Teachers are our educators- but are they educated?

Governor Matt Bevin recently changed the rule that teachers in public schools are required to earn a Masters Degree in order to uphold an educational position.

Before the rule was changed, anyone who wanted to be a public school teacher in the state of Kentucky needed a Masters Degree to be able to get the job. Since Bevin has been the Governor, many things in public schooling districts have drastically changed. This new rule is one of the new changes and teachers don’t know how to feel about it.

English teacher Leslie Lloyd and history teacher Nate Fulghum both have feelings of frustration on the subject. Both teachers think that the new rule is unfair, considering the amount of money that they spent to be able to earn their Master’s Degree.

Although the new rule could cause many teachers to be losing money, there is a possibility that with the new changes more teachers could be attracted to the public schooling field. When it comes to charter schools, teachers do not have to meet as many educational standards as public school teachers have had to do in the past years. Eventually, most if not all public school teachers will have the same requirements and certifications as charter school teachers, which in turn will draw in new teachers from all over. “I think it’s going to attract more people to the education field, but I also am concerned about it attracting people into the education field who don’t value high education,” said Fulghum.

While many teachers are genuinely concerned about how this change is going to affect their wages and how their certifications are changing, the main concern is the students. Students who are attending public schools are receiving a very high level of education and teachers do not want this to change. “There are things that I didn’t learn about teaching until I was in my graduate school. Your Bachelors degree is just there to form the basic foundation. I did not feel as prepared to teach after my Bachelors as what most people think they are. I had to learn a lot as I went,” said Lloyd.

Fulghum does not know how this change will directly affect the students, or even if it will at all. “Good teachers are good teachers and a Masters degree can help them, but I don’t think it’s what defines them as a good teacher or not,” said Fulghum.

We will continue coverage on this topic when new information is released.