To the Editor:
I read with initial amusement, which grew into anger, your article regarding the federal panel that has been assembled to study the ways teachers are prepared in this country (“Panel Examines Teacher Training,” Dec. 14, 2005).
In reviewing the committee roster, I was amazed by the striking absence of teachers, school administrators, and university educational placement officials. I can only imagine the learned discussions these education “experts” will have without a single in-the-trenches educator to enlighten them.
Frederick M. Hess notes, as reported in the article, “My fundamental bias is I’m not yet convinced we have any idea how to construct a science of pedagogy.” Well, I wonder why …
Victoria Helander-Heiser
Director of Human Resources
Northfield Township High School
District No. 225
Glenview, Ill.
