As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates a teacher shortage crisis, policymakers are looking for explanations (as long as those explanations do not involve a huge pay boost for teachers). This post will include a perspective from an educator that may help illuminate the issue. Of course, policymakers are not exactly known for consulting teachers on matters that involve schools. Still, the piece is offered as a way to provide at least a glimpse into what’s going on that is causing the crisis-level shortage.
In a post for Badass Teachers Association, educator Steven Singer talks about what he loves about being a teacher - and what frustrates him. For the purposes of this post, I’ll highlight some of the frustrations:
I don’t love having to fill in for missing staff 4 out of 5 days a week, being a glorified security guard in lunch duty, subbing for a teacher who isn’t absent but who has been called into an unnecessary staff meeting for yet another scattershot initiative to fight bogus learning loss.
I don’t love that starting salary for most teachers is just $10,000 above the most generous minimum wage. I don’t love that becoming a teacher often means going into debt so you can earn a four-year degree in education and serve an (often unpaid) internship in the classroom just to make 14 percent less than those from professions that require similar levels of education. I don’t love that our salaries start low and grow even more slowly. I don’t love that many of us need a second or third job just to make ends meet. I don’t love that teachers get crap for having summers off (unpaid) but average 53 hours a week during the school year – making up for any downtime in June, July and August.
Read more from Singer to see some perspective from someone who loves their teaching job but also points out a lot of what teachers have to deal with every day.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s House Speaker has some concerning comments on school funding reform:
It seems the Speaker is not all that familiar with how schools actually work. The suggestion he makes here is that teachers and schools lack the proper incentive system. That is, schools fail students because there’s no threat of losing money no matter the outcome. This reflects a fairly depressing view of humanity. Further, it suggests that Sexton believes that teachers are currently “holding back” simply because they don’t fear punishment.
If only a punishment-based incentive system were in force, Tennessee teachers in every school system would rapidly accelerate learning, Sexton seems to be saying.
This type of thinking is especially alarming as the state considers revamping the school funding formula. Gov. Lee has promised a “student-centered” approach but has also stopped short of calling for more overall spending.
MORE on a possible new funding formula in Tennessee
Tennessee Education Headlines: