Because Florida, like many other states, is facing teacher recruitment shortages, Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing three initiatives that he hopes will increase teacher numbers in classrooms.

Among the initiatives DeSantis announced during a Tuesday press conference at a high school in Pasco County was calling upon the available pool of retired Florida veterans and first responders who have Bachelor’s Degrees, as well as starting a teacher apprenticeship program where Floridians who have an Associate’s Degree can train alongside teachers for two years before going on to get their Bachelor’s Degree:

-First responders who have their bachelor degree will have fees waived for the state certification exam, receive a $4k bonus & an additional $1k for those willing to teach specific subjects (science, reading, ESE, etc.)

-Teacher apprenticeship program: Floridians with associates degree will get 2 years experience in the classroom under mentor and go on to receive their bachelor’s degree. Mentors will receive $4K bonus for every apprentice

-Scholarship program: Help current high school teachers earn their masters degree so they can teach dual enrollment at their current campus.

Towards the end of the presser, DeSantis was asked by a reporter if he thought the proposals would help “jumpstart” efforts at getting high school graduates to pursue teaching careers.

DeSantis responded by pointing out in so many words that the desire to enter the teaching profession was nowhere near as popular as it was just a few decades ago, and said he thought part of the reason why was because of the belief that professors would try to indoctrinate their students and in the process get them to sign on to indoctrinating students once they made it into a public school classroom.

“They don’t want to be kind of a cog in some indoctrination machine,” DeSantis noted after suggesting that most people who want to get into the teaching profession actually just want to help students, not teach them to think one way or another.

He went on to explain that Florida’s education “mantra” under his administration has been to educate students and not indocrinate them, which he why he signed the Stop WOKE Act into law earlier this year.

DeSantis concluded his remarks by stating that he wanted to make sure people knew that “Florida is the place where woke goes to die. We’re not going to let this state descend into some type of woke dumpster fire. We’re gonna be following common sense, we’re going to be following facts, and that’s really, really important.”

Watch:

“The State of Florida is the place where woke goes to die. We're not going to let this state descend into some type of woke dumpster fire.” – @GovRonDeSantis pic.twitter.com/h2ERPZxOeO

— Robbie Myers (@robbievmyers) August 16, 2022

DeSantis uttered similar remarks in March when the Stop WOKE Act was being vilified by the MSM, saying that “I also want Florida to be known as a brick wall against all things ‘woke.’ This is where ‘woke’ goes to die.”

“Where woke goes to die” is the definitive quote of the DeSantis administration. If he uses a variation of that nationally in the event he runs for president in 2024, I think it will help him go far. Because “woke” is not just being rejected by conservatives. It’s also being rejected by parents of all political stripes, as we learned from Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 victory in Virginia.

For those interested, you can watch DeSantis’ full speech/presser below:

Related: Democrats Make Reluctant Admission About Ron DeSantis as 2024 Chatter Heats Up