High academic qualification is required for the teaching profession

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— An in-depth discussion on "improving the quality of education

while reducing the burden on students" part II

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 i. I agree with the requirement of "diploma first" in selecting teachers.

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        Teachers’ levels of expertise and quality are crucial for determining whether the spirit that education must be developed with the times can be implemented and whether there is a breakthrough in teaching. Additionally, they improve the teaching quality while relieving students' burdens. Teachers cannot cultivate innovative students without innovative consciousness and capability. In that case, the cultivation and selection of teachers shall be top priorities as the breakthrough point of educational reform.
 
        A survey of teachers' quality (subject expertise and education expertise) in normal universities in China showed that there is low satisfaction and value recognition as a whole, according to the introduction of an expert specializing in developing teacher education curriculum standards. It indicates that the quality of the teaching staff is alarming.

        Therefore, graduates from a normal university with a master's degree in the subject, or from a prestigious university with a master's degree in the subject of education and psychology shall be the minimum requirement for senior high school subject teachers, who must reach the professional level. They shall acquire degrees in education and teaching upon further studying related postgraduate courses in their future teaching practices. Moreover, higher requirements should be proposed for teachers' professional standards in schools that educate excellent students.
 
        First-class universities put forward the requirements of quality, innovative ability, and scientific research ability for excellent students in middle schools and high schools. In such a context, who will take on the task of educating and teaching these outstanding students when first-rate universities demand quality, innovation, and scientific research skills from secondary schools? If these teachers do not have the experience of graduating from a university with a professional master's degree or higher can they do it? Will they be able to do so without the experience of having gone through a professional course of study in education? Can they do it without the experience of postgraduate research capacity development?
 
        This is what practice tells us that good secondary school teachers must have all three of these experiences.

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        The majority of high schools now formally require such qualifications for teachers. Teachers are required to take teacher education courses in addition to their subject matter expertise in education, general education, information technology in education, secondary education teaching, foreign language proficiency, and so on. These teacher education programs are usually designed to produce excellent teachers. Of course, teachers can be selected from non-teaching universities, but these non-teaching students must take additional teacher education courses.

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        Secondary schools expect new teachers to be recruited with these qualifications upon arrival, and those with these qualifications should have at least a master's degree, or a doctorate if they are to propose that teachers have research skills. Post-service training is also required for teachers already in the school, who are required to earn a master's or doctoral degree while working in the next few years.
 
        A teacher, only with a solid background of subject matter expertise and deep educational theories, coupled with rich teaching experience, is able to pass on their subject matter knowledge plus their unique ideas to their students through a scientific approach to education. When students are taught by such teachers and in such an environment, they will have an open mind, a sense of innovation, the ability to research, and a high level of understanding of the world and of science.

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ii. if someone is a capable teacher, why he/ she fails in acquire a degree?
 
        Some people say that being a good teacher is dependent on his or her ability rather than his or her education background. This might have been true a few decades ago. Now, education and continuing education have gained significant development, as it is a new era now.
In that case, I have to ask, if you are talented, why are you not going to college? If you want to be a teacher, why not go to a graduate program in education? If you have the ability to innovate and research to reach the top of science, why not aim for a Ph.D.?
 
        It is true that teachers with high academic qualifications are not necessarily so outstanding in practice, but nowadays, talented teachers in society must have high academic qualifications. This logical relationship must be clear. This is the reason that almost all teachers in the top public and private schools in developed countries have 100% doctoral or master's degrees. Now the door to university is open, the door to graduate school is also open, and the door to continuing education is open. You can absolutely go to the test. Don't make excuses for your fear of exams, fear of reading, fear of continuing education. Whether a person goes to graduate school or not, in the end, it is not the same. Now in our universities, where there are new courses, new materials, new knowledge, new theories, new information, new perspectives, new horizons, new technologies, and more, many new things waiting for you to learn. As a principal, he would say, "You said you were already talented, so after you read, you are even more talented. Of course, I want you to be the person you are after reading, not the person you are now. This is a fact that does not need to be doubted.
 
        Our faculty at Neofuture Tutoring Academy must meet such standards. We proudly write in our school description that "The faculty of the Academy is composed of expert teachers who have obtained doctoral degrees (master's degrees are allowed for the particularly outstanding ones) from prestigious universities."

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        I always advise the teachers that they can give lectures to students on the platform as an English teachers steadfastly if they have been to universities such as Harvard, Yale, or Columbia for further studies. Those universities are the highest institutions of learning traditional English culture, which can present you with the cultural history of English for thousands of years since they know and study the advancement of English teaching all over the world. In that case, your teaching is confident. You can teach all you know on the platform freely without worrying about making the mistake of being ignorant if you are a mathematics or physics teacher graduating from universities such as Harvard, MIT, or Princeton. It is because the development of mathematics and physics worldwide is updated in those universities. Without doubts, you can be confident.
 
        In addition, I often discuss teaching problems with our mathematics teachers about how to combine mathematics with pedagogy, combine college mathematics with high school mathematics as well as combine the teaching of college and high school education experts with our own teaching. More than that, our discussion topics include the way of quantitatively analyzing mathematics teaching in senior high schools, the quantitative analysis of mathematics teaching for outstanding high school students, and the development of a curriculum and schedule for outstanding students' mathematical and physical learning. Vectors, mathematical modeling, calculus, and determinants are included in high school mathematical curriculum. What else will be involved in the future high school curriculum? Linear expansion or matrix?

Teachers without higher education backgrounds will fail to explain these basic concepts in class. They won't advocate excessive assignments tactics. They won't consider making up lessons necessary to improving their teaching quality.
 
        My educational and teaching thoughts and ideas that a group of educational elites graduated from world renowned universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Columbia University are recruited as teachers will be realized in my school. They will present dynamic and interesting classes with the biggest emphasis on their students to enjoy the courses after attending their classes and to have a strong interest in the subject. In this way, those students will spare no effort in achieving their goals of obtaining high grades and full marks. Young educational elites who have educational backgrounds of top-ranking universities and excellent achievements in their professions are talented in arts and sciences since their rigorous and innovative thinking are mutually influential in providing them with a clear and thorough understanding of their subjects. They will gradually form their own teaching style while inheriting the fine tradition of their predecessor's teaching with the accumulation of teaching experience. Young educational elites always teach classes with calm and passionate teaching manners as well as refined language, and they can always impart the beauty of science and logic thoroughly on the premise of well-explainedknowledge points in a strict manner. Their classes are always attractive and passionate. With this method, the students will confidently take the SAT exams while aiming for 1550+ and even a full score of 1600, and they will take the AP courses for high scores and even full scores as the pursuit of the highest level of learning.

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        Further, professors from the Teachers College of Columbia University (who have served for decades as university presidents or subject department chairs or experts in gifted education) will be invited to serve as guidance consultants for the teaching of various subjects in our school.

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        Addressing the deep-rooted problem of students' learning difficulties in basic education is a prerequisite for educational development and progress. But before that, it is imperative for us to locate the essence of the problem. Only in this way can we fundamentally improve the quality of education while reducing student burdens. Gifted education worldwide urgently requires the best curriculum and teaching materials, educational planning, educational technology, and educational prospects.

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By Dingmin Lin