Mark Jacobs piece needed more information

I am disappointed that The Gazette chose to give Mark Jacobs so much space recently (“Open more paths to teaching,” April 25). It isn't because of the topic: alternative methods of gaining a teaching license in Iowa. It's because the piece didn't educate us about the subject.

He asserts “ … a significant portion of our homegrown talent … can't get a license to teach in Iowa.” He doesn't define what “significant” means and doesn't explain what the apparent barriers are.

He uses Hannah Olson to somehow illustrate this assertion. The Burlington graduate earned a teaching license in Arkansas and is now teaching and working to become licensed in New York. Supposedly Olson would like to return to Iowa, but “ … faces a steep uphill climb to get a teaching license” here. However, he doesn't write about what those difficulties are.

What we still don't know is what the barriers are and, if they exist, whether they are reasonable or not.

Please choose your authors more carefully.

Gary Warner

Cedar Rapids