Troops to Teachers, or, Lord, He Screwed THAT Up

John McCain mentioned Troops to Teachers in last night's debate. Naturally, my ears perked up. He said that it was a program to let retired and discharged soldiers go into education as a second career without having to worry about certifications and passing examinations.

WHAT?

Bill said I turned into Cartman's mother. "What what what?!?" How could this be? How could some guy just get his discharge papers and walk into a classroom teacher position with no "teacher school" training? No Praxis? NO LICENSE? I mean, yes, being in service comes with valuable experience that should not be wasted. But you wouldn't let a combat medic walk into UH and start performing orthopedic surgery. Are his skills needed? Sure. But just like medicine, teaching is a profession. And professions need licensure.

So I called Troops to Teachers this morning in Columbus. A very nice woman named Veronica took my call. A nice, really shocked woman named Veronica. I told her why I was calling and she said, "McCain just got all his facts wrong. We are a transition program for retired and honorably discharged servicemen and women. They must complete all the necessary requirements for licensure. They are bound by Praxis. Yes, they can get their license under the state-approved alternative route. But to say that they can just become teachers with no training and no license, no." I said, "What did you think when he came up with that?" She said, "I almost threw up. And I prepared myself for all the calls I'm going to get today."

Good going, Johnny. Idiot.

http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=560