In your Nov. 6 editorial “Reforming how teachers are taught,” you stated that there will be a huge shortage of teachers in the next decade because of the large number of teachers who will retire. You didn’t mention that one-half of all starting teachers will quit in the first five years of their career. Yes, there will be a huge shortage of teachers. For the last 10 years the media, politicians, business leaders and anyone else who wanted to get on the bandwagon have bashed teachers. All of the problems of the schools, the students and the communities where these students come from have been laid at the feet of the teachers: “The teachers don’t understand the children”; “the teachers aren’t prepared for what they are teaching”; the teachers only want big salaries (and, therefore, powerful unions), lots of benefits and summer vacation.”
We have heard these statements ad nauseam.
And then you wonder why young people don’t aspire to a vocation of teaching? Of all the professions that require master’s degrees, teaching has the lowest starting pay and caps at levels that would make a lawyer or an MBA graduate wince.
Until the leaders and people in this country place teaching back in its rightful place, equivalent to the other major professions, young, talented people will continue to eschew teaching. We, as a society, must restore respect and dignity to the teaching profession. Then you can write an editorial about the scores of excellent teachers vying for each teaching position.
