The beginning of the school year is approaching, and many administrators, including me, are asking the same question: Where are the teachers?
School districts around the country are grappling with an undersupply of educators. In fact, the teacher shortage could grow to 200,000 educators by 2025, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. In some communities, the crisis is already apparent in larger class sizes, a heavy reliance on substitute teachers and the need to make curriculum changes — often to the detriment of students.
The depths of the problem can be better explained by the efforts some states are making. Florida, for example, is recruiting military veterans to teach, even though they are not certified teachers. Georgia is attempting to recruit retired teachers. And in rural parts of Texas, schools are moving to four-day weeks to help alleviate the shortage.
As a school administrator, I have had to make some major adjustments, such as anticipating personnel changes and collaborating with the district office in creative ways to add to the teacher pool. And I’ve been listening more intently to the my teachers’ concerns.
While the teacher shortage has been well reported, the extent of the undersupply, the implications it has for communities across the country, the impact on the national economy and the reason the shortage exists are not discussed enough. Ultimately, how did we get here? What has happened in our society that made teaching an unattractive occupation?
In politics, the term “kitchen table issues” refers to matters that are central and personal to people’s lives. These topics affect families directly. This kitchen table issue is serious: Does my child’s school have enough teachers?
The reasons educators give for the shortage are interesting. Regrettably, far too many feel neither respected nor supported by students, parents and even administrators. For instance, parents or guardians may defend students when they’re disrespectful to teachers or solely blame the teacher for a student’s failures.
This kind of imbalance in accountability leaves far too many educators asking: Why should I stay? A study from the RAND Corp., a global policy think tank, revealed that stress is the leading reason why teaches are leaving. Stress is compounded when support and respect are not evident.
How we arrived here has been a gradual decline in how we honor teachers. Historically, however, this nation has always been able to respond to a crisis.
Arguably, one of our most significant challenges in contemporary times may be effectively educating all our youths while teachers are leaving the profession at an unimaginable rate. An administrative colleague noted that schools are a training ground for improving the supply of workers in the private sector. In other words, employers see the skills that teachers have and are recruiting them.
The annual rate of teacher turnover is around 8% nationally, and it is double for schools that receive Title I funding. Often, the needs of those students are greater, yet the supply of educators for those schools is most at risk.
How will we compete globally if all our youths are not educated? What are the implications for our labor force? And how will that affect our gross domestic product?
If the private sector can see the skills that teachers have, why can’t society? Part of the solution is considering how we talk about teachers in our households. Parents’ attitude and tone influence our youths’ attitude toward teachers. There was a time when adults sided with teachers over their children. Regrettably, those times are long gone in far too many households.
It’s also time for a broad analysis of how we fund education in America and the impact the status quo has on local communities and property owners. The private sector is doing its due diligence to staff its organizations, which includes paying competitive salaries. Certainly, our society can do better in paying teachers for their hard work and dedication.
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Finally, it’s imperative that parents and teachers build relationships with each other and communicate often. When students see that the people they spend the most time with are working together in harmony, it only improves their educational output and social and emotional learning.
So as the beginning of the school draws near, let’s begin to improve the situation by valuing our teachers, which will benefit our youths — and our society.
Jerald McNair, who has a doctorate in education and a graduate degree in public policy, is a school administrator in South Holland District 151.
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