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While there is much to decry about education in America at all levels, there are still many teachers who do understand the subject they are teaching with many even good at it. However, the adage \u201cthose who can do while those who can\u2019t teach\u201d is now the law in New Jersey<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy passed Act 1669 as part of the state\u2019s 2025 budget in June to address a teacher shortage, Read Lion reports. The law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Individuals seeking an instructional certificate will no longer need to pass the Praxis Core Test, a basic skills test for reading, writing, and math that is administered by the state\u2019s Commissioner of Education. Candidates still do, however, need to pass the Praxis Subject Tests that are specific to their degree.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018We need more teachers,\u2019 Democratic Sen. Jim Beach, who sponsored the bill, said in May 2024 when the chamber cleared the bill in a 34-2 vote. \u2018This is the best way to get them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And who is responsible for pushing this bill? Unsurprisingly, it\u2019s the teachers\u2019 union.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a few months prior, Murphy also signed a similar bill into law that established an alternative pathway for teachers to sidestep the testing requirement. According to Read Lion, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), a teachers union that is associated with the National Education Association (NEA), was a driving force behind the bill and called the testing requirement \u2018an unnecessary barrier\u2019 to those who want to teach but may not perform well on standardized exams.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sadly, New Jersey isn\u2019t alone in allowing teachers teach without needing to demonstrate command of the subject matter.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2017, New York also scrapped its basic literacy requirements for teachers, noting it was meant to increase diversity among teachers. However, according to the NEA, only about half of New York students in grades three through eight tested proficient in English and math during the 2022-2023 school year despite the state spending almost twice the national average on education.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia and Arizona also lowered requirements for teacher certification by implementing fast-track options for substitute teachers to become full-time educators and eliminating exam requirements to make up for shortages in the field that were worsened by the pandemic, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Education in America has a fundamental and systemic problem. It won\u2019t be an easy fix and there is no panacea, but that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t start working towards that now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While there is much to decry about education in America at all levels, there are still many teachers who do understand the subject they are teaching with many even good at it. However, the adage \u201cthose who can do while … Continue reading \n
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