Professional Standards
Many teachers enter our nations classrooms today without adequate preparation to teach. Consider the following findings from a report released by the National Commission of Teaching and America's Future, in September, 1996:

Too Few Entering Teachers Have Adequate Preparation

• More than 12% of all newly hired "teachers" enter the workforce without any training at all, and another 15% enter without having fully met state standards.
• More than 50,000 people who lack the training required for their jobs have entered teaching annually on emergency or substandard licenses.
• Only 500 of the nation's 1,200 education schools meet common professional standards.

Too Many Current Teachers Are Underqualified

• Fewer than 75% of all teachers have studied child development, learning, and teaching methods, have degrees in their subject area, and have passed state licensing requirements.
• Nearly one-fourth (23%) of all secondary teachers do not have even a college minor in their main teaching field. This is true for more than 30% of mathematics teachers.
• More than half (56%) of high school students taking physical science courses, 27% of those taking mathematics courses are taught by teachers who don't have backgrounds in these fields. The proportions are much higher in high-poverty schools and in lower track classes.

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University has one of the oldest Teacher Education Colleges in Western North America (founded 1897). It has been accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and meets or exceeds US and International standards common in the teaching profession. The curriculum required for teacher certification in the state of Utah includes a comprehensive four-year program that includes studies in child development, learning, and teaching methods. Also required is a second BS degree and/or two minors. A special course, pioneered by SUU and known as "The Block", places its students in the schools for 10 weeks (in addition to the required 10 weeks of Student Teaching). The Block students are given instruction in teaching core subject areas part of the day, and the remainder is spent in the elementary/secondary classroom. To broaden the students perspective of teaching, two weeks of the block are spent in classrooms typically in another state, in both an urban and rural setting.

Note: Recruiting New Teachers is a national non-profit organization which was formed in 1986 to raise esteem for teaching, expand the pool of prospective teachers, and improve the nation's teacher recruitment and development policies and practices. Click on their title to enter their website.