Hello Readers,

It’s been a while since I have shared my thoughts concerning education in the State of Wisconsin.

One of my previous concerns (Feb. 15, 2015 edition) was that the requirements for becoming a teacher would be watered down or lowered significantly. The new state budget will be signed into law anytime now and state lawmakers have broken their promise to keep the budget transparent by not attaching a lot of policy issues.

There are quite a few policy issues (attached with no opportunity for public scrutiny or debate) that have snuck into this budget. As usual I have chosen to discuss the education portion of the budget. I will limit my observations to the “alternate teacher preparation” portion located in the education section of the budget.

This provision allows anyone with a bachelor’s degree in any area to become a licensed teacher merely by taking an online course with no requirement for student teaching or an internship. The leading online certification factory, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, touts this on the front page of their website: “You can earn teacher certification in less than one year, without taking on debt or returning to school. American Board offers the most flexible, affordable program in the nation. And you can start anytime.”

On that same front page, they brag that there is “No student teaching. You don’t have to leave your job or daily responsibilities in order to finish. Just complete two tests and complete state specific requirements.”

The bold print brags that there are “No Classes and No Student Teaching”. This is the group that legislators most likely had in mind when they inserted this into the budget. As usual it was done anonymously using the 999 motion.

This motion is often used when legislators want to put something in the budget but don’t want anyone to know where it came from. The American Board have been lobbying in Wisconsin for a long time. This provision exempts prospective teachers from the most rigorous requirements that legitimate teachers must pass.

Student teaching, a test measuring the concepts of and how to teach reading and writing, as well as an assessment of overall knowledge and teaching ability, are all bypassed when people use this provision to get a teaching license. Talk about lowering the bar!

Current teachers must observe classes, serve as practicum teachers under the supervision of licensed, experienced educators, and serve as a student teacher. The American Board doesn’t even claim to produce quality teachers, according to an article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Officials with the American Board merely state that “their teachers are better prepared than long term substitute teachers with emergency licenses.”

By now this is probably state law. I believe Walker signed the budget yesterday and I haven’t read that this was one of the vetoes. In closing I want to say that for many of my colleagues and I, teaching is not just a job or a career. Teaching is a vocation or calling to us. A good teacher requires expertise in their field but it’s much more than that.

A good teacher should have a passion not just for their subject but also for helping their students to learn, build character, and contribute to their families and community. A good teacher understands that there are many different learning styles and has many ways to teach the same thing.

A good teacher understands how to work with students who have learning disabilities, they deserve success too. A good teacher knows that it takes a considerable amount of both time, resources, and dedication, before one is qualified to step into the classroom and begin a teaching career.

While the teacher shortage is not limited to our state, it is more acute here. Is lowering the bar the only solution that we can come up with? Do we really want to move teaching from a profession, a career, a calling, to something you can always do if your current job doesn’t work out? Whether we want to do that or not, it is here Wisconsin.

David Poffinbarger
Stevens Point