In defending the continued existence of the office of Cook County superintendent of schools, Lloyd Lehman suggests it would be absurd for 100,000 Cook County teachers to take the elevator up to the 14th floor of the State of Illinois Building to get their annual review of credentials and renewal of teaching certificates.
It is absurd to have 100,000 teachers reporting in person to any office annually for renewal.
A teacher’s credentials consist essentially of a college transcript. Once that transcript is issued, it may get better (if the teacher goes back to school for more courses) but it can’t get worse. Why review it? Annually?
And why should 100,000 people have to appear in person? Annually?
Teachers have better things to do than stand in line waiting for a bureaucrat to review the same piece of paper he reviewed last year, the year before, the year before that. . . . If there are factors that might change in 12 months, why can’t these be reviewed in the principal’s office of the school in which the teacher is employed?
