The Political Environment: Teacher shortage in Wisconsin

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Teacher shortage in Wisconsin

I can't imagine why (@Act 10)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...: Trade union shortage.

The Steamfitter Union, Local has 100% employment.(RTW, PW)

Republicans are in deep doo-doo.; August 12, 2015 at 5:29 AM
Anonymous said...: What the media is not reporting, and this is just one of many examples of the pro-Walker propaganda that blankets Wisconsin, is that the reason they have to allow high school dropouts to teach technology classes is because funding cuts over the years have virtually eliminated tech ed, bus ed, family & consumer ed, library media, and computer certification programs (computer certification, however, was always a sham -- these licenses were just handed out to math teachers!).

Most school districts do not want to hire people without education degrees because the state's mandated teacher evaluation program is very rigorous and demanding. If districts hire uncertified technoloy-vocational teachers, some one will have to spend a lot of time/money personally mentoring and training them to prepare age-appropriate and pedagogically-sound lesson plans & delivery.

The current UW funding will crush whatever is left of these professional training/certification programs. But you are right, making teachers the subject of hate and public ridicule has greatly diminished those that see it as a viable career path (i.e. La X is prepping teachers for Minnesota too).

Scott Walker is doing what he can to dumb-down schools and destroy public education. He is the anti-education candidate. Jeb Bush is anti-ed too and his family massively looted school funding in Florida.

But this isn't about Walker. This is about corporate media like Milwuakee Journal Sentinel and the rest of the media echo=-chamber catapulting Scott Walker's talking points as factual and newsworthy. Walker benefits from lies of commission and ommision -- but the lies that come out his mouth mean nothing without the amplification that the media is overwhelmingly willing to supply.; August 12, 2015 at 8:01 AM
Anonymous said...: And, of course, Tea Party wisdom will find a brilliant solution that further undermines the future and integrity of (the wasteland formerly known as) Wisconsin:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/late-night-budget-action-dillutes-teacher-license-rules-b99508103z1-305176951.html

Tell the world that Wisconsin is Open for Business! Move your business here. We provide endless tax incentives and untracked loans for a simple (very secret) PAC donation. We support low wages for your workers. We are also doing away with annoying workforce literacy. Our DNR will let you do whatever. (Don't bring your family. Your schools are better back home.) (Oh...and don't drink the water.); August 12, 2015 at 8:49 AM
Anonymous said...: I was thinking about going back to school so I could get my teaching license, and the whole Act 10 plus aftermath (school boards imposing punitive rules on the teachers) made me decide against it.; August 12, 2015 at 10:45 AM
Anonymous said...: The news story actually minimizes the teacher shortage in Wisconsin. With only 3 weeks left before the start of the school year, there are well over 2,000 full time vacant teaching positions open in Wisconsin schools.

Four years after Act 10, throughout Wisconsin many teachers are walking away from their careers as they realize that Walker & the Wisconsin GOP have turned teaching into a "dead end job" as school districts cope with BILLIONS of dollars in funding cuts by eliminating teacher salary schedules. Most Wisconsin teachers haven't had a raise in 4 years, after having their take home pay cut by up to $10,000 per year, every year since Act 10.

Minnesota also has a teacher shortage, for a different reason. Minnesota's booming economy is attracting more residents with children and the much higher private sector pay is attracting science, math, and technology teachers to enter the private sector. Minnesota school districts are already actively recruiting Wisconsin teachers, a trend that will accelerate next year as Minnesota streamlines teacher licensing.

My "payback" to Wisconsin for demonizing me for being a public school teacher is to actively work to educate the newer teachers in Wisconsin on the many reasons why they should move out of Wisconsin to teach in another state. Any teacher with less than 15 years of teaching experience will earn nearly 2 million dollars MORE during their career if they move to Minnesota.

I find that many newer teachers think that the widespread HATRED for teachers in Wisconsin is found everywhere in America. Many of the teachers I speak to are receptive to moving out of Wisconsin to teach in a community and state where teachers are still respected and compensated as professionals.

Plus they won't have to live in Walker's Wisconsin where all educational policy is rooted in a deep animosity, even outright HATRED for teachers.

The bumper sticker I have on my car says it all: "Love Teaching Again, Leave Walker's Wisconsin" Lots of "thumbs up" on the highway, almost balancing the two bullet holes from daring to put a "Recall Walker" bumper sticker on my car.; August 12, 2015 at 10:51 AM
Anonymous said...: Wow 10:51 am. I am tempted to call you a troll if only because I can't imagine a teacher really wanting to sabotage the lives of young children. But you have a point. Teachers have been treated horribly by Walker, his supporters and his minions and I can understand your bitterness.; August 12, 2015 at 7:48 PM
Anonymous said...: It isn't just Walker -- Tony Evers is a moron and incompetent -- he's the director of DPI. That agency has NEVER functioned but under Evers, is an absolulte DISASTER! They cannot process license applications anymore, so even experienced, highly-qualified and content teachers get screwed when their license renewal comes up.

Some school districts play hardball, no renewed license, YOUR FIRED! But DPI will not renew licenses anymore by the start of the following school year even if you turn the your online app with $100 promptly!

