The CPE requirements for any given profession can vary substantially.
While doctors, lawyers, and even accountants can expect a program load that’s rather heavy when compared to others subject to required continuing education, teachers, social workers, and even personal fitness trainers (yes, personal fitness trainers) can expect a much easier time sustaining their professional standing.
Yes, it’s true that teacher and social worker CPE requirements exist for a reason – and so do too those for personal fitness trainers.
But that purpose isn’t, in practice, exactly about staying on top of advancements in their individual fields.
The theory is that it is, but in practice one can very easily adopt a very skeptical perspective on the matter.
After all, exactly what is there about teaching kids that may change from time to time?
New technology?
A course on handling cell phones and other disruptions?
Really??
Yet such courses fulfill CPE requirements as well as any on traditional matters regarding pedagogy.
However, just what new advances in learning theory will there ever be that will actually affect classroom instruction?
It’s true that breakthrough discoveries are regularly made about how children learn and learn best, but practically none of them may have any profound effect on day-to-day education.
So kids learn better with colors.
So teachers should use colored chalk.
This is worth continuing education credits?
When it comes to a doctor or lawyer, one can see how continuing professional education has a very authentic and immediate influence on day-to-day duties.
A new drug, a new regulation – these will affect the way treatment and services are delivered for certain.
It is hard to imagine, however, what changes would occur as the result of finding that black kids manage to learn better with black teachers – which is, incidentally, something that has been confirmed by several research over the years.