teacher quality

    There has been a lot of ink spent on teacher quality lately. There is supposedly an indefinable quality that makes someone a good teacher. The lack of this indefinable "something" supposedly makes a bad teacher. What actually makes the difference is education--the teacher's education. A well-educated teacher can explain things in a way that makes them interesting--because he or she understands them. A well-educated teacher knows when he or she is not well-versed in a particular aspect of the subject being taught, and spends time learning more about it before attempting to teach it to students. A poorly educated teacher does not seem to know that what is lacking is a thorough knowledge of his or her subject matter. We have a national exam for teachers, but not every state requires that prospective teachers take this exam, and they should.