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player ready...There used to be a time when you would ask children what they wanted to be when they grew up. Many of them would say a teacher or a police officer. These two noble professions illustrated what respect and honor were all about. They symbolized a belief that those who serve our society, in this capacity, should be revered and admired.
Many who went into these occupations understood that it was not about the salary or material things, but more about the positive impact they could have on our society. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his own individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” So many police officers and teachers lived by this principle and desired nothing more than to make society a better, safer, more inviting place.
Unfortunately, these two professions are suffering from a lack of respect, support and admiration. Both professions are having a difficult time attracting candidates. According to a report by the Learning Policy Institute, for the first time ever the demand for teachers exceeded the supply for K-12 in public education in 2019. This is not new in urban schools, where the need for teachers is great and turnover is high. This shortage is now being felt in areas of the country that typically don’t experience shortages. A report by the Alliance for Excellent Education says 40% to 50% of teachers leave the profession within five years.
The same can be said about the police. In a report by the National Police Foundation, in 2020 more than 80% of police departments reported a shortage across the country. In our own city of Chicago, the shortage has become a major cause for concern. Police Superintendent David Brown talked about it at a budget meeting recently. He stated that only 5,000 people have applied to the Chicago Police Academy this year compared with 30,000 in 2020.
You can tell a lot about a society in how it treats its service providers, which raises the question: Are we losing our moral compass? Only time will tell.
What is clear is that a society with an undersupply of educators and law enforcement officers is headed for significant challenges. Who will educate future generations? While home schooling has increased in popularity, we all know every student across the nation can’t be home-schooled. We saw the difficulty, along with the inefficiency, that existed when schools across the nation closed to in-person learning because of COVID-19. The learning loss was significant. The emotional and social toll it had on students and families was not hyperbole.
Without a fair supply of trained police officers, who will protect the citizenry? We see street crime on the rise. It feels as if gun violence has become the norm. Carjackings across the country are at record numbers. Last year, Minneapolis saw a 537% increase, while Chicago, New Orleans, and Washington saw increases of 124%, 126% and 143%, respectively. The rise in mass shootings tells the same story. In a report published by the Statista Research Department, since 2016, the number of mass shootings has increased, with only a slight downturn in 2019 — and in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The need for teachers and law enforcement is clear. Society will not function effectively without them. Why are we not doing more to change this? Put another way, what should we do?
It starts first with restoring respect and honor to these professions. We often think that higher salaries are the primary motivator. That’s not always the case. While more competitive salaries would be advantageous and may help, that’s simply not enough. What we are witnessing now is high turnover rates and a dwindling supply because of how they are perceived, treated and talked about in public and private forums.
It’s important for all of us to change our tone, lower the political rhetoric, and not use educators and police officers as scapegoats for how society has changed. Our youth are our future leaders. If they don’t have a healthy respect for these two professions, where does that leave society? When educators and police are routinely denigrated, why would these occupations be attractive for them?
Political scientist and historian Alexis de Tocqueville once stated, “The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” Positive changes occur when citizens seek to make them. We are at a critical point, nearing a crisis in our rhetoric. It is having a significant impact on our daily lives and our future generation.
Teachers and police officers are interwoven into the fabric of our American society. To have these occupations be viewed in a less than favorable light compromises the future of America.
Jerald McNair has a doctorate in education. He is a school administrator in South Holland School District 151.
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