On Thursday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan ’86 urged universities to change the way they prepare teachers, exclaiming that a “revolutionary change” was necessary to change the “mediocre” state of many teacher-training programs at education schools. Duncan is correct in his judgment of teacher preparation; there are many ways the training process for teachers can be improved to prepare them better for the realities of the classroom.

A recent report found that 60 percent of teachers did not feel prepared to teach after graduating from education school. An important step toward remedying this problem would be to introduce more practical training into the teacher education process. To deal with classroom management—which many teachers have cited as a challenge—especially at struggling schools, teachers should be exposed to a substantial amount of hands-on classroom training to improve their ability to nurture and develop the skills of their students.

Just as doctors are educated by going through an intensive residency process, teachers will benefit most from more exposure to the classroom. And while receiving practical training, teachers should be evaluated using objective statistical methods, so that they have a reliable means by which to measure their progress and improve their abilities.

Alternative programs such as Teach for America have shown the value of giving teachers immediate classroom experience and should be noted as an example of the value of learning through doing. As education schools attempt to reform and improve their methods, they should consider incorporating the ideas of TFA and the New York City Teaching Fellows program, which places novice teachers in struggling districts.

Improving our education system and teacher training methods is a complicated process, and increasing practical training is only one of many steps needed to address these issues. To be able to prepare children for the 21st century, teachers should also be trained to incorporate technology and Internet applications in the classroom, for example.

In the end, any amount of teacher knowledge of a subject area will be irrelevant if teachers are not able to effectively impart this knowledge to students. Thus, there is little to be lost by giving developing teachers more experience in the classroom. Education for the young is the bedrock of our society and economy, and if education schools can change their methods so that teachers can more effectively reach struggling children, they will be doing students and the country a great service.