Who's Educating our Children in Technology

A recent chat with someone new to the profession of teaching technology made me wonder, who have we entrusted to teach our children technology?

I will be the first to tell you that I have no qualifications to teach technology to students. I don't have a degree that makes me eligible. I have taken very few classes on technology, and yet, I teach 650 children a week all they are supposed to know about technology. I hate bragging, but I think I'm pretty good at it. I've taught myself almost everything I know. I have a passion to learn more and am constantly figuring out new things. And somehow, that makes me qualified to teach students.

Since there isn't a required endorsement, what should we be looking for in a technology educator? Are there some minimums they should know how to do before we say they are ready to teach our children? What would those minimums look like?

Someday I think I would like to teach preservice teachers in a technology methods course. They have art, music and p.e. methods courses (just in case you enter a school where you have to teach your own students art, music and/or p.e). What about technology? More and more schools are turning to an embedded technology model where a teacher will be expected to teach their students technology. Why is it that we don't prepare them for what they might have to teach in that area? Wouldn't it be best if all teachers had some minimum knowledge to make them "qualified" to teach technology?

Just my thoughts. Anyone else have any?