No person who has served as a state foreign language consultant can long ignore what is surely one of the most pressing and complex problems facing our profession: the preparation of teachers. During the three years when I was a state consultant, I spent about two-thirds of my time visiting schools and working directly with classroom teachers. I remember my first visit to a classroom vividly; I was introduced as, “the inspector from the state department of education,” a phrase indicative of the “high esteem” in which state department personnel were held.