Certified for What?

To the Editor:

According to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his Sept. 4, back-to-school press release "... 1.1 million children are going back to school in New York City, and I am proud to report that we have more certified Teachers than ever before ready to teach them."

The same press release also quotes Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein: "We all understand the importance of quality, certified Teachers and the newly-hired ones are excited about making a difference for the students."

This may or may not be good news, because these kingpins of the public schools are both presenting suspiciously vague boasts about Teacher certification.

The general statistic of more certified Teachers than ever before sounds very nice, and it may even be true, whether derived by simple headcount or as a proportion of all Teachers in the school system. What really matters, however, is whether there are more certified Teachers who are actually engaged to teach classes in their specific areas of state certification or city licensure.

If the city does have the largest number of certified Teachers ever, and if those Teachers are in positions to do the best teaching ever, then Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein deserve detention for understating their Teachers' professional worth.

On the other hand, if these remarks about Teacher certification are just glittering generalities meant to seduce public opinion, then the Mayor and the Chancellor deserve expulsion.

MARK S. TRAVITSKY, Administrative Staff Analyst (Retired)