Huppenthal Feeling the Heat

Ask senator Huppenthal (R-Ahwatukee) if dozens of parents, teachers and support staff being at the capitol every day in June is having any effect. He recently had to hold one of his "pet" bills from being heard and subsequently voted down in the Senate Education Committee-- a committee he chairs.

SB1394 is senator Huppenthal's answer to the teacher shortage in Arizona. Does he offer smaller class sizes? better working conditions? increased support?

No.

SB1394, if signed into law, would allow anyone who ranked in the top 10% of their college graduating class to be immediately certified to teach in their field of study.

Seriously.

Graduate with high scores in content knowledge and we will put you in a classroom with kids. You can learn classroom management, preventive discipline, state-standards-based curriculum writing, effective communication skills (with students and parents), implementation of individual education plans, semester and unit planning, reliability and validity in testing, and infusing technology into your lessons on the fly.

It would also grant certification to anyone who taught the same subject for three years on an emergency certification basis in a traditional or charter school. That would fly in the face of eight years of moving toward having a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom. Math teachers should teach math, not history teachers.

Similarly, scoring in the top 10% in a nationally recognized norm-reference admissions exam for post-baccalaureate program (meaning the GRE) would grant someone instant certification.

Good at taking tests? Well, you must be good at giving them, too!

Almost a good idea. Imagine if anyone graduating in the top 10% were allowed to be a nurse or a doctor. We have shortages of both, but would you feel good going onto the operating table if Doctor "I Slept At A Holiday Inn Express" hadn't had any formal training, but they did ace anatomy?

Don't forget- senator Huppenthal wants to someday be known as Superintendent of Public Instruction Huppenthal.

Back to SB1394. Why did it fail? Because the people attending the Heat Wave all went to his committee, signed on as "in-opposition" to his bill, and spoke to senate education committee members about what a horrible idea it was. Two AEA members, Lori Coughlin of Deer Valley and Chris Maza of Paradise Valley, were prepared to give testimony to the committee in front of that packed room.

Huppenthal, reading the tea leaves, quietly "held" his bill from being heard in committee.

Yes, the Heat Wave is having an effect, because the people going down to the capitol are making a difference. Standing up for your profession, for students, and for schools is important.