Industry experts say the problem is pretty simple, nobody wants to be a teacher anymore. For multiple reasons, it’s seen less and less like a viable, fulfilling, career option.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Industry experts say the problem is pretty simple, nobody wants to be a teacher anymore. For multiple reasons, it’s seen less and less like a viable, fulfilling, career option.
The regional director of Teach for America said – the solution is simple – take steps to make teaching an attractive career once again.
A Florida Education Association report showed more than 9,500 teaching and support staff positions across the state of Florida are vacant.
It says the shortage is so wide-ranging, that more than 450,000 Florida students may have started last school year without full-time, certified teachers in their classrooms.
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Regional Director of Teach for America, Lakeisha Wells-Palmer says there is a shortage because it’s a tough job that not everyone can do.
“We are responsible for academically growing and supporting students on a day to day basis.” Wells-Palmer said. “Teachers are with students for more than eight hours a day. So the profession is hard in itself.”
A survey of high school students found that only 5% were interested in becoming teachers, and that survey was from four years ago.
Teacher college prep programs saw a 23% decrease in participation between 2008 and 2016.
Pay is also a concern. While Florida has made recent moves to increase the base salary for new teachers, the overall average teacher salary in Florida is $51,167 -- below the national average of $65,293.
“We are the most needed profession, yet we get paid the least we are the ones that create the next generation, next generation of doctors, lawyers, and other key professions,” Wells-Palmer said. “And teacher pay is something that needs to be addressed.”
To address these issues, the FEA is asking the state education department to take immediate steps including:
Hiring and developing more new teachers
Boosting salaries to at least the national average
Allowing good-performing teachers to get longer-term contracts.
Another issue turning teachers away is the increased politicization of the job.
Some teachers told News4JAX that new restrictions like the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ policy, the ‘Stop Woke’ act and other partisan legislation have stripped away a lot of the professional satisfaction of the job.
They say the role of a teacher as a mentor or source of support to students is an attractive aspect of the profession, but they say that’s quickly disappearing from the job.
nullvector on July 6th, 2022 at 14:32 UTC »
10 years or so ago here in a county of FL where my wife is a teacher, they moved away from a tenure/contract system for new hires to a system where teachers are essentially 're-hired' every year on the whim of whatever administration or coming administration is at the school the following year. It's created a lot of uncertainty in employment when each April teachers are finding out whether they'll be essentially laid off in another 60 days. By her accounts, that's led to a lot of new teachers not wanting to teach anymore when it's no longer about performance but more of the whims of whatever frequently-shifting leadership leads their school and wants to bring in teachers from another school they were at to replace whomever is there.
Basically, you're hired on a 9 month contract and whether it's renewed every year is not really related to performance all the time. It makes new teachers feel very much uncomfortable having to learn a job without much job security.
Waterfish3333 on July 6th, 2022 at 14:14 UTC »
As a person who got out of that profession, it’s not surprising. Literally every person I’ve met who has left the field has said it’s an improvement, both in mental health and in pay.
Doctor_YOOOU on July 6th, 2022 at 13:33 UTC »
I wish state governments around the country were less hostile to teachers