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Ask Cathy Anderson what it was like to seek and earn national certification as a teacher, and you won't get a sugarcoated answer.
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"As teachers, we close our doors. To open
up those doors and let the world see is very frightening, but also
very challenging."
—————— Cathy Anderson |
"It was very difficult," said the veteran Eau Claire teacher.
But ask her if it was worth it, and you'll hear words like pride, accomplishment, challenge, gratification and reward.
"One woman (who earned certification) told me she didn't realize it would give her this much personal satisfaction," Anderson said.
Anderson is so convinced that earning national certification is a valuable and enriching experience that she is devoting countless hours to helping other Wisconsin teachers prepare for and complete the certification process through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). She also is heading the national committee that is rewriting certification standards for middle school science teachers, a "daunting task" that involves long meetings, many e-mail exchanges and submission of proposed changes to classroom teachers for review and input, and the National Board for final approval.
"I work in the classroom, and I love that, but I also need to give back to the students and teachers in the discipline I am in," she said.
Anderson was one of the first Wisconsin teachers to earn National Board certification in 1999. With few mentors and nobody else from Wisconsin seeking the same certificate she was pursuing – early adolescent science – she felt isolated. Of the 24 candidates from Wisconsin that year, only eight succeeded.
Anderson credits support from the administration in her school – DeLong Middle School – and help from WEAC, including a support network that included two seminars in Madison and assistance from Wisconsin's first certified teacher, Andy Kuemmel of Edgerton. WEAC's Ron Jetty and Katie Schultz-Stout were also very helpful, she said.
Since she found that type of assistance and support so valuable, she decided that after she earned her certification she would help others with the process.
Teachers seeking national certification can learn a great deal from others who have been through the process, Anderson said.
First of all, she said, they need support to overcome any self-doubt, including simple words of encouragement. "When someone else says, 'Yes, you can do it,' that is very helpful," she said.
Secondly, a teacher who has been through the process can help candidates understand how to best approach the rigorous task and narrow their focus to information and activities that relate most directly to achieving certification. Without that guidance, candidates can become overwhelmed.
"It's like looking through a lens," Anderson said. "You must use the right lens and focus on the right things. Usually when people don't succeed it's not because they aren't outstanding teachers, it's because they didn't provide the right evidence. Their lens is focused somewhere else."
The focus is on the National Board's five core propositions, which overlap with the state's 10 teaching standards. Overall, the key element is on how a teacher affects student learning, she said.
Anderson shares her insights with candidates regularly as part of a cadre of WEAC members who give presentations at conferences or by request. She also shares ideas with National Board candidates by e-mail.
"Cathy Anderson's commitment to the profession cannot be overstated," said Jetty, a WEAC teaching and learning consultant. "From her work mentoring NBPTS candidates at the WEAC Convention and locally in the Eau Claire region to her work chairing the NBPTS standards committee she provides the expertise of a caring and truly dedicated teacher."
Why does she do it?
"It's refreshing to me. You don't ever do anything without getting something out of it," she said.
It's also rewarding, Anderson said, to reflect on your own practice.
"As teachers, we close our doors," she said. "To open up those doors and let the world see is very frightening, but also very challenging."
Anderson encourages all teachers to consider seeking national certification but recognizes that it is not for everyone. You need to be willing to devote a great deal of time, and you must be willing "to open up your practice for all to see."
In addition to the personal and professional rewards, there also are other incentives to seeking certification, she said.
Even if there were no financial incentives, Anderson believes the process is a rewarding one.
"You become a very reflective practitioner," she said. "It opens your eyes to many new possibilities."
OnWEAC Resource page on National
Board certification
DPI Resource
page on National Board certification
NBPTS Web site
Posted January 17, 2003