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As the kids are getting ready to go back to school in a couple of weeks, certain districts are facing an unusual shortage of teachers for the next year.
Certain schools, where the working conditions are not very good and there are more students every year, find it very difficult to fill all the vacant positions. Most of them report that they are in desperate need of science, math, languages and special education teachers.
This situation hardly comes as a surprise, given the fact that the payment is still not very good for teachers and the demands are harsher every year. This is what prompts many of them to seek jobs somewhere else, without a hint of regret.
However, this makes it even harder for administrators to fill these positions and it seems that the only solution is to allow the remaining teachers to teach subjects that are outside their initial area of expertise. For instance, the authorities in Oklahoma have released more than 200 certifications that enable educators to teach other subjects as well.
It is a bitter reality that the officials must deal with and, apparently there is hardly any solution to it:
“It’s just brutal right now trying to get people certified. They may have a degree in underwater basket-weaving, and I’m trying to get them a certificate in elementary education,” said Tony O’Brien, who is a superintendent of Newcastle Public Schools.
Even if this situation does not occur everywhere, the states that have lower budgets and a large number of residents find it extremely hard to find teachers because they simply have very few to chose from.
This is why certain districts have started to focus their attention on this problem and try new approaches, such as offering bonuses, sending recruiters to job fairs and colleges and even launching campaigns aiming to fill the teaching vacancies.
It remains to be seen if these solutions will fix the problem and fill the thousands of teaching positions that are currently vacant all over the United States.
There are many reasons why teachers decide to leave their jobs. Among them, the fact that the recession is over might be prompting some of them to look for better-paid positions that give them fewer headaches.
Websites that are designed for and dedicated to teachers in America are filled with articles and posts that point out how frustrating such a job can get and how much is demanded from educators nowadays, which somewhat also cripples their autonomy in the classroom.
Teachers who have already left their jobs say that they could not stand the hostility of certain lawmakers and the pressure they felt due to the increase in compulsory testing. Moreover, in spite of the rigorous demands, teachers’ salaries haven’t been raised for almost ten years.
Image Source: maryloukayser
