On Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification

1989 NCTE Annual Business Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland

Background NCTE members noted that while most of the recent proposals for education reform call for further formal preparation for teachers, 25 states had at the time created alternative, less demanding routes to certification. They warned that such alternatives often bypass important aspects of professional education and in effect, produce on-the-job teacher training. Be it therefore Resolution Resolved, that the National Council of Teachers of English affirm the importance of the kinds of knowledge, pedagogy, and attitudes represented in the 1986 Guidelines for the Preparation of Teachers of English Language Arts;           that NCTE affirm that individuals who assume full responsibility for English/language arts instruction must be prepared by professional programs of teacher education emphasizing the kinds of knowledge, pedagogy, and attitudes represented in the Guidelines; and           that NCTE encourage its affiliates to monitor the legislative developments affecting teacher certification and to educate state legislators and other officials about the importance of professional teacher education.