The quality of teachers we send to the classrooms is getting added attention with the arrival of huge stimulus packages in school bank accounts. Are our school teachers good? Effective? Up-to-date?

The State Board of Regents in Albany is planning on contracting outside agencies to administer teacher-training programs -

Alternative programs have already been tried. Heard of Teach for America? Plus summer courses, in-house orientation workshops … but the criticism persists. What Arne Duncan is asking for now is more hands-on classroom work. The idea is to give specialized training in real circumstances as opposed to theoretical ones. Move from passive learned knowledge to active absorbed experience. Such training is essential in high-needs schools. Teachers are good if they can handle all levels of students, from different cultural, economic backgrounds.

It is also a question of ensuring high quality among all teachers qualifying for course work. Doing everything to bring this about would help school districts to gain Race to the Top rewards.

Also, the perception is,the states will no look at the profession as one for which applicants can be trained. It is not just a sophisticated talent that some people have.

What we need are better training tools an better assessment tools. And these have to be upgraded depending on the latest in education-related research and thought.

PS. The training proposal is just one of several recommendations to improve teacher quality. Others include: raising the difficulty level of content exams and classroom demonstrations and a possible expansion of certification.