Almost any professional profession (sorry, just HAD to do that!) has standards that they have to follow, especially if they want some letters after their names (e.g. RN, MD, PE, CPA, PMP, CEH {heh – Certified Ethical Hacker! Really, it’s a “thing”}, AWS, CSCP). Study hard and take the exams (sometimes, multiple times, like trying to pass the BAR). The list is enormous.
‘Cept teachers.
Teachers in NJ. NJ needs more teachers in that heavily Democrat State. So what have they done? Ayup, LOWER the standards for teachers who wanna teach. The question is, what will the QUALITY of those teachers be? (emphasis mine)
Teachers Will No Longer Need To Pass Basic Reading, Writing And Math Test For Certification In This Blue State
A New Jersey law that removes a requirement for teachers to pass a reading, writing and mathematics test for certification will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
The law, Act 1669, was passed by Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy as part of the state’s 2025 budget in June in an effort to address a shortage of teachers in the state, according to the New Jersey Monitor. Individuals seeking an instructional certificate will no longer need to pass a “basic skills” test administered by the state’s Commissioner of Education.
“We need more teachers,” Democratic Sen. Jim Beach, who sponsored the bill, said according to the New Jersey Monitor. “This is the best way to get them.”
Now, if these teachers were needed for very specific, niche areas, one might decide to compromise on some things. But really, not being able to master even BASIC reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic?
So, one might have teachers that barely know elementary education level materials and that’s OK?
SideNote: Is this what happened in Baltimore, the School District of legend that has schools in which NO kids are proficient in anything? I didn’t see anything in the reporting of those schools in the nature of “and were those kids’ teachers ALSO illiterate and unable to solve this extraordinarily simple algebraic equation: “5A+B=14, solve for A and B?” “? (Er, for the math confused, the answer is 2 and 4).
Whatever happened to old standbys of Merit and Excellence? While these kinds of actions, getting rid of ability standards, may solve the “teacher body” issue, if the teachers have no mastery at all of even rudimentary subjects, what good are they?
Oh, I know – another dues paying member of a teachers union which can be (when one looks at teacher union political donations and actions) not much more than a money laundering machine (see Chicago as one example). But my sarcasm is showing once again even for teachers in NJ earn an average of $81K/year.
And from that same post, we see, once again, that learning standards for kids have also been dropped in many areas. Gotta make parents feel good about their kids bringing home A’s – even if the works is a grade or two lower than the one they are in. But when education majors are below most others, one has to wonder.
I’ll just put it in two possible ways:
- Payback for past political favors
- Plumbing up coffers for future political favors.
So, am I being too cynical on this?
Or not enough?
