The CPE requirements for any given profession can vary substantially.
While doctors, lawyers, and even accountants can expect a course load that’s rather heavy when compared to others subject to necessary continuing education, teachers, social workers, and also personal fitness trainers (yes, personal fitness trainers) can expect a much easier time preserving 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 easily adopt a very skeptical perspective on the issue.
After all, exactly what is there about teaching kids that could change from time to time?
New technology?
A course on handling cell phones and other disruptions?
Really??
Yet such courses match CPE requirements together with any on traditional matters concerning pedagogy.
However, just what new advances in learning theory could there be that will actually affect classroom education?
It’s true that breakthroughs are regularly made about how children learn and learn best, but virtually none of them can offer any profound impact on day-to-day education.
So kids learn better with colors.
So teachers should use colored chalk.
This is worth continuing education credits?
Regarding a doctor or lawyer, one can see how continuing professional education has a very genuine and immediate effect on day-to-day duties.
A new drug, a new regulation – these will affect the way treatment and services are delivered for sure.
It is hard to imagine, however, what changes would happen as the result of finding that black kids seem to learn better with black teachers – which is, incidentally, something that has been confirmed by several studies over the years.
