I recently went back to school (a nearby state university) after a 15 year absence from academia to get another degree. In one course, a number of my fellow st

I recently went back to school (a nearby state university) after a 15 year absence from academia to get another degree. In one course, a number of my fellow students were pursing their ME. None of them were there out of a zeal for knowledge. Rather, New York State requires teachers to obtain a master's degree in teaching (or a related discipline) within five years of the completion of their initial degree. Without exception, the literacy and critical thinking skills of these students (several of which were already teachers), was absolutely atrocious. I was astounded at the total inability of these teachers (and teaching candidates) to read and write coherently. Granted, this was a state school and not a respected Ivy League university, but the lack of even basic literacy among these graduate students was shocking. Most struggled mightily to get through the class. Several dropped out to take courses with less demanding professors. To my knowledge, they all got their degrees, and are today teaching in our schools. How can we expect our children to become literate if those who teach them are not? The most important facet of education is teaching a child how to think. It is far more important to teach a child how to absorb the thoughts of others (reading) and express their own thoughts coherently (writing) than saturate them with information that they cannot retain or process properly. We are depriving our children of the tools they need to be thoughtful, and our society is suffering as a result.