Gerald Firth Makes a Convincing Argument for

Gerald Firth makes a convincing argument for the creation of national standards for the profession of school supervisor. Firth believes that the current state-based standards are inadequate because they are determined by elected boards of mostly lay people, who often lack expertise in education and are often motivated by partisan politics. Current local standards defining the role of and requirements for becoming a school supervisor are thus arbitrary and can vary greatly from one locale to another. Firth presents a valid point.

There has long been concern over the declining state of education in the country, as seen in the low test scores and dwindling graduation rates. People have tried to address this problem in a variety of ways, focusing on the lack of qualified teachers or adequate facilities and resources. However, the lack of qualified school supervisors also contributes to this problem. A trained school supervisor would be in a better position to assist in designing curriculums or setting requirements for qualified teachers than a lay member of the schoolboard.

As their counterparts in Britain, school supervisors are an elite force that ensures academic programs with uniform standards, a task they could do because they are both above partisan politics and have a sharply defined training and role. Indeed, such an elite force would go a long way towards helping maintain a uniform standard of educational excellence across the country, bringing school districts with below-standard performances up to a national minimum.

It is a critical step in ensuring that "no child gets left behind." But in order to set a national education standard, there should be a standard for the school supervisors themselves. Currently, school supervisors are underutilized because there is no defined standard regarding what training they must undergo or what duties they must fulfill. Thus, many school districts are denied valuable knowledge and expertise in helping kids learn better. Currently, there are standards that set the requirements and define the roles of other positions in education.

This applies to superintendents, principals, counselors and teachers. This is a sign that we realize the importance of ensuring the competence of those who educate the nation's children. Ensuring national standards for school supervisors is the logical next step. The proposal is not exactly new, having been endorsed by various education organizations for the past 50 years. Even current school supervisors themselves believe in.