Comment Rescue: Dana Garrett on SB51

31 Comments
SB51 sounds good (you can read the synopsis inside and the full bill at the link provided), but the devil is in the details. Take it away Dana:
Recently a student approached very upset SB 51 pending in Dover. My student is an Education major and is, without a doubt, one of the best students I've had in 20 years of teaching. But now he is thinking about changing his major and giving up on his life's ambition of teaching middle school students. Here's why. He read that SB 51 would prohibit anyone from becoming a teacher in DE who received a GPA below a 2.7 in high school. Now mind you, it doesn’t matter how high your GPA is once you graduate from college, although there is also a standard for that. You can have a college GPA of 4.0 but still not become a teacher in DE if your high school GPA is below 2.7. Now, I have had dozens of students who performed poorly in high school when they were immature but waited a few years before they attended college. In college they were mature, intelligent, and dedicated students who performed well. There is simply no reason why these students should be excluded from consideration for teacher positions. If the state of DE wants to have a GPA standard for college and/or graduate school, then that is understandable. And if the state wants would-be teachers to pass a competency test as part of the application process for being a teacher, then that also is sensible. But why a GPA far away from the application process (high school) should matter is absurd. Moreover, it is bad for the children because it could deprive them of excellent teachers, teachers who excelled in college but who performed poorly in high school. I understand that the Markell administration supports this bill and, now get this, so does the DSEA. I don't know yet what other measures are proposed in the bill. Some might be worthwhile. But the measure that exercises my student is draconian, punitive, snobbish, and absurd. Please contact your representative and ask them to reject this provision.

Saturday Open Thread [4.27.13]

8 Comments
There have been several retirements among Senate Democrats this year. Rockefeller, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, and now Max Baucus of Montana. Many Beltway pundits tell us that means the Democratic majority in the Senate is thus in danger. That may be the case in West Virginia, where Rockefeller is likely to be replaced by Republican Shelly Moore Capito. But in Montana and South Dakota, these retirements have likely increased the Democrats' odds of holding onto these seats.

My Mea Culpa

4 Comments
In addition to being a contributor here at Delaware Liberal, I am also involved with the Progressive Democrats for Delaware (PDD). On Tuesday, I made a series of comments after the Marriage Equality vote, and specifically concerning the no votes from Representatives Charles Potter and Earl Jaques. When I made these comments, I left the impression that I was speaking for the PDD in its disapproval of their votes, and I mentioned that both either should or will lose their endorsements from the PDD in their next election. In case you don't know, decisions regarding endorsements or non-endorsements are the exclusive domain of the Endorsement Committee of the PDD. So my speaking on their behalf or leaving the impression that I was speaking on their behalf regarding an action that has not yet been taken was wrong. A decision regarding any future endorsement of Earl Jaques and Charles Potter has not been made yet, and if a decision is made, it will not be made by me. So I was wrong to leave that impression. I attempt to maintain a wall of separation between the two roles of being a liberal blogger and being involved with PDD, and this week I failed, so I apologize for that as well.