Addressing a Shortage of Teachers

John R. “Buck” Surdu

The Free State of Florida, being short approximately 4,300 teachers for the upcoming school year, has hit upon an interesting plan: policies that promote and fast track veterans into teachers’ ranks. Years ago, many states, suffering from a dearth of math and science teachers offered to let them begin teaching immediately if they worked to get a teaching certificate within some timeframe. Florida has announced a similar plan, but because it is occurring in a Red state, teachers’ unions have drawn their knives to oppose the plan.

As reported by Project Patriot,

To qualify, veterans must have served for at least 48 months on active duty and have received an honorable or medical discharge. They must also have at least 60 qualifying college credits with at least a 2.5 grade point average. Applicants must also pass a state subject area examination that shows a bachelor’s level mastery.

Note that last line. These veterans must pass a test to show competency in the subject they will teach at the bachelor’s level of mastery. The subject matter knowledge will be high.

The state is hemorrhaging teachers who are fed up with the wokeness of the unions and school boards or cannot afford to live on a teacher’s salary. My parents, both teachers, used to say that those who cannot do, teach; those who are poor at teaching teach teachers; and those who cannot do that go into administration. That is likely unfair and was meant partially in jest, but unless you dearly love to teach, why would you live near the poverty line if you were qualified for another career? One might argue that perhaps better compensation for teachers might have encouraged existing, trained teachers to return to the classroom, but it seems unlikely that doing so would address the immediate shortfall of 4,300 teachers.

The Florida teachers’ unions have predictably railed against this idea. Barry Dubin of the Sarasota County Teacher’s Association argued that this was just “throwing a warm body in a classroom.” The stated objections are:

• Veterans will not have four-year degrees.

My response: Who thinks you need to have a bachelor’s degree in teaching to teach high school algebra? You have to be good at algebra. What does a bachelor’s degree bestow other than a full four years of opportunity to politically indoctrinate young teachers? Many universities have recognized that it is not necessary to be a Ph.D. to teach at the university level. Most universities have “professors of practice” in the technical fields. These are (generally) non-tenured positions for professors who have special knowledge, skills, and experience in a field. They typically teach for four or five years before retiring or returning to the workforce. So why does that not make sense for teachers at the primary and secondary level. We spend more money per student on education than any other country in the world, yet your students routinely fall in the bottom of the middle third in terms of educational outcomes. I would much prefer an expert in math, science, grammar, composition, rhetoric, critical thinking, history, and civics teach my child those subjects than some wokester who is barely competent in the field. This objection is merely the elitism of the academician.

• Veterans will not have teaching experience.

My response: Typical of the Left and most of the population, this objection reflects an abysmal ignorance of service in the military. After 48 months in the military an enlisted soldier or sailor is likely a noncommissioned officer. That means he or she has demonstrated leadership and critical thinking. Most will have at one time or another had to teach a skill to their juniors. Most veterans who qualify for this program will in fact have demonstrated abilities to teach.

• Veterans will not be schooled in the art of pedagogy.

My response: This objection is just the elitism of the academician. Pedagogy is important. Aspiring teachers suffering through four years of wokeness training in our universities will have taken classes in how to teach math, science, English, and other subjects. The Florida plan partners a veteran with a teacher mentor. Pedagogy, creating lesson plans, running a classroom, and other skills can be taught on the job by the experienced teacher mentor and does not require four years of political indoctrination.

I suspect that these strawman arguments hide the real fear and angst of the teachers’ unions.

Real Motivation 1: Lack of Proper Indoctrination:

Remember when Al Gore challenged the legitimacy of the election he lost – but it wasn’t an insurrection when he did it? Recall that at the time, his campaign worked hard to disallow military absentee ballots to be counted. At the time, when we had a useful media establishment, the implication was that the campaign assumed the military members would be conservative and vote overwhelmingly Republican. Given the mob bloviating, woke, Marxist, Leftist, incompetent sycophants cosplaying as general offices, it is hard to believe that the military is conservative and would vote mostly Republican.

Putting that aside, it is likely that veterans are patriotic. The definition of a veteran is one who at one point in his life wrote a blank check to the nation up to and including his life to support and defend the Constitution. The Leftists who control our schools cannot abide a teacher who loves this country and who supports the Constitution against their overt Marxism, Fascism, and hatred. Unions and universities have worked hard to create the current political and social indoctrination camps euphemistically referred to as schools. The sudden infusion of patriots into the ranks of teachers threatens to disrupt that.

Real Motivation 2: Money:

Florida is a right to work state. That means these veterans cannot be coerced into joining the unions and paying the ridiculous salaries of the people who run the unions. The Marxists cabals will lose 4,300 dues-paying teachers and fear that only a small percentage of these veterans will join the unions. I think they are correct. The veterans won’t have been forced to endure four years of pro-union, anti-American propaganda in education programs.

Real Motivation 3: Veterans will make their tenured teachers look bad:

In this regard, the unions are correct!

A batch of untrained veterans can’t possibly do a worse job that these people’s teachers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HusMMz1-8sg

I am not saying that all teachers are bad. Several of my dad’s former students showed up to his funeral to share his impact on their lives. Good teachers are a national treasure. Tenure, however, is counterproductive. Is there another profession that offers the equivalent of tenure? The purpose of tenure was originally to ensure the schools could not stifle the free exchange of ideas. That hasn’t turned out so well, has it? We have all had awful teachers who cannot be rehabilitated or fired, but they keep collecting a paycheck and they keep doing a poor job of educating students. TikTok is full of videos of alarmingly woke, ineloquent, and angry teachers preaching about indoctrination that they try to perform on our kids. Veterans are going to enter the ranks of teachers with energy and enthusiasm untainted by teaching universities or a lackadaisical culture among many teachers. They are going to work hard, stay current in their fields, exercise leadership, promote patriotism, and provide solid role models. The unions cannot tolerate that!

This plan by the Free State of Florida is intriguing. It further illustrates Florida’s commitment to being “veteran friendly.” It also has the potential to fill immediate vacancies while increasing the quality of education. Finally, it should put some teachers who don’t hate our country in front of students. It will be interesting to see the results in a few years.