mentors

The Ontario College of Teachers has approved the regulatory requirements that shorten teacher education programs.

Starting next May, programs will be delivered over a 12-month period.

That is drawing concern from some teaching experts.

Kim Langen is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Spirit of Math, which offers after-school education programs.

She worries that a shortened program will not give new teachers what they need when they enter the classroom.

“That’s my concern. Do they have enough time to be able to teach all the different subjects, and get the teachers to be experts, especially the elementary teachers, in all the realms that they need to be experts in,” says Langen.

Langen recognizes the need for teachers, noting so many are leaving the profession.

At the same time, she says classrooms need people who are strong enough who can take a class, work with the kids and want to stay there.

“It’s tough in the classrooms,” says Langen.

“They need teachers, but at what expense? And you need to have teachers who really do have the skills themselves. And that takes a couple of years to learn.”

Langen says if the province is going to commit to one-year teaching programs, new teachers are going to need to be supported in the classroom to help them gain the knowledge that may not be fully delivered in teaching programs.

She says it means relying on veteran teachers to pass on the knowledge they have learned over the years.

“In school boards, I would be looking very carefully at how we give that experience through mentorship, through having them linked up with other people,” says Langen.

“In our system, we have what we call grade-specific meetings, where teachers in the same grades are constantly meeting every two weeks to talk about what worked, what didn’t work, what the patterns are, so that they get a professional understanding of what’s going on.”

Langen says it could also open an opportunity for boards to bring in additional support programs for teachers.