Teacher Training in India vs. the U.S.

In researching lately about lack of teacher training in India, I can’t help but reflect on teacher training in Utah and my experiences in teacher training.  Honestly, I don’t feel like what we have in Utah is adequate for training teachers, especially special education teachers, to be prepared for their first few years teaching.  I had been working with individuals with severe disabilities for almost ten years by the time I got my teaching job, in addition to working in special education throughout college.  I also earned a degree at a moderately prestigious school in Utah, Brigham Young University, with a teaching license and endorsement in Severe Disabilities.  My licensure program included a summer practicum (which was the scariest 6 weeks of my life), a student teaching experience for the duration of one semester, as well as coursework designed to teach instruction, assessment, behavior interventions, and so on.  Even with all of this experience and training, I still felt completely inadequate and operating “on the fly” the first few months of my job.  Maybe this is a sign that nothing can really prepare a teacher to face their first year of teacher.  Otherwise, the problem lies in lack of appropriate teacher training.

Often times I would find myself saying my first year of teaching, "I was never taught to do this!" or "I really wish I had a class in that."  But that's the nature of special education...no program could possibly address all the needs and topics in special education.  However, there could definitely be bit improvements in special education programs.  In some programs in different countries, special educators are trained to at least be master's.  They have to become apprentices by working with a teacher for at least one to two years before even being considered for a master's program.  During this time, they are heavily mentored and supervised by a master teacher.  This is something that requires time and money--something always lacking.  

As far as lack of training goes in India, I wonder how much it is really lacking.  It's definitely lacking everywhere, and I'm sure in India it's lacking more than in the U.S.  However, it would be interesting to identify specific areas that are lacking and why and how to resolve the problem.  Teachers can never be trained too much, in my opinion, and the art of being a teacher requires ongoing development and changes in ones craft.  There is always room to teach.