All school teachers should have their knowledge updated by taking courses every five years. Do you agree or disagree?
Teachers are supposed to have a craving for learning, since their updated knowledge may help to make their classes more creative and informative. But we shouldn’t go to extremes to require all teachers to take courses every five years. Concrete conditions and the differences between teachers should also be considered.
Firstly, the actual implementation of such a policy will encounter different kinds of barriers in reality. The training for all the teachers needs materials and staff members. Are there universal standards for all the materials? If so, they will not fit into concrete conditions in different schools and locations. Are the trainers qualified enough to give lectures to teachers? If not, the training is merely a waste of time. And the most important question is that during the fifth year when there are a lot of teachers taking courses, who can guarantee the normal teaching for students?
Also, we have to consider the real differences between teachers. Some teachers who love learning will take every chance to improve themselves. But some who don’t want or don’t think they need any improvement won’t take it seriously even they have to take courses. I know some teachers who consider teaching as the significant part of their life. They always recommend some good books to their students which they themselves have already read. The discussion with students about these books is the most fantastic part of their classes. But there are also other teachers who come into classroom only with a textbook which they themselves may never read carefully. For them, even more frequent training cannot change their attitude to teaching.
The best way is to have a scientific evaluation and management mechanism so that the good teachers can be rewarded and the teachers who have passive attitudes will be motivated. It will also help to introduce increasing numbers of good teachers and emulation will prevail among them. Teachers lack no specific knowledge, and what they need most is such a feasible and effective mechanism.