Michigan’s uncertified teachers are playing an instrumental role in helping fill the shortage of teachers in many public schools.
These teachers are assisting in tutoring various subjects, such as science, English, and math.
Permits issued in 2019 show that Michigan’s uncertified teachers are being projected for long-term use.
This is founded on the actuality that their number is continuously increasing every year. For instance, in 2019, at least 2,500 of them were granted permission.
Michigan’s uncertified teachers do not have enough expertise
Despite the fundamental role being undertaken by Michigan’s uncertified teachers, the quality of education offered is being questioned.
For instance, statistics show that most of them have as little as two (2) years of college education.
These sentiments are echoed by a Michigan teacher’s union representative, LouAnn Vidmar, who questioned the quality education that could be delivered by Michigan’s uncertified teachers without the right tools, as well as minimal teaching background.
Various politicians and educators have raised this issue as they have been continuously lamenting that the uncertified teachers do not hold enough expertise as compared to certified ones.
The number of Michigan’s uncertified teachers rising
As the year progresses, districts have requested for 1,138 permits for uncertified teachers. This was a rise from last year’s 1,000 permits.
Some students from two (2) Detroit Charter Schools asserted that they had resulted in teaching themselves via the internet because they felt that the quality being offered by the uncertified teachers was not optimal.
The teachers’ shortage dilemma witnessed in Michigan is a reality that has instigated the use of uncertified teachers.
According to Martin Ackley, Michigan’s education spokesman, all stakeholders had the obligation of working together so that they could retain and attract educators to the teaching profession. This approach would be instrumental in ensuring that every child in Michigan attained quality education.
On the other hand, school librarians are becoming scarce in Michigan, as fewer schools employ full-time certified professionals to look after their libraries.
According to recent statistics, for over sixteen (16) years, the number of certified school librarians in Michigan has fallen by more than seventy percent (73%). Overall, the number of professional librarians in the US has dropped by close to twenty percent (20%) since 2000.
