The Maine Wire
  • News
  • Commentary
  • Maine Wire TV
  • Podcasts
  • About
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending News
  • Maine Man Faces up to 5 Years, $250,000 Fine for Making False Statements to DEA Officer
  • CMP’s Alleged “Excessive Spending” in 2022 at Center of Upcoming Maine PUC Hearings
  • The Supreme Court Case That Could Make the Taxation of Unrealized Income Unconstitutional
  • Maine Hospital CEO Threatens to Fire 500 Employees If They Don’t Get Flu Vaccine
  • Washington Post Guild Announces a Planned One Day Strike on Thursday
  • RFK: Scientists in 2014 Warned Fauci Would Cause Global Pandemic — Instead of Shutting Down, Fauci Moved His Research to China
  • Controversial EV Mandate Scheduled for Discussion by Maine BEP Just Days Before Christmas
  • Supreme Court Declares ADA Tester’s Lawsuit Against Maine Hotel Moot
Facebook Twitter Instagram
The Maine Wire
Login
Friday, December 8
  • News
  • Commentary
  • Maine Wire TV
  • Podcasts
  • About
  • Contact
The Maine Wire
Home » News » Bill to improve teacher quality would do just the opposite
Education

Bill to improve teacher quality would do just the opposite

Jonathan ReismanBy Jonathan ReismanMarch 4, 2019Updated:March 4, 2019No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Reddit
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Senator Rebecca Millett, the chair of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, has introduced LD 898, “An Act to Provide for a Professional Wage and Support for New Educators”. The bill was most likely written by the Maine Education Association, and would more honestly be titled “An Act to Sustain and Succor the MEA”. LD 898 is a Trojan horse posing as an effort to improve teacher quality, while containing provisions likely to assure that only “woke” students committed to social justice will be certified to teach in Maine (and join the MEA).

LD 898 is one of several bills seeking to raise the minimum starting salary for teachers to $40,000. The bill supports this with provisions that would reduce the supply of new education graduates and conditionally certified teachers by imposing mandated academic and “disposition”  requirements on all new teachers, and by mandating lengthy and extensive professional development training for conditionally certified teachers (who are often older professionals with significant real world and private sector experience).

The bill would require the state, rather than local property taxpayers, to finance all or most of the costs of the mandated salary increases, subsequent step raises, and professional development. The fiscal note should be a beauty. The education committee recently showed its support for local control in unanimously voting ought not to pass on LD 589, Rep. Lockman’s bill to ban “indoctrination” by MEA members, but I doubt concerns of local control will be uttered in regards to LD 898.

The dispositions provision is the real hidden danger in this bill. Dispositions are attitudes, values and practices. The bill mandates that teacher prep programs develop “disposition assessment instruments that clearly describes the operational definition of each disposition component for candidates.” In practice, disposition requirements include social justice activism components such as these:

  • University of Maine Statement on Teacher Candidate Professionalism: Social Equity mentioned twice in context of diversity, but not defined.
  • UMPI Statement on Education Program Conceptual Framework: The CoE recognizes the importance of designing and implementing curricula that support students’ appreciation of social justice, awareness and acceptance of differences among people based on ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation, and geographical area.
  • SUNY Oswego Statement on Teacher Dispositions:  Educators exhibit enthusiasm, initiative, and dedication to the task of providing a safe, inclusive, equitable environment for all students to learn at high levels; and seek effective new ideas, diverse perspectives, and relevant information to develop continuously as educators for social justice.
  • CSU Northridge List of Dispositions: Commitment to diversity and social justice.

Social justice is rarely defined. Students who have exhibited any level of antipathy or insufficient enthusiasm for sustainability, intersectionalism, the Green New Deal or some other pillar of the social justice agenda will likely not satisfy disposition requirements.

These requirements will likely blackball or discourage right of center, traditional conservative and religious students from becoming teachers. In other states and professions, they have resulted in litigation. It’s bad enough in social work and psychology; increasing ideological homogeneity in the MEA is a prescription for toxic school environments and a loss of bipartisan support in our schools.

After the Janus decision last summer, I resigned from the UMS faculty union that is affiliated with the MEA and NEA. The Buckeye Institute is representing me in a federal lawsuit seeking to end the union’s exclusive representation. The MEA has supported tax the rich and social justice referenda and politicians that I find abhorrent. LD 898 is more of the same.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Commentary education Featured Maine Education Association MEA National Education Association Public Unions teacher pay teacher's union
Previous ArticleAvoiding legalized plunder
Next Article All Mainers should have a say in what issues make it on the statewide ballot
Jonathan Reisman

Jon Reisman is an economist and policy analyst who retired from the University of Maine at Machias after 38 years. He resides on Cathance Lake in Cooper, where he is a Selectman and a Statler and Waldorf intern. Mr. Reisman’s views are his own. All columns are reprinted with permission of the Machias Valley News Observer.

Related Posts

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Comes to Maine

December 6, 2023

University of Maine System Offers Free Tuition to Victims of Lewiston Mass Shooting and Family Members of Those Killed

November 30, 2023

Wiscasset Students Stage Walkout to Protest Staff Resignations, Superintendent’s Move to Fire Principal

November 21, 2023

Leave A Reply

Recent News

Maine Man Faces up to 5 Years, $250,000 Fine for Making False Statements to DEA Officer

December 7, 2023

CMP’s Alleged “Excessive Spending” in 2022 at Center of Upcoming Maine PUC Hearings

December 7, 2023

The Supreme Court Case That Could Make the Taxation of Unrealized Income Unconstitutional

December 7, 2023

Washington Post Guild Announces a Planned One Day Strike on Thursday

December 6, 2023

RFK: Scientists in 2014 Warned Fauci Would Cause Global Pandemic — Instead of Shutting Down, Fauci Moved His Research to China

December 6, 2023
Newsletter

News

  • News
  • Campaigns & Elections
  • Opinion & Commentary
  • Media Watch
  • Education
  • Media

Maine Wire

  • About the Maine Wire
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Commentary
  • Complaints
  • Maine Policy Institute

Resources

  • Maine Legislature
  • Legislation Finder
  • Get the Newsletter
  • Maine Wire TV

Facebook Twitter Instagram Steam RSS
  • Post Office Box 7829, Portland, Maine 04112

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Sign In or Register

Welcome Back!

Login below or Register Now.

Lost password?

Register Now!

Already registered? Login.

A password will be e-mailed to you.