Teacher Shortage Reaching Crisis Levels
The teacher shortage is a national problem and there's no solution forthcoming
Yes, policy experts and education advocates have been predicting a teacher shortage for years.
As was noted in Tennessee Education Report back in 2014:
Since 2009, Tennessee has identified shortages in the overall numbers of K-12 teachers needed for public schools as well as teachers for specific subjects. There is a critical need in the state for STEM teachers, as well as shortages in high school English, social studies, world languages, Pre-K through high school special education, and English as a second language.
Now, more and more reports are coming in of districts around the country struggling to hire enough teachers:
Here’s a story out of Indiana on one district’s struggles:
Superintendent Dave Chapman says this summer, they have taken a pretty big blow when it comes to how many jobs are filled.
"When you lose 20% of your staff, that's a big hit. So, we're scrambling, like most people are to find teachers to fill the positions," Chapman said.
This story notes the problem is statewide in Florida:
A Florida Education Association report showed more than 9,500 teaching and support staff positions across the state of Florida are vacant.
It says the shortage is so wide-ranging, that more than 450,000 Florida students may have started last school year without full-time, certified teachers in their classrooms.
Why is this problem reaching crisis levels? It’s really a matter of respect.
I reported over at Tennessee Education Report about all the outrage last week related to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee sitting silently while one of his advisors on education policy publicly disparaged public school educators.
Nashville education blogger TC Weber explains it this way:
It’s not that the actions aren’t egregious, they most certainly are, it’s more that we haven’t taken Lee and his lackeys at face value for years now. Content to hear what we want, instead of what’s actually been said. Allowing the Governor to pass more laws that limit teachers, while passing off crumbs as a meaningful investment in teacher salaries.
What we are doing now is akin to waiting until March to approach the school bully, who’s been taking our lunch money all year, and demanding an apology because we heard them call us weak pushovers. We are not concerned about the missing lunch money, just show us some damn respect.