“Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” (Pierson 2013) Where would we be without the teachers of the world? Young people across the world look to their teachers and instructors as role models, people to learn from and gain a broader knowledge of the world we live in. For many years, the teaching profession has been revered as a highly respected and widely sought after career, which provided instructors with a stable and supportive lifestyle. In recent years, the view of a teaching profession has changed in the eyes of prospective educators and this has left certain parts of the country scrambling to fill a wide array of teaching vacancies. These vacancies have had a severe impact on the qualifications and credentials which administrators are looking for to fill these positions, often times they’ve had to lower the standards required for full-time teaching positions just to find someone to work. This shortage of teachers is having a substantial impact on teaching districts around the country, as well as right here in North Carolina. While school administrators and education professionals understand the necessity of fixing the teacher deficit, the attempt to find a resolution to this dilemma has been futile for the most part. With this on-going, decade long battle against nationwide teacher shortage, professionals in
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
The differences were connected with a teacher’s original preparation for the teaching profession, licensing in the particular subject area to be taught, strength of the educational experience, and the degree of experience in teaching along with the demonstration of abilities through the National Board Certification, in which all of these facets can be addressed through policy (Darling-Hammond, 2010).America has not produced a national method containing supports and reasons to guarantee that teachers’ are adequately prepared and equipped to teach all children effectively when they first enter into the career of teaching. America also does not have a vast collection of methods available that will maintain the evaluation and continuing development of a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom, or support decisions about entry into the field of teaching and the continuance in the profession of teaching (Darling-Hammond, 2010). n order to reach the belief that all students will be taught and learn to high standards calls for a makeover in the methods our system of education in order to be a magnet for, train, support or uphold, and cultivate effective teachers in more efficient ways. A makeover that is contingent in a certain degree of how the abilities or skills are comprehended (Darling-Hammond, 2010).In the last few years there has been increasing
“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best they can possibly be.” – Rita F. Pierson
America has encountered a change within the teaching profession: concerning, experience, age, credentials, and ethnic background (Feistritzer, 2011). It is almost as if the year of 2005, overturned the trend of older employed teachers (Feistritzer, 2011). A six-year survey shows that the amount of teachers under the age of thirty has increased drastically, and that most teachers have earned master degrees. Also, although teaching has been a predominately white profession, more Hispanic and African American teachers were hired between the years of 2005 and 2011 (Feistritzer, 2011).
“My parents raised me to go out and work everyday to the best of your ability. They drove all over for hockey, soccer or lacrosse or any of those things we were doing as kids. But that family support really was something I didn’t understand at the time. My parents were driving an hour and a half or two hours to watch me play in a different city. Looking back I realize how much that means for a kid to have that familiarity with your parents.”
Fifty percent of new teachers quit with in the first five years of teaching (NEA, 2015), with this number being so alarmingly high it begs the questions: Why do so many teachers leave after going through years of college for this profession? Were teachers not prepared for the job, through college training, what should colleges teach in order to better prepare teachers?
Since my first day of grade school I have dreamt of becoming a teacher. It was not until my junior year of high school that my dream grew into a passion for wanting to teaching in an urban environment. During a field tip to a Chicago Public School, I observed that the students where clearly in an underfunded and disadvantaged environment compared to my own experience in school. The moment that I saw that teacher earning respect and influencing her students, it was obvious to me that these teachers were the most influential factor in the classroom. The teacher’s attitude and ability to influence was more important than any other resource.
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.
“Just as we recognize that aspiring doctors need training before they can diagnose and prescribe, we must acknowledge that reaching candidates require an upfront investment” (Polakow-suransky, Shael, Josh Thomases, and Karen Demoss. "Train Teachers Like Doctors." The New York Times. The New York Times, ).We should not treat teachers as if they are not important they are the ones that inspire people to take on the careers they choose to do. We have to make the teaching career just as important as being a lawyer or doctor. Many teachers dedicate a lot of time and patience into their career therefore they should not be looked over nor trained any
The teaching profession in public education in the United States is under examination and scrutiny more than at any time in it’s history (Odden Kelley 2002). Teachers have not matriculated well informed, academically skilled young adults, who process critical thinking powers and are equipped to lead and transform the world of the 21st century. The graduation goals from our
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
Elementary teachers not only introduce their students to the basic concepts of core subjects, they also help pave the path to each student’s future success. Education to become a teacher is long and tedious, and while the income may not be the highest available, watching students develop a new skill or grow an appreciation for learning can be very rewarding. Because there will always be a need for education, even with the recent budget cuts, teaching jobs will always have to be available somewhere.
When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having
In the first year of teaching, four out of ten teachers quit. An educators job is not a walk in the park. In Kansas, we are facing a shortage of teachers. The most areas that are facing these shortages are Special Education, Adaptive and Functional Special Education, Early Childhood Handicapped, and hearing and visual impaired. It has been reported that Fewer students have chosen to major in education. There are many reasons that are causing the shortages, lack of
Because a female teacher could be hired for a third of the price of a male one, education reformers cleverly marketed teaching as a position only suited for women (Johnson 2008, p.4) Eventually, this ideal formed much of what was the popular opinion of the general public. According to the National Education Association’s “Ranking & Estimates,” male teachers only occupied 23.8% of public school educators in the United States (2015). This average was slightly higher than the average of 2013 (23.7%). Education changed from a profession only for men to a field that is mostly comprised of women.