COLLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 10 (UPI) -- U.S. schools need to look beyond the pool of recent college graduates to replace retiring teachers, a Texas A&M professor says.
In the next few years, the country will see an unprecedented wave of retirements since half the teachers and school administrators are older than 50, John Hoyle, who has been involved in education for more than half a century, said. He said about half of new teachers also get out within five years, partly because of "high-stakes testing and accountability requirements."
Hoyle said schools should begin using experienced teachers to mentor people coming to schools after working in other fields.
"It's encouraging to see people crossing over from other disciplines to teach, and if they're willing to learn the pedagogy, classroom management and human learning, they make excellent teachers," he says.
"I'd like to see us implement a year-long induction year with a top-notch veteran teacher and a college advisor. Then we'll come out with a really solid teacher."