But it gets worse, now teachers are being dumped on with busywork, action research, student goals, professional growth goals, garbage online training, teach in-services by folks the folks at CESAs that don't know how to teacher, blah blah blah, all very time consuming, often insulting, and all without any pay.

Imagine being a dedicated teacher and you have prep work to do for your students. You have grading to do. You'd like to brighten up your classroom with colorful bulletin boards, you have much more to do than the day allows and this is every day, every week, every month.

Now you get dragged into DPI's bullcrap, all without renumberation and none of it directly helps your students this quarter/semester/school year!

It isn't just Walker. DO NOT VOTE FOR TONY EVERS FOR DPI SUPERINTENDENT! SOMEONE, ANYONE, CHALLENGE THIS MORON! No teacher in his/her right mind would vote for this incompetent louse again. Defunding DPI would be a responsible thing to do -- Hell, ELIMINATE IT!

I could tell you more, but most people would not believe what I post from first-hand experience and knowledge. If you want a perfect example of a bureaucracy that absolutely does not work, its Tony Ever's DPI.

I am a public school teacher. I support public education. I work in a public school. Nothing is doing more to destroy public education and chase good teachers out-of-state or out-of-the-profession than Tony Ever's DPI. I still make a decent income after Act 10, its the untold extra hours that Tony Ever's dumped on us that makes it unbearable and allows Walker and GOP to take down public schools!; August 12, 2015 at 9:29 PM
Anonymous said...: To Anonymous at 7:48PM:

I am not working to sabotage the lives of young children. I am working to IMPROVE the lives of the next generation of teachers by helping them realize that Wisconsin is one of the worst states in America in which to practice their teaching career.

Wisconsin voters have repeatedly voted for Walker and his GOP allies in the state legislature who have gutted funding for public education and demonized teachers across Wisconsin for years. I think it is only fitting that their children receive the quality of education that Wisconsin voters are interested in paying for.

By encouraging Wisconsin's best and brightest teachers to flee the state, I am giving the majority of Wisconsin voters who support Walker & legislative Republicans the quality of education they deserve. As greater numbers of outstanding Wisconsin teachers flee this state, to be replaced by newbies with one or two years of experience, or uncertified "teachers" with no training in how to teach, maybe Wisconsin voters will appreciate the quality educators Wisconsin used to have before Act 10 drove them away.

Anonymous at 9:29PM also has a point about the oppressive workload Wisconsin teachers face because of Educator Effectiveness programs implemented by the DPI. While the DPI deserves some of the blame for dumping hundreds of hours of meaningless paperwork on Wisconsin teachers each year, please understand that the DPI has been forced to do this by Scott Walker and his GOP legislative allies that ENACTED the Educator Effectiveness Laws.

Part of my argument to encourage the best and brightest young teachers to leave Wisconsin is that they will escape this oppressive additional workload caused by the GOP-passed Educator Effective laws. No such crap in Minnesota. They want their teachers to become excellent in the classroom, not in pushing paper. Remember, EVERY education initiative passed by Walker and his GOP legislators was rooted in the deep animosity, even HATRED, that the majority of Wisconsin citizens have for teachers. Wisconsin can't continue to expect champagne quality teachers on a light beer budget.; August 13, 2015 at 12:52 AM
Anonymous said...: To Anonymous at 7:48PM:

I am not working to sabotage the lives of young children. I am working to IMPROVE the lives of the next generation of teachers by helping them realize that Wisconsin is one of the worst states in America in which to practice their teaching career.

Wisconsin voters have repeatedly voted for Walker and his GOP allies in the state legislature who have gutted funding for public education and demonized teachers across Wisconsin for years. I think it is only fitting that their children receive the quality of education that Wisconsin voters are interested in paying for.

By encouraging Wisconsin's best and brightest teachers to flee the state, I am giving the majority of Wisconsin voters who support Walker & legislative Republicans the quality of education they deserve. As greater numbers of outstanding Wisconsin teachers flee this state, to be replaced by newbies with one or two years of experience, or uncertified "teachers" with no training in how to teach, maybe Wisconsin voters will appreciate the quality educators Wisconsin used to have before Act 10 drove them away.

Anonymous at 9:29PM also has a point about the oppressive workload Wisconsin teachers face because of Educator Effectiveness programs implemented by the DPI. While the DPI deserves some of the blame for dumping hundreds of hours of meaningless paperwork on Wisconsin teachers each year, please understand that the DPI has been forced to do this by Scott Walker and his GOP legislative allies that ENACTED the Educator Effectiveness Laws.

Part of my argument to encourage the best and brightest young teachers to leave Wisconsin is that they will escape this oppressive additional workload caused by the GOP-passed Educator Effective laws. No such crap in Minnesota. They want their teachers to become excellent in the classroom, not in pushing paper. Remember, EVERY education initiative passed by Walker and his GOP legislators was rooted in the deep animosity, even HATRED, that the majority of Wisconsin citizens have for teachers. Wisconsin can't continue to expect champagne quality teachers on a light beer budget.; August 13, 2015 at 12:54 AM