Why do teachers need more professional development?
Many teachers enter their classrooms ill-equipped to respond effectively to the needs of children from backgrounds with little early literacy experience. Teachers’ lack of training in early literacy instruction results in large numbers of elementary school students failing to gain the vocabulary and literacy skills they need to learn to read on grade level. Colleges of education require few courses in teaching reading and learning about children’s literature. In urban schools, the quality, quantity, and intensity of instruction needed for each child to become literate can differ enormously, yet, except for only a very few states, teacher certification does not require that those responsible for teaching our youngest how to read prove their knowledge of reading instruction. Additionally, student teacher sites are not vetted; there is no system for ensuring that internships take place in good classrooms with quality teachers to learn from. The vocation of teaching may be unique in that w
