We want to hear your thoughts on the current Speak Out question. Go to www.aft.org/speakout to cast your vote.

In the last issue of American Teacher, our "Speak Out" question was:

Are schools of education missing from the teacher quality movement?

"There is a total disconnect on mostly all levels between schools of education and public schools. New teachers know theory but lack the ability and skills to put that theory into practice. This is why many of them leave the profession. I can't tell you how many times I hear, 'this is not what I signed on for.'"

Donna M. Chiera
Perth Amboy, N.J.

"With lesson plans and standards in the left hand, and the skills and tools of a psychological negotiator in the right, the secondary school teacher begins a tightrope walk every day. Schools of education are failing to prepare teachers with what is needed in the right hand."

Renee Joyner Pitts
Washington, D.C.

"New teachers are overwhelmed when they realize the many roles they must fill as a teacher. I believe, in most cases, it is not the quality of the teacher that is in question. What is in question is the quality of the teacher training and the amount of time college students are spending in the classroom working with children before they graduate."

Marian Flickinger
Norfolk, Va.