Well, I do.
And I would like to thank the Democrats who contol the Massachusetts legislature for providing me with Exhibit 246820976o5b-3486(c).d:2 for the prosecution:
Over heated protests from GOP lawmakers, the state Senate yesterday approved legislation that would allow aspiring teachers who flunk the state certification test three times to get a waiver that would license them to teach Bay State kids anyway.
Because, really, why should we let a lack of ability to demonstrate basic competence stand in the way of letting people educate our children?
“If they can’t pass the competency test after multiple attempts, maybe they shouldn’t be in the classroom,” said Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield).
Now, now Senator Tisei - let's not go letting common-sense and logic get in the way of a political discussion involving education. That would be, well, inconvenient for some.
The legislation, which was approved on a party-line vote of 34-5, drew derision from Republicans who submitted a series of tongue-in-cheek amendments intended to mock the bill.
Anyone want to get what percentage of donations from the Massachusetts Teachers Association goes to Democrats. Here's a hint - if you said 100%, you'd be wrong. It was a mere 99.8%, silly!
Think that might have had something to do with the "party-line" nature of this vote?
Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Of course not!
But Senate Democrats argued that the legislation will ensure that teachers are assessed on a broader basis so that talented instructors are not excluded from the classroom.“There are other ways to measure whether someone is a successful teacher,” said state Sen. Robert Antonioni (D-Leominster), chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education. “Some people don’t test well.”
So, of course, precisely the place for people who "don't test well" is the classroom, in front of children. RIght, Senator Antonioni?
Such brilliance can only come from the minds of Massachusetts Democrats.
Democrats insisted that Republicans who poked fun at the measure were oversimplifying the issue.
Well, maybe that's because some things in life really are that simple.
Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature have now determined that demonstrating basic competence is, well, unimportant when it comes to educating our children. We are now left to sit-back and watch in amazement as these self-same arbiters of all that is right in the world contine to look for excuses as our schools continue to underperform.
The laws of economics are trying to tell these people something that they are entirely too arrogant and self-righteous to hear. If they offered a good product that people really benefitted from, a lot more people would want to teach. They would feel inspired to do it. They don't. That's prima face evidence that the system need to be reformed.
What these people have done is just a stop-gap. They filled a pot hole and ignored the fact that the bridge is about to collapse.
Boo-Yeah!