No Teacher Education = Highly Qualified

I have posted more than once on how the "higly-qualified" teacher requirement of NCLB creates a shortage that will be filled by entirely-unqualified "teachers" with a degree and a passing test score from flim-flam outfits like ABCTE, the phony teacher prep company that has been fronted by ED to the tune of $40 million so far to help assure the de-skilling of the teacher profession.

Now it seems that Texas governor, Rick Perry (R), has been working his own angle to replace credentialed teachers with a corps of desperate job changers who have not been poisoned by educational theory, developmental awareness, teaching strategies, practice teaching, or professional ethics. In order to meet the "highly-qualified" requirement handed down by ED, which prefers a Walmartized teacher corps that can be brainwashed in the chain gang methods of Direct Instruction, Perry offered school districts the opportunity in 2004 to meet their "highly-qualifed" needs by instantly certifying anyone who had a degree and could pass a test.

Teachers in Texas were outraged, and the Houston Chronicle reports that one teacher has thus far been certified through the program. The Governor's office insists, however, that the program can help systems provide "highly qualified" teachers:

Aides to Gov. Rick Perry say the program can still help school districts fill vacancies with qualified individuals.

"The governor still believes this is a worthwhile program that is worth pursuing, and that it could be very beneficial for school districts," said press secretary Kathy Walt.

This is simply another example of the monstrous lie technique used so effectively by neo-cons--of adopting language to describe policies that are intended to achieve the exact opposite outcome of what is stated: Clear Skies, Healthy Forests, Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, or now Highly-Qualifed Teacher--take your pick.

Jim Horn