In the article “The Master pay Bump” by Patricia Wasley and Marguerite Roza published in Ed. Week I have to say I agree with her. She discusses how teachers are just going to Universities to receive a masters so they can receive a pay raise. I have to say that the way the state of California has set up our pay scales as well as receiving a clear credential, yes this is true across the board.
I received my credential out of state and when I came to California they told me that I would have to have 60 units of higher education in one area to clear my credential and stay in the state within 5 years. I thought that’s fine I will just go get my master’s and at the same time I would get a pay raise. Most teacher I spoke with have also come across this and feel the same way.
It wasn’t until I started my masters at HTH GSE that I realized that you can go to school and actually learn something that is relevant to what you are doing at your school. It is useful and has helped me become a better leader. I wish all masters programs were this way.
I believe that we need to change the way universities think they should educate students and listen to the people who are taking the classes. How do we change the mind-set of the universities, government, and districts to make this work?
In response to your question, I think Arne Duncan has raised teacher education programs as a major item for change on Obama’s education agenda. Whether he’s going about it the right way, I don’t know. But it’s definitely stirring up discussion about the quality of these education school programs and how they should be training new teachers.