Watering down the teaching degree?

Try to follow this logic: in a state which is constantly ratcheting up requirements for teachers and demanding more rigorous evaluations, one important group suggests lowering the requirements to earn a teaching degree.

Advocate reporter Will Sentell writes here that the Blue Ribbon Commission for Educational Excellence was asked by the Board of Regents to consider reducing the number of hours required for a teaching degree to 120. Currently, the requirement ranges from 124 to 128 or higher.

LFT President Steve Monaghan is right to question whether the real intent is to cut costs for colleges, and whether the action might devalue the teaching degree.