Tools of the trade vital to doing the job of teaching

Universities that turn out 10,000 teachers a year must focus on methods to teach school kids the ‘3Rs’ of reading, writing and arithmetic. Picture: iStock

Doctors can’t graduate with a medical degree until they know how to use a stethoscope, diagnose a disease and stitch a wound. Why, then, can teachers leave uni without knowing how to teach children to read, or manage a rowdy classroom?

Universities that turn out 10,000 teachers a year must focus on methods to teach school kids the “3Rs’’ of reading, writing and arithmetic, instead of indoctrinating trainee teachers in gender theory and cultural identity. Modern methods often leave students flailing, when they would benefit from “explicit instruction’’ techniques that teach concepts clearly and in a logical sequence.

In the woke world of education, too many teachers have been taught that “phonics’’, “scaffolding’’ and “rote learning’’ are dirty words.

Despite spending four years at university, too many trainee teachers are graduating without a basic knowledge of how to teach young children to read.

Thankfully, a bipartisan effort to tackle the education emergency has resulted in a review of teacher education.

The initial review last year warned that many graduates “feel confused about how to approach reading instruction’’.

Education ministers have now set up an expert panel, chaired by University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott – who began his career as a school teacher. His panel has produced a sensible blueprint for practical, evidence-based training of teachers.

Classroom management gets a big tick, along with the recommendation that schools provide more “prac’’ sessions in classrooms for undergraduates to learn from experienced teachers before they take charge of their own classes.

The challenge will be for all states and territories to agree to rigorous and transparent national standards for education degrees, just as they have for medicine.