Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators who teach our kids. Wisconsin pays our public school teachers less than the national average, which makes it harder to recruit and retain talented educators. According to recently-released data, Wisconsin has fallen… Read more »

  Below is a rant I posted on Facebook the other night after learning that all of the effort put forth by my faculty to reimagine a social justice school of education and design a teacher education curriculum rooted in justice and equity would be usurped by a bureaucratic bumbling of the teacher “shortage” that… Read more »

Just a reminder. PI 34.006 Definitions. In this subchapter: “Institution” means one or more accredited colleges or universities offering an educator preparation program. “Student” means an individual enrolled in an educator preparation program. “Entity” means one of the following or a consortium of the following: (a) CESA. (b) Community-based organization. (c) Institution. (d) Non-profit organization…. Read more »

In my last blog post I took to task Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction and its leadership for pushing forward teacher license deregulation and “entity” driven teacher education.  Some have commented that should refrain from critiques of  DPI and its leadership and that Governor Walker and the Wisconsin Republicans have done the most damage to… Read more »

Or… Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction releases blueprint for the dismantling and demoralization of the teaching profession. “How can anyone make such a claim?” It’s easy.  In response to the “teacher shortage” narrative the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction put forth rules that favor “alternative” and “fast track” pipelines into the classrooms of Wisconsin public… Read more »

About to be “Frequently asked Questions” concerning “fast track” teacher licensure in the state of Wisconsin. Is there a way to get a teaching license without student teaching? Yes. Is there a way to get a teaching license without taking the edTPA? Yes. Is there a way to avoid that horrible Foundations of Reading Test?… Read more »

Stupid cliche alert.  “Be careful what you wish for.” Wisconsin has a new budget! Finally we can get down to the continued further “disruption” of the teaching profession. Yes it is now official.  $2100, 10 months, and no student teaching gets you a license to teach in Wisconsin—teacher shortage solution I’ve been told.  Never mind… Read more »

Wisconsin’s Joint Finance Committee passed Scott Walker’s budget proposal dealing with teacher education on a 12- 4 party line vote.  While the entire proposal is a partisan disaster that continues the dismantling of Wisconsin’s public school system—one item is worth highlighting. 45. Alternative Teacher Preparation Program- Require the DPI to grant an initial teaching license… Read more »

Since testifying against the Wisconsin DPI (Department of Public Instruction) teacher license rule changes, some have suggested that I am simply a defender of the status quo. That my insistence on “standards” means I wish to keep in place the current system. Nothing can be further from the truth. Here is a direct quote from… Read more »

Good afternoon.  My name is Tim Slekar and I am the Dean of the School of Education at Edgewood College.   Let me be clear from the outset. Our teacher shortage is a manufactured crisis that has resulted in an Exodus from the profession and has routed potential teachers away from teacher education.   Loosening, tinkering, and doing… Read more »