The Child Is The Future

As explained in Diane Ravitch's article, “American Schools in CRISIS,” educators are provided with little job security under Bush's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Obama's Race to the Top educational reform initiatives; where teachers can be fired based on poor standardized test scores from their students (50). The majority of new teachers already quit within five years of entering the field; “demoralized” (Ravitch 50) by the effects of such high stakes and low resources (Ravitch 52). To combat this figure, many states have decreased the requirements for becoming a teacher, even allowing online licensure in Texas (Ravitch 51). To lower the standards of the “conservators of our common future” (Barber 122) is an irresponsible practice that must be reversed if students are to succeed. Barber proposes paying early childhood educators as much as lawyers to attract better teachers. Higher wages would encourage more ambitious individuals to enter the fields of primary and secondary education. Without highly-trained and intelligent educators, who are dedicated to progress and change, students will continue to stumble through a broken system, woefully unprepared for the task of becoming productive citizens.

Across the United States, schools are facing a major teacher shortage as they try to fill positions in science, math, special education, bilingual education, and other fields. The shortage mainly lies in the schools serving low-income or colored students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the student population will increase by about three million in the next decade. While the number of students is multiplying, teacher enrollment in preparation programs is down remarkably, falling 35 percent nationwide in the last five years (Long 2). Not only are more people not entering the teaching profession, multiple teachers are reaching retirement age. Because of the shortage, several states have been loosening their certifications

Finally, this journal has enlightened me and my thought process of generalizations pertaining to urban schools: “When we think of low poverty schools the first thing that comes to mind are inner urban schools. Again, this process is considered a stereotype because many urban schools perform well and meet required standards. Unfortunately, there are urban schools across the nation who has a high demand for teachers and resources. Teacher.com is a comprehensive resource for information. It is in partnership with California State University-Rossier online. It provides state specific information on how to become a teacher, areas that are in demand of teachers, teacher pay in those areas, teaching credentials, teacher certification tests, alternative teacher certification and more. Its objective is to provide all information to become a teacher anywhere in which you reside. Sadly the schools that have the highest demand for teachers are the

One of the main issues with merit pay for teachers is found in the manner in which it is measured. Most of the new performances pay laws and union contracts measure “effectiveness,” at least in part, by looking at the students’ test scores from one year to the next. One test score cannot paint a full picture of a student's accomplishment. Teachers unions have historically opposed merit pay, arguing that test scores are not an accurate measure of student achievement (Turner, 2010, para 15). Most teachers will report that a test will only show part of the picture. Standardized tests do not reflect life lessons, effective citizen traits, or character building traits that were taught that year. All of these traits thrive in an effective teacher’s curriculum.

Does Oklahoma want to make the people with the biggest impact on the state’s children’s futures, and thus the future of its communities, struggle to get by day to day? Gina Cattaneo, a teacher at Tulsa Central High School, was recently interviewed by Janna Clark of Fox23 about the struggles of teachers to make ends meet. Cattaneo is a divorced mother of 2 who earns approximately $2,155 a month but after all her household bills are paid, she is left with roughly $268 a month for food, gas, clothing and doctor bills. (Clark). Cattaneo loves her job and does not want to find another job but she feels, “The state needs to come up with a plan…so we can have a lifestyle that we’re not constantly stressed and struggling.” (Clark). Other teachers have had to take on other part time jobs in order to make ends meet. For example, Summer Lyons, a four- year Pre-K teacher in Tulsa, earns $34,100 a year but works an additional 15 hours each weekend at a Chinese restaurant to make ends meet. (Robson). Lyons has considered moving to New York because the average teacher salary there is $75,279 and she feels the extra $31,000 each year would offset the cost of living differences. (Robson). Summer Lyons is a great example of a good teacher feeling underappreciated and looking at options out of state. Teachers significantly enhance the future of our state yet most Oklahomans do not realize the struggles teachers make each day in trying provide students their best education while worrying about how to pay their basic

The state of Arizona is facing a serious education crisis in the retention of qualified teachers. Personally, my school in Yuma, Arizona encountered an average of seven new teachers every year. Yuma High School District allowed for a teacher to teach chemistry when his/her Bachelor’s degree was in mathematics. According to the ‘No Child Left Behind Act’ enacted in 2001, schools are required to provide “highly qualified” teachers to teach at all times (Educator Excellence). Having quality, long-term teachers is imperative to develop students in becoming productive members of society. Unfortunately due to federal budget cuts directly affecting education, Timothy L. Ogle, executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association, says, “Arizona has faced the most dramatic cuts to K-12 education spending of any state in the nation” (Lopez). As a result, administration is forced to have teachers make up for the lack of a certain subject by teaching it without qualifications. Due to this, out-of-state teachers leave within the first 5 years, and 25% all leave within the first year. Some reasons for this include a

California is facing not only teacher shortage but teachers that are diverse. While the Hispanic and Asian population are increasing, there are hardly any teachers that are diverse. According to American Association of College for Teacher Education “that students of color made up more than 45% of the PK–12 population, whereas teachers of color made up only 17.5% of the educator workforce." (Deruy). While many may argue that the lack of diversity is happening because majority of the diverse population is going towards jobs that pay more such into technology and other occupations, one has to look also on how schools are encouraging those students into the teaching profession. Old schools like Mesa Verde High School that have been providing

