What's ahead for education in Ohio? Gov. John Kasich speech offers clues | cleveland.com

What's ahead for education in Ohio? Gov. John Kasich speech offers clues | cleveland.com
A bill now before the legislature would clear the way for Teach for America recruits and alumni to work in Ohio schools.

But critics of the program say the five weeks of intensive training that recruits get before taking over a classroom can't compare with what's done in 50 teacher preparation programs already offered at Ohio colleges.

"You may be the smartest person in the world in my subject, but that doesn't mean you're a good teacher," said Zellner from the Ohio Federation of Teachers. "That's what people go to college to learn -- how to conduct a class and be an effective instructor."

And then there's the fact that Ohio education colleges already produce a surplus of teachers; layoffs because of tight finances threaten to reduce the number of openings even more. Between 6,000 and 7,000 teachers for preschool through third grade aren't working now, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

"We don't need some outside program to push people into our state," Zellner said. "We have hundreds of thousands of the best and brightest in our classrooms now -- or on the unemployment line."