Incentive to stay in the field and teaching experience

Arizona wants to keep teachers in the state

And in order to do this they are creating a program for unemployed teachers in professional development. Overall the program seems like a wonderful idea, and it is nice to see a state concerned about keeping teachers IN the field despite the economy. I applaud such attempts.

My only concern is how this helps brand new teachers. Teachers who just entered the field are at a disadvantage -- we do not have experience in our favor. True, new teachers can be paid less, but one year experience is enough to make the difference in landing an interview. I recently applied to a long-term sub job near my house only to find that they wanted experienced teachers. Awfully hard for us newbies to break into the field with feelings like that.

I've also seen a trend of defining experience that bothers me. Many of the schools I applied to specifically wrote that student teaching does not count as teaching experience, but substitute teaching will count. Personally I believe both count, but why is substitute teaching considered experience over student teaching? I have yet to sub (hoping to start soon), but based on my early educational experience subs do not do a whole lot. I imagine the good ones develop awesome classroom managment skills, but the majority of subs do not teach in place of the teacher. Sure, long-term subs are usually certified or at the very least considered qualified to teach, but many of my high school friends subbed with no actual education experience. How does that compare to the grueling semester us education students spend attempting to run a classroom? Student teaching is one of the hardest, yet most eye-opening things I have ever done. Nothing else compared in my preparation to become a teacher. So why does it not count?

Mind you, most schools ask for your student teaching experience, especially if you are a brand new teacher. I'm just baffled by what could be considered better or on equal level.

So back to the point. Professional development is great for keeping teachers in the field, but many teachers want experience before they continue professional development. A good district will continue development as you teach, but if I wanted to spend all my time on professional development I would have applied to grad school right off the bat. I refused to apply because I wanted practical experience before I made a decision on what to focus on for my professional development. Am I second-guessing that decision now? No, not at all. I stand by my view. I cannot possibly know what areas I need to improve upon or what areas I want to research and study until I get into a classroom and teach.

So what do you all think? Do you agree programs such as Arizona's are good incentive for teachers? I'm curious to hear what more experienced teachers have to say. Also, for new teachers and/or jobless teachers, do you believe teachers can focus on professional development without any practical classroom experience?