Combating teacher shortages in U.S.

In America, states have recently focused their efforts to reduce the nation’s teacher shortage by promoting strategies that “remove or relax barriers to entry” to quickly bring new people into the teaching profession. California allows teacher candidates to skip subject matter tests if they have taken approved college courses. New Mexico is replacing subject skills tests with a portfolio to demonstrate teaching competency. Missouri no longer looks at a prospective teacher’s overall grades – just the ones earned in select courses required to become a teacher. Arizona’s education requirements for teachers now allow people without a college degree to begin teaching – so long as they are currently enrolled in college.

But approaches to recruit new teachers do not address the actual causes of the comprehensive and nationwide teacher shortage. As revealed by research data recently published in the book “How Did We Get Here?: The Decay of the Teaching Profession,” college students who are interested in becoming teachers and current teachers agree: the root cause of the problem is a longstanding overall lack of respect for teachers and their craft, which is reflected by decades of low pay, hyperscrutiny and poor working conditions.

Even before covid-19 hit, teachers were leaving the profession at an increasing rate. And the stress of teaching through a pandemic has been speculated to drive away even more teachers. About 1 in 6 teachers expressed that they would likely leave their job pre-pandemic, but this increased to 1 in 4 by the 2020-21 school year. While teachers continue to leave classrooms, fewer people are signing up to replace them.

We believe efforts to loosen requirements for new teachers will bring more disrespect to the profession. Lowering the standards to allow more people to enter the teaching profession may, for a short period, boost the number of people available to stand in front of classrooms. Nevertheless, that approach does not make teaching an attractive profession to consider, nor worthwhile for someone to stay and thrive in. Solving the teacher shortage problem requires solutions that reduce the numbers of teachers leaving the field and specifically address the difficulties that they regularly endure.

(TRAN, H. & SMITH, D.A. www.theconversation.com, 08.08.2022. Adaptado)