What about Acting Courses?
Another finding of the study, Increasing the Odds is that "Education courses taken before teaching have little impact on teacher effectiveness." Further, "The evidence is conclusive that master’s degrees do not make teachers more effective. In fact, the evidence strongly suggests that rewarding teachers for these degrees is an inefficient use of limited public resources."

OK, if they shouldn't take Education classes, what should they take? We talk a lot here about story telling. Why not acting classes as a requirement?

Satellite Views of Ancient Observatories Space Imaging
A different perspective!

Pope Multimedia The New York Times
We haven't visited the Times media department in awhile, as the technology is fairly straightforward. At a historic moment like this, though, it pays to look again at the media of record.

Increasing the Odds - How Good Policies Can Yield Better Teachers National Council on Teacher Quality
"Two recent reviews of the research found that a teacher's level of literacy as measured by vocabulary and other standardized tests affects student achievement more than any other measurable teacher attribute, including certification status, experience, and the amount of professional development that a teacher receives.
"These summary findings were based on numerous robust studies spanning many decades that looked at the impact of literacy on student achievement, all finding that a teacher’s level of literacy is a strong predictor of student achievement."

Historical Textbook Collection U. of Cincinnatti Libraries

Reach Every Child | History
This list ties places (state & national historic sites) to periods of history.

Interactive Graduation Rates Gates Foundation
Good map; appalling data. (Page seems to only work in Microsoft I.E.)