Teachers need subject expertise

Opinion

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This article was published 12/11/2024 (331 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Imagine hiring a piano teacher who can’t play the piano or a swimming instructor who’s terrified of water. While it’s clear that these examples are absurd, the Manitoba government seems to have missed the obvious: teachers can’t teach what they don’t know.

Last week, Manitoba quietly announced significant changes to teacher certification. Manitobans should be deeply concerned.

For example, previously K-8 teachers were required to complete two courses in each of math, science, English and history. These requirements — and others — have been removed entirely. There are now no mandated core subject requirements for teachers in training at any level.

Acting education minister Tracy Schmidt, made the remarkable claim that this will “help support students.” It’s unclear if the politicians endorsing these regulations fully understand the consequences. The changes, billed as “removing barriers,” instead strip away critical requirements for foundational knowledge that teachers need to be effective in their jobs.

The government claims this will “align Manitoba with other Canadian jurisdictions,” but this is misleading. Most provinces require K-8 teachers to take at least one, and often two, math courses at the university level. Quebec mandates five courses for middle school math teachers, and Ontario recently introduced a math proficiency test for all teachers.

University of Manitoba’s dean of education Jan Stewart supported the lowered standards, claiming there is little research to suggest someone with an extensive background in a teachable subject is more effective in the classroom. Common sense tells us that you can’t teach what you don’t understand, and it’s challenging to help students in a subject you struggle with.

Education students have always taken methods courses on how to teach math, but these cannot replace actual math courses. To suggest that students without a foundation in math can be trained by education faculty on how to teach math is as silly as suggesting someone who doesn’t know how to fix cars can be taught to teach others how to be mechanics. The public should not be fooled: methods courses cannot substitute for the math content course requirements the provincial government has eliminated. Math is cumulative, and K-8 teachers lay the foundation for advanced skills. They need a firm understanding of the math content they are required to teach and its connections to later math concepts. Sending teachers into a math classroom without adequate knowledge is unfair to both teachers and students.

The provincial government’s decision undoes a critical 2015 reform, by the then-NDP government, that raised math course requirements for K-8 teachers from one course to two. My colleagues and I advocated for this, alarmed by the weak math skills of students in teacher education programs. Proud of the new requirements, then-NDP minister James Allum announced, “We want students to have a strong foundation in math that gives them the knowledge and skills they need to reach their full potential.”

University math departments sprang into action and developed specialized courses that equip K-8 teachers with a deep knowledge of the math they’ll be required to teach. We staff them with some of our most effective math faculty. The recent change is a step backward — erasing all math requirements! — and Manitoba children will pay the price.

As a university math professor, I have seen first-hand that many high school graduates struggle with basic math. Calculating percentages, working with ratios or adding fractions can be challenging for some. These students can now obtain certification, without further study in math, meaning they’ll be responsible for teaching concepts they don’t grasp themselves. Parents should find this unacceptable.

We cannot allow a cycle of innumeracy to continue. We must insist that future math teachers, which includes most K-8 teachers, take math, and other core subjects, beyond the high school level.

Lowering standards to address a teacher shortage is not the answer. As for the claim it will reduce barriers for people wanting to enter the teaching profession — what about the barriers weak math teachers will create for children? Shouldn’t their right to a strong math education be most important?

Families with resources will turn to private schools or tutoring to make up for inadequate instruction in schools. Disadvantaged students will suffer the most.

Parents count on their children having teachers who are well-prepared to teach core subjects like math — subjects that open doors for future careers. Lowering the bar allows more adults to enter the teaching profession, but it does so at the expense of the children they’ll later teach.

Teachers are well-paid professionals. Requiring them to take core subjects in university, like math, English and science does not set unreasonably high standards — it’s a necessity.

The province must reverse this regressive decision for the sake of Manitoba children.

Anna Stokke is professor of mathematics at the University of Winnipeg, recipient of a 3M National Teaching Award and host of the math education podcast Chalk & Talk.