Indiana looks poised to become one of the only states to allow career professionals a direct path into teaching without prior pedagogical training. While the Indiana Attorney General and Governor still have to sign off on the bill before the end of the year, the career specialist permit has already gotten over several hurdles that suggest it will be passed.
The specifics of the career specialist permit are as follows:
- College graduates with a B average in any subject will be allowed to teach high school students after passing one exam.
- In addition, these teacher hopefuls would need 6,000 hours of professional experience in the subject that they would teach.
- They also would have to begin a teacher training program within the first month of taking a teaching job.
Objections to the bill have come from teachers unions and Indiana state approved teacher certification universities, who both object that career experience does not provide training in teacher skills. Furthermore, these groups objects that there are already two other alternate means of teacher certification in Indiana.
For more information, please visit: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2014/09/03/state-board-vote-controversial-alternative-teaching-permit/15013745/
