Poll of the Day > Florida to allow veterans and their spouses become teachers without a degree

(+) Yeah! (+)

The dumbest thing I've heard from the dumbest state in the dumbest country will make the dumbest students becoming even dumber

Anyone who thinks this is a good idea is a fucking moron, period.

Technically my state (Oklahoma) is the dumbest in the country; lowest ranked in education. At least it was last I checked.

And not a day goes by that I'm not reminded of it.

I haven't read into all of the details but some of the headlines are miss-stating what the law actually allows. In part, it doesn't apply to spouses, just to veterans themselves and it doesn't remove all requirements.

"In short, Floridas new law allows U.S. military veterans who do not have a bachelors degree to obtain a teachers certificate if they meet other requirements, such as passing a subject area examination demonstrating a bachelors level of education."

"In order to qualify for the program, potential teachers must have served at least two years in the military and must have completed some college education. Furthermore, people teaching under these temporary certificates must be assigned a teaching mentor."

Still doesn't mean it is a good plan, but it does mean that someone can't just show up and decide they want to teach something with no background.

So I went to high school in Florida I failed Algebra 2 (A requirement to graduate) because the teacher couldn't teach the content. Imaginary numbers, a concept I believe is used to calculate gravity or something... not really a thing we need in day to day life. Anyways I know I wasn't the only one struggling because we as a class kept asking questions and the teacher would just whip out the book and copy example problems out of it exactly and repeat what it said word for word. Well we weren't understanding the book, and she would not answer our questions. It was terrible.

In community college I had to take a remedial math class because my score was so low, turns out it's really fucking easy when you have an instructor who understands what they are teaching.

Anyways I don't for even a moment think Florida is trying to act on the best interests of kids here.

keyblader1985 posted...

Technically my state (Oklahoma) is the dumbest in the country; lowest ranked in education. At least it was last I checked.

And not a day goes by that I'm not reminded of it.

Arizona is coming for you!!

BlackScythe0 posted...

Imaginary numbers, a concept I believe is used to calculate gravity or something

No that's just regular-ass multiplication and divison.
Imaginary numbers are for wave math (generally).

Thats like legalizing meth and driving.

What exactly are they pretending this is going to accomplish?

papercup posted...

What exactly are they pretending this is going to accomplish?

Oh that it will bring in more teachers, there was a big migration away from teaching during the pandemic because it's shit and doesn't pay well, and a lot of them were close to retired anyway.
It won't bring in good teachers, but it will have people to make sure there is at least someone to blame when there's a kid-riot.

shadowsword87 posted...

Oh that it will bring in more teachers, there was a big migration away from teaching during the pandemic because it's shit and doesn't pay well, and a lot of them were close to retired anyway.
It won't bring in good teachers, but it will have people to make sure there is at least someone to blame when there's a kid-riot.

Well that and it will appeal to veterans, who are a big part of their voter base.

Just imagine some 22 year old who joined the military because he played Battlefield and Fortnite talking to his obese high school dropout wife he married when he joined the army at 18 just for the benefits.

"Babe, let's become teachers in Florida. They get summers off, babe! It'll be easy!"

shadowsword87 posted...

there was a big migration away from teaching during the pandemic because it's s*** and doesn't pay well

That, and being in a classroom full of germ factories that haven't quite figured out when it is and is not appropriate to sneeze into somebody's mouth isn't the most appealing idea during the worst public health crisis in a century, especially with the government actively suppressing efforts to keep it under control.

adjl posted...

That, and being in a classroom full of germ factories that haven't quite figured out when it is and is not appropriate to sneeze into somebody's mouth isn't the most appealing idea during the worst public health crisis in a century, especially with the government actively suppressing efforts to keep it under control.

The same germ factories whose meth head parents echo antimask and antivax propaganda to them that they read on Facebook from their Trump worship group.

They have to get warm bodies in front of the classroom somehow. There is a huge teacher shortage. They have to pay more or lower the requirements.

I'm all for people being able to become teachers without getting drained financially from 8 years of college only to get paid jack shit in return....... but let's slow down a bit.

BlackScythe0 posted...

So I went to high school in Florida I failed Algebra 2 (A requirement to graduate) because the teacher couldn't teach the content. Imaginary numbers, a concept I believe is used to calculate gravity or something... not really a thing we need in day to day life. Anyways I know I wasn't the only one struggling because we as a class kept asking questions and the teacher would just whip out the book and copy example problems out of it exactly and repeat what it said word for word. Well we weren't understanding the book, and she would not answer our questions. It was terrible.

In community college I had to take a remedial math class because my score was so low, turns out it's really fucking easy when you have an instructor who understands what they are teaching.

Anyways I don't for even a moment think Florida is trying to act on the best interests of kids here.

Of all of the school systems I've been in, Florida's was the one I saw literally having brain matter leaking out of the ears.

When I first started it was alright at the primary level, but once you got to secondary it was fucking bedlam, and only got worse as the legislature pivoted from the absolute ineptitude of No Child Left Behind to charter schools.

