In a Valentine’s Day letter to the N&O, former chairman of the State Board of Education Phil Kirk declares his love for national board certification.
Mr. Kirk says that the certification is, “extremely important to the single biggest influence in the education our students are receiving, and that is the quality of teaching in the classroom.” I agree that teacher quality matters. High quality English teachers are especially important.
He also wants us to recognize the fact that Wake County has more board certified teachers than any other school system in the nation. Moreover, North Carolina leads the nation in the number of board certified teachers. Point taken, but I would not equate quantity with quality. (Insert Jon Sanders joke here.)
Let me leave you with this quote from the letter. “It is understandable that North Carolina is a national leader in this area because the program was started by then-Gov. Jim Hunt and is the highest teaching credential in the teaching profession.” In other words, Jim Hunt = god (or Q for Star Trek TNG fans), and high quality English teachers are still extremely important.
