WHO RECRUITS INCOMPETENT TEACHERS ? THE UFT ?

As the mayoral election gets closer, the teacher-baiting chorus will get louder in the context of DOE-UFT contract negotiations, or lack of , in an attempt to drown criticisms of the DOE, or reroute failure towards these sempiternal scapegoats. If there were so many incompetent teachers, wouldn't be sensible to alleviate crowded classes ? Not doing so amounts to make a bad situation worse. If incompetent teachers are the culprit for mediocre education in this country, why recruit them ? Oh, yes, the DOE, and its counterparts across the country, do recruit incompetent teachers -- teachers who fail basic licensing tests three or more times are anything but qualified teachers.
"Under pressure to solve the growing shortage of qualified teachers, many states were diluting entry-level standards with one hand while implementing new qualifications with the other. How could both actions rationally be pursued simultaneously ? This dimension of the public policy schizophrenia regarding education operates as follows. A state may establish more rigorous entry conditions requiring , for example, subject-matter competency examinations to gain a secondary teaching credential while permitting individuals applying in such shortage areas as mathematics and science to begin teaching with an 'emergency credential'. "
Clifford, G.J and Guthrie J.W. Ed School, The University of Chicago Press. 1988

The bottom line is this : the raison d'etre de l'UFT is to defend
its members, including incompetent one.

Straight from the horse's mouth : former mayor Giuliani exclaimed in April 1999, out of frustration, that the ''dysfunctional" school system, " should be blown up.''