow told his audience at the ASCD Annual Conference's Closing General Session.

In one video clip (available at www.learningmatters.tv), Merrow highlighted uneven standards for teacher preparation. A methods class presents a lesson to their peers, who are pretending to be 5-year-olds. "This is as close as we can get [to working with real students]," the preservice teachers tell Merrow. The irony is that there’s a public school less than a quarter of a mile away.

"It's hard to respect your profession when it's so easy to get into it. Make it tough to be a teacher," said Merrow. He added that there also needs to be much better support for teachers once they are in the classroom. "We don’t have a teacher shortage; we have a leak," he said, referring to high teacher turnover because of insufficient on-the-job supports.

In an age when knowledge and lessons on socialization are ubiquitous, we still need schools to develop adaptable individuals who can process, evaluate, and present ideas, values, and information. Good teaching matters, and so does good teacher training, Merrow concluded.