News outlets everywhere are catching up to a story we covered a year ago when it was signed into law by Gov. Murphy.

Teachers can now be certified without passing basic math, reading and writing skills tests. How outrageous is that? You know who pushed hard for it. Yep, the NJEA.

When they say jump, the Legislature and governors like Murphy ask, “How high?”

Does the all-powerful teacher’s union just want to make sure we have enough teachers in classrooms to teach our kids? Nope. It’s all about the numbers, baby.

SEE MORE: Hey, New Jersey: Please stop rushing to the stores before it snows

Keep the number of teachers at a high level and keep those union dues coming in. It’s never been about your kids’ education when it comes to that union. It’s about power. And the more members they have, and the more money they get in union dues, the more power they keep here in New Jersey.

A decade ago, you couldn’t find a highly coveted job as a teacher in this state. Now it seems like they’ll take anybody. I spoke to a grade school principal over the weekend, and she is woefully aware of the problem. I asked if it was the kids and she bluntly said, “It’s parents. The kids are great; their parents suck.”

Some would say the administration doesn’t have your back and always sides with the parents.

Another recently retired teacher I spoke to said this:

“Nobody wants the job because the pay sucks, the benefits were taken away and there’s no support anymore (teachers are always wrong)…Kids are sent to school with no discipline, don’t know how to act, and have no respect for the educational environment needed to have an orderly effective day. They (meaning elected officials) took a respected profession, that did provide somewhat of a decent living and turned it into a job nobody wants! Now they think they can fix it with lower standards. What a joke. Low standards attract low-quality people.”

Many people in New Jersey and across the country have abandoned public school and this new law and lowering standards won’t help. Those who can afford to send their kids to private or parochial schools will. And a rapidly growing trend is homeschooling. 

Many parents got a close-up look at what goes on in public and private education during the pandemic and that has led to a sharp increase in homeschooling nationwide.

Even in New Jersey, where we pay outrageous property taxes to fund public schools, people are choosing to keep their kids out of “that mess.”

There are many great teachers in this state, and nobody is more frustrated than them with this mess. Things need to change in a hurry if we are to salvage public education in this state.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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OCEAN CITY, N.J. (WPVI) — Snow fell steadily at the Jersey shore as a winter storm passed through the area on Monday.

Plow crews tackled the Ocean City boardwalk as some enjoyed a snowy stroll.

The DiGioas from North Carolina hadn’t planned on being in town but couldn’t resist seeing their favorite place covered in white.

READ MORE: Snow totals: Here’s how much snow has fallen in the Philadelphia region during Monday’s storm

“When I knew the snow was coming again I convinced my husband to stay a couple extra days,” said Nancy DiGioa from Charlotte, N.C.

“We stayed here for the storm. So hopefully we can drive home tomorrow and get back to work,” said David DiGioa.

Latest totals

-Cape May: 8 inches

-Ocean City: 5 inches

-Atlantic City Int’l Airport: 4 inches

-Millville: 3.5 inches

See more snow totals here.

Snow removal was underway along Asbury Avenue from cars and from sidewalks.

“Just having fun, waiting for the snow to stop falling so we can shovel it all up,” said Marc Brosky from Ocean City.

In Linwood, a good old fashioned snowball fight was underway Monday afternoon.

The group of cousins were thrilled to have a day off from school to spend together.

“We were so happy,” said 16-year-old Erin Holt.

We caught up with a contractor in the midst of a very busy day of plowing.

“We’ve been plowing all morning. We got up at 7-7:30 a.m. We started working. Got to my first job around 9 a.m. and been plowing ever since,” said Joshua Lloyd of J.W. Lloyd Landscaping.

Many roads in south Jersey are still snowy and icy. Officials ask people to stay off the roads.