ANOTHER Teacher Shortage Story
Maybe Repetition Will Get Results?
Here’s a bit from a recent story out of Louisiana about the teacher shortage crisis there:
Louisiana's teacher shortage is getting worse with retirements on the rise, the number of new teachers plunging and superintendents finding it increasingly difficult to fill classroom jobs.
The ranks of students in the LSU School of Education plunged 57% in the past decade and 39% in the past five years, according to figures provided by the school. Teachers and other school personnel retirements shot up 25% from 2020 to 2021, data compiled by the Teacher Retirement System of Louisiana shows.
The Ascension Parish School District has 37 open instructional jobs at 18 of the district's 31 schools, said Jackie Tisdell, spokesperson for the highly-ranked system.
The bottom line: School districts can’t find teachers. Or subs. Or any other personnel, for that matter.
But, why? Or, why not? Why aren’t people flocking eagerly to the teaching profession? I mean, for one, money matters. But, let’s look at a take from an educator to shed light on what it’s like to be teaching now.
Teacher and blogger Jena Benton offers some interesting insights:
(During the “Pandemic Year”) We had constant change and stress, not to mention fear of getting sick. Some teachers did get sick and their lives changed forever. Some died. But it was made clear that very few people cared. There needed to be child care (in whatever shape that took) so people could get back to work. I say this with a hint of bitterness, but … it felt like no one cared. SO a lot of teachers quit, either during the school year or they retired when that year was over. Some because of health concerns, others because they were pushed to the limit with an unbearable workload.
Now there is a shortage of workers in schools (NOT just teachers) in every position from janitors, to TAs, to school nurses, etc. Everyone at every level wanted out because they were tired of it all. My hubby (who is also a teacher) and myself helped to interview over the summer for teaching jobs that couldn’t get filled. We saw vacancies across the district and we feared what this school year would entail. We knew there’d be a staff shortage, that we would have to work with skeleton crews, but we had no idea what we were in for.
This year is NOT a pandemic year, or so I’ve been told. “We are going to have school this year as if a pandemic has never happened. The only thing we are going to do is wear masks.” It was up to individual teachers to decide what safety mitigations to put in place to keep kids safe. BUT we’re going to have regular school hours, regular sports and clubs, regular everything.
We are short staffed, even with substitute teachers. There are no subs. So they pull the specialists to cover classrooms and cancel gym or library or whatever. Kids get no break and teachers lose planning time. Again. Preschool and SPED TAs are also pulled to teach. What does that say about all the training and education I had to do to get this job? Basically this: anyone can cover a classroom because the system is desperate to keep it going.
Read more from Jena about what it’s like in this “normal” year.
I keep waiting for the stories about massive pay raises and significantly improved working conditions for teachers. You know, the sorts of things that might encourage people to enter the field or to stay there. For years, I’ve heard people say that teachers knew they weren’t going to make much money and if they didn’t like the low pay and crappy work environment, they should just leave. Well, now they are. And, well, the response has been predictable: Teachers are being told they have a calling and they should think of the students.
But, what message do we send to kids when we tell them their teachers aren’t worth much money or consideration?
Tennessee Education News
Senate Education Committee Chair May Lose Post in Campaign Finance Scandal