The low pay for our educators is causing many negative effects. New York Times shows that the low income is causing sixty-two percent of teachers to have a second job outside of their teaching jobs. Just to have enough money to support their families and make ends meet. Most everyone decides to college to prevent having these struggles with money, and to avoid having to work multiple jobs, when they get older; however, not when it comes to living off of only a teacher’s income, the struggles to have enough money are interminable. This low pay is also causing most teachers to retire, and find new jobs. New York Times states, “every year 20 percent of teachers in urban districts quit. Nationwide, 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year. The turnover costs the

Experienced teachers are on average more effective in raising student achievement than less experienced counterparts. It is said that teachers do better as they gain experience. In If You Build It, Matt has very good knowledge in designing so he could work with the students hands-on. He also gained knowledge and experience while also teaching other students. Emily on the other hand was the organizer. She was hand-on with building and going around to the students making sure they were working efficiently. Both Matt and Emily gained experience through their many months of working with these high school students. In order for there to be good teachers the state needs to cooperate with the teachers. The salaries must be adequate and the teachers must have an expectation that as they gain experience their salaries will rise in line with what they would normally earn in comparable professions. Teachers would most likely leave if they feel they are in poor working conditions. A principal can improve these conditions and retain good teachers. In If You Build It, the superintendent of Bertie County High School was very creative and ready to work to improve the school with his bright ideas. Unfortunately, before the school year started he was fired because the county couldn’t afford him and his ideas. Politicians and states have this idea of teachers and principals and scapegoats

According to the state report card, Salem Elementary School’s socioeconomic status of students is strongly high in poverty. Correspondingly, all of the students enrolled in Salem also have some type of economic disadvantage. As discussed in our EDTE 2020 class, high poverty areas tend to have teachers “with less experience”, who do not have “proper certification”, or who have a “high turnover rate”. This is the complete opposite at Salem, as it’s stated on the report card that all teachers have a bachelor and a master’s degree, with over 72% of teachers being

The issue of teacher shortage today is continuing to grow. The effects of the achievement gap are reaching the teachers, not just the students: “...good administrators and teachers, who are doing their best under difficult circumstances, will be driven out of the profession…,” (Boyd-Zaharias 41). The achievement gap is part of the reason teachers feel they are underpaid, which happens to be one of the leading cause in teacher shortage considering, “Teachers were paid two percent less [than comparable workers] in 1994, but by 2015 the wage penalty rose to 17 percent,” (Long). Being a teacher requires passion in order to stay in the field, especially if the money in teaching is decreasing. Money is an important aspect for people when it comes to their careers, therefore, fewer people want to become teachers. This lack of teachers and the lack of college students studying to become a teacher leads to unqualified teachers and larger classroom sizes (Ostroff). Both of these causes are eventually affecting students’ learning environments. I chose this issue in education for my project because I have personally felt these effects, and I know others who have as well. As a future educator, I want to see better wages and better benefits, but this can only happen with qualified, passionate teachers. I plan on being one of them, and I plan on sparking a change. I am a future educator fighting to end teacher shortage.

Contrary to what many believe, students do care about school. They care about how their education affects their future. Amongst the many concerns for students of the county of Hawaii is the lack of qualified teachers or lack of teachers in general. Schools do not have the instructors to teach Advanced Placement of Special Education classes. Students notice that their teachers are placed in classes in which they have no knowledge on. Also, with an ever present system of replacing teachers frequently in their schools, students cannot find an adult to rely on and build a relationship with. All of these effects can be traced back to the state’s teacher shortage problem. President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, Corey Rosenlee, says, “Hawaii has one of the highest teacher turnover rates in the nation and this is more so for people that come from the mainland. They say, 'I can't live here' and they leave and we have to go back and recruit, and this cycle just continually happens” (Aloha). Therefore, Hawaii’s teacher shortage comes from the amount of employees that are recruited from the

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” This quote by Sydney J. Harris notes that schooling provides opportunities and guides career paths. The effectiveness of teachers can cause a generation of workers, parents, and students to prosper or fail. Yet, with such a burden on their shoulders, they have one of the lowest paying professions. Teachers deserve more money than $54,740 to $58,170 a year. Merit pay should be incorporated into all U.S. school systems.

With beginning teachers usually earning entirely less than other college graduates, the profession is at loss of top-notch, quality people who tend to find jobs seeking more money. Almost 50 percent leave the profession within 5 years, lured by higher pay and prestige elsewhere in the booming U.S. economy (World, 1999, par. 7). Starting teachers average a $25,735 salary in the United States compared to an engineer earning $56,820 or a physical therapist earning $56,600 (Engineer, 2000, par.1). And what signal does it send out about the value of good teachers and a good education when a 45-year-old teacher with a master’s degree earns $45,000 a year and a 25-year-old out of law school often starts at $80,000, considering a six year education for a master’s degree and a seven year education for a law degree (Greenhouse, 2002, par. 4)? A teacher is also given no compensation for the long hours spent basically in overtime work. The teacher’s day does not end when they leave school because if lesson plans, grading, or planning is not completed, it will have to be finished on their own time. Accountants, paralegals, and engineers all are compensated and get paid overtime for work that does not get completed in a regular day or if they want to stay and

Lurking over our great country is a troubling issue that is plaguing the professional educational workforce. When compared worldwide, American teachers work the most hours, yet are paid in the lowest brackets when related to the top 32 nations (Teachers Pay). In addition, when you compare a teacher’s salary to other four year degree salaries, teachers are among the 5 lowest paid degrees (O’Shaughnessy). Not only are the salaries among the lowest in the American workforce, a typical teachers at home workload exceeds all other professional jobs by 20% (Current). Furthermore, teachers were only given a 2.3% salary raise in 2009. Yet the rate of inflation rose to 3.1% causing a loss in purchasing power and creating a hardship on the