Ancient Greece Did Not Need Licensed Teachers

Contrary to popular notions, teacher licensing inschools for over twohundred years before we had
publicschools does not insure teacher quality. A licensepublic schools or licensedteachers. School authorities'
also doesnot even insure that a public-school teacherclaim that teachers have to belicensed for our
is an expert inthe subject she teaches. In fact, in ourchildren to get a quality education, istherefore false.
upside-downpublic-school system, licensing often leadsToday, in millions of companies across America,
to ill-trained andmediocre teachers instructing ourbosses or theirmanagers teach new employees job
children.skills, from the simplest tothe most complex. Private
The notion that only state-approved, licensedschools and trade schools teachmillions of students
teachers canguarantee children a good education isvaluable, practical skills. Thousands ofcollege
proven wrong by history.professors with masters or doctorate degrees in
In ancient Athens, the birthplace of logic, science,thesubject they teach, instruct hundreds of
philosophy,and Western civilization, city authorities didthousands of collegestudents in subjects ranging from
not requireteachers to be licensed. Socrates, Plato,philosophy to electricalengineering. Over a million
and Aristotle did nothave to get a teaching licensehome-schooling parents teach theirchildren reading,
from Athenian bureaucrats to openup theirwriting, and math with learn-to-read orlearn-math
Academies. A teacher's success came only frombooks, computer-learning software and other
hiscompetence, reputation, and popularity. Studentsteachingmaterials. All these teachers are not licensed
and theirparents paid a teacher only if they thoughtyet they oftengive children a far better education
he was worth themoney. Competition and anthan licensedpublic-school teachers.
education free market created greatteachers inTeacher licensing laws are simply a bureaucratic
ancient Greece.invention ofour government-run public schools, an
Parents in America gave their children a superiorinvention that we can dowithout, thank you.
education athome or in small grammar or religious