I can’t seem to scroll through social media without clicking on a story about the teacher shortage and how to solve it. Each article has the same suggestions. Suggestions that teachers have been saying for decades. Yet, policymakers seem to act like the solution to the teacher shortage is one of the great mysteries of the ages.
I left CCISD and the teaching profession last year. When I submitted my resignation, my principal didn’t speak to me about it. After twelve years of serving this district, there was no exit interview to find out why I was dissatisfied with my job. Only one of the assistant principals eventually asked me why I was leaving. The rest of the campus administration just ignored me. The district office intimidated me. The teachers understood, without even asking, why I was walking away from my beloved classroom.
I would have told people why I was leaving and what it would take to make me change my mind. If they had just made a few changes the teachers had been begging for I would have gladly stayed. If I felt I had a voice, I never would have left the students I loved so much. But I had to quit the profession that I dedicated 15 years of my life to in order to find my voice. So now I’m using it.
Let’s talk about the “problem” of the teacher shortage.
- We have to stop pretending the teacher shortage is the problem. It is the symptom of a much larger systemic issue. Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and disrespected. That’s the problem. The shortage is the obvious outcome of decades of placing the burden of society’s problems on educators’ shoulders and blaming them when they can only perform miracles most of the time. Every year, they are
askedtold to do more with fewer resources. Every year, they do it. But it’s never enough. It will never be enough.
So, what do we do about it?
- The obvious answer is to pay teachers more. It should seem easy. But many districts claim to lack the funds to pay teachers what they truly deserve, while the State of Texas lacks the will to do so. To pay teachers more, the public must vote for candidates who believe in public education and are willing to raise teacher pay.
- Better pay alone is not the answer. Raises in pay are often accompanied by cuts to departmental funding and increased responsibilities. The cuts in funding result in teachers spending more out-of-pocket, negating the raise in salary. The increased responsibilities overwhelm the teachers making them more likely to leave the profession.
- Districts must stop overworking their teachers. They must stop mandating tasks that do not benefit students and that waste teachers’ time. Most of a teacher’s day is spent seeing to the individual needs of a classroom full of students, leaving very little time for documentation, lesson planning, parent contact, and grading. The worst thing we can do to teachers is waste their precious little time, yet every year the district adds new “non-negotiables” to the list of responsibilities without subtracting tasks. This must end if we want teachers to stay in the classroom.
- Teachers need more autonomy. While teachers are held accountable for the academic and behavioral outcomes of their students, they have little authority in their own classrooms. The practice of ranking schools and districts purely on the standardized test scores of their students has led to the standardization of instruction. In some cases, teachers with decades of experience and success are required to read from a script. While pre-written lesson plans might benefit newer teachers, effective veteran teachers who have crafted their plans from years of research and practice should not be forced to adopt curricula written by people who have little to no classroom experience.
- We need to restore continuing contracts. What does it say about our commitment to supporting our teachers when we only offer them one-year contracts? How does a teacher feel like they are anything but disposable? There is a misconception that bad teachers with term or continuing contracts are impossible to fire. That is not true. Term and continuing contracts provide stability. They make it impossible to fire good teachers for arbitrary reasons. They make it impossible for a principal to remove a teacher they dislike for personal reasons or because that teacher spoke their mind. Long-term contracts tell teachers that they are valued by the district that will invest in their success. Loyalty is a two-way street. We cannot expect our teachers to feel loyal to a district that does not return the sentiment.
- Listen to teachers. There are so many more ways we can improve the profession than I have listed here. They can be addressed if we just took the time to listen to the people at the very heart of this issue. Teachers must have their voices heard.
Quality public education improves every aspect of our society. It also depends on the actions of members of society. If we want effective teachers to stay in our schools, we must give them the support they need to be successful. We must vote for candidates that support public education and support teachers.