One might argue that a liberal arts educations improves writing ability. True, but then let's append a year to the end of high school in which professors teach us university-level writing. Maybe that's not the best idea - but there has to be something out there that is more cost-effective than the current college system.

If a job does not require a college degree, then employers have no reason to require one. I have no idea how, but let's end the illusion that a "college graduate" is anything more than a 22-year-old with a piece of paper.

To go back to your original point regarding teachers, I myself was a teacher for two years, but I never got a teaching degree. Instead I worked abroad in schools that did not require teaching degrees. What I learned from this is that teaching, like many jobs, can be learned on-the-job from experience. I was not very effective when I began, but after two-years I basically knew what I was doing. I also learned that teaching is all about individual styles. I observed other teachers from time to time and every one was extremely different in what she chose to stress or in how she organized her activities. I am not sure how much better off I would have been with an education degree. I observed both teachers with and without education degrees, however, and I did not notice a huge difference in the effectiveness of the two groups or any real difference in classroom management skills between the two groups, on average. -- ChristopherCrismanCox - 08 Feb 2010