My teachers could be categorized as people who were fresh out of school and about to get hit by a freight train, the people who shouldn't have been teaching period, and the long-timers that were just burned out from constant assault on them by every fucked up policy to come out, people who wanted to retire or move the fuck on, because public education does not have a future in Florida.

they could teach bombardment

Ive known some veterans that I think would be great teachers. Ive also known some veterans that shouldnt be trusted to even watch kids let alone teach them.

papercup posted...

What exactly are they pretending this is going to accomplish?

Bring in more "teachers", since there's a teacher shortage due to the GOP sabotaging public education.

If there's one thing I learned from the Covid lockdowns, it's that people don't actually care about kids being educated. They just want state-sponsored daycare so people can go to work.

The GOP want to destroy education. It all comes down to racism. Make the public schools as terrible as possible, create a "voucher" program so parents can send their kids to private schools, private schools can pick and choose their students (i.e., white students), and now you've got school segregation again, all nice and legal. Meanwhile the minority kids have to go to substandard public schools, receive less education, and end up as canon fodder in the military, working in low paying service jobs, or in jail where they can be exploited for cheap labor.

rjsilverthorn posted...

I haven't read into all of the details but some of the headlines are miss-stating what the law actually allows. In part, it doesn't apply to spouses, just to veterans themselves and it doesn't remove all requirements.

"In short, Floridas new law allows U.S. military veterans who do not have a bachelors degree to obtain a teachers certificate if they meet other requirements, such as passing a subject area examination demonstrating a bachelors level of education."

"In order to qualify for the program, potential teachers must have served at least two years in the military and must have completed some college education. Furthermore, people teaching under these temporary certificates must be assigned a teaching mentor."

Still doesn't mean it is a good plan, but it does mean that someone can't just show up and decide they want to teach something with no background.

Even under these requirements, my dad, who is a 70 year old man who hasn't been in higher education for over 40 years (he dropped out of school after going for a couple of semesters on GI bill) would be qualified to teach.

Spoilers: He isn't.

faramir77 posted...

Just imagine some 22 year old who joined the military because he played Battlefield and Fortnite talking to his obese high school dropout wife he married when he joined the army at 18 just for the benefits.

"Babe, let's become teachers in Florida. They get summers off, babe! It'll be easy!"

I can almost guarantee you this conversation has already happened.

This is a strange law

Hejiru posted...

Bring in more "teachers", since there's a teacher shortage due to the GOP sabotaging public education.

If there's one thing I learned from the Covid lockdowns, it's that people don't actually care about kids being educated. They just want state-sponsored daycare so people can go to work.

it's that teachers don't want to teach.
so many want to refuse in-person learning

Krazy_Kirby posted...

it's that teachers don't want to teach.
so many want to refuse in-person learning

Speaking as someone who works with several public school Florida teachers, no, this is not true. You don't get into teaching unless you really have a passion for it, since it has a reputation for low pay. Teacher want to teach. The problem is that they barely make enough to live on, are forced to equip their classrooms out of their own pocket, spend countless unpaid hours attending workshops and meetings, all while the government cuts funding over and over. Kids that need to be in special classes are lumped in with everyone else because there's no money in the budget, which hinders both parties. The majority of your time is spent doing paperwork rather than actually teaching. They pile so much extra red tape on teachers that they have no time for their families.

Maybe it's different in other states, I don't know. But in Florida, teachers are leaving left and right because it's just not a practical job to have in this economy.

Krazy_Kirby posted...

it's that teachers don't want to teach.

It boggles my mind that people still say such thoughtless and inconsiderate things like this, completely devoid of any understanding and/or sympathy for the things teachers have to go through.

keyblader1985 posted...

It boggles my mind that people still say such thoughtless and inconsiderate things like this, completely devoid of any understanding and/or sympathy for the things teachers have to go through.

in CA, they fought tooth and nail against classes resuming, even with reasonable steps being taken

Krazy_Kirby posted...

in CA, they fought tooth and nail against classes resuming, even with reasonable steps being taken

What's a "reasonable step", in your view? And to what extent do you think those "reasonable steps" were actually being implemented or enforced?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/2/9/AAZgDvAADhhR.jpg

Krazy_Kirby posted...

in CA, they fought tooth and nail against classes resuming, even with reasonable steps being taken

Were case numbers low enough for working with children to not carry a high risk of causing covid infection? Or does "reasonable steps" just mean "most of them will wear masks that aren't actually effective enough to prevent transmission over the course of five hours of continuous exposure"?

It's not that teachers don't want to teach. They just don't want to risk their lives to do so. That's not a terribly unreasonable standard.

BlackScythe0 posted...

So I went to high school in Florida I failed Algebra 2 (A requirement to graduate) because the teacher couldn't teach the content. Imaginary numbers, a concept I believe is used to calculate gravity or something... not really a thing we need in day to day life. Anyways I know I wasn't the only one struggling because we as a class kept asking questions and the teacher would just whip out the book and copy example problems out of it exactly and repeat what it said word for word. Well we weren't understanding the book, and she would not answer our questions. It was terrible.

In community college I had to take a remedial math class because my score was so low, turns out it's really fucking easy when you have an instructor who understands what they are teaching.

Anyways I don't for even a moment think Florida is trying to act on the best interests of kids here.

There is a shortage of teachers because requirements vs benefits. Why would anyone looking out for their financial well being be a teacher?

we really need to incentivize teaching