The Future of Education
Teaching throughout the past decade has been considered a dying field. Many people do not want to become teachers, and many current teachers are retiring. Moreover, with the COVID-19 pandemic, mass amounts of teachers are considering quitting. Consequently, the future of education is in the hands of aspiring educators.
Within the last decade, there has been an overall decline in teaching. This shortage harms students, teachers, and the overall public education system. The schools lack qualified teachers who can help students develop their knowledge and skills that they will need in life.
Many current teachers have left the field or have considered leaving the field. Some teachers believe that so many are leaving the career because of their working conditions. First, teachers are underpaid. Teachers get paid around 20% less than other careers that require a college degree. This gap has only increased as 30 years ago, teachers' were paid around 2% less than other careers. Not only that, public investment in teaching has decreased. As a result, teachers must pour money into their classrooms. Diane Aretz explained to Channel 7 Action News that she believes there is such a teacher shortage because of how underpaid they are. She stated, “To me, saying that we have a teacher shortage is akin to saying that there’s a plumbing shortage where I live because I can’t get a plumber to come to my house and work for two dollars an hour while I am berating them and telling them how to do their job.” She also explained that she works in one of the wealthiest school districts in Michigan and still is only given $100 to buy every supply she will need for the entire school year. It has become an expectation for teachers to have fully decorated classrooms and all the supplies they will need, however, with such little stipends, they often have to use their own money for such things but are not making much of a salary to begin with. Because of this, many teachers have to work a second job. Research conducted by Pew Research found that 1 in 6 teachers work an additional job. Personally, at my retail job, I work with multiple teachers. When I found out this was their second job, I was shocked. I knew teachers were underpaid, but never realized how severe it was. It only makes these people more admirable as although they have to work multiple jobs, they are dedicated to teaching these children. Peter Greene, a 39 year veteran teacher, also touched on the topic by saying a teacher shortage is simply not acknowledging the real problem; teachers are underpaid. He compared a teachers salary to buying a meal. If someone can't get a fine-dining meal for one dollar, that does not mean there is a food shortage. Similarly, if skilled humans don’t want to work for a system under the conditions set, that does not mean there is a person shortage. There are many skilled people who would like to become teachers, but the system under which they would work for turns them away. Consequently, there are less students in teacher prep programs and more teachers leaving the field.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
As many people do not want to undergo the difficulty of becoming a teacher, the teacher shortage is even greater in terms of qualification. Many schools are hiring anybody with a college degree, however, they are not certified or trained to be in a classroom. Additionally, some schools have even tried to integrate computer-based learning systems to try to reconcile the shortage. Instead of education departments trying to fix the problems in the teaching field, they try to find ways to replace the needed teachers. The lack of qualified and present teachers harms students.
Without fixing these problems, the teacher shortage will continue to grow. However, it is likely that if some of these problems are fixed, teaching will become a desirable field. As a result, those who go through the hardships of becoming a teacher are truly dedicated to being the best teacher they can be. Those future educators will be the ones to shape the lives of our future generations, taking on a fulfilling but challenging role.
Graph 1 (García & Weiss, 2019)
This graph shows the correlation between the projected estimated supply of teachers versus the actual amount of teachers available.
It is estimated that there will be an ever-growing gap between the teachers available to enter classrooms and the demand for new hires as shown through the data in Graph 1. Although there is such a demand for educators, these shoes are not being filled. Fewer college students want to become educators. Specifically, since 2010, the number of students enrolled in teacher prep programs has decreased by one-third; this is a drop of around 40,000 aspiring educators. However, this is a rough estimate of the teacher drop. In some states, it was found that there has been a 50% decrease in future teachers. ​
Less people are seen in teacher-prep programs across the United States likely because of the strenuous process it takes to become one. The student has to do a four-year degree like every other college student, but that is not all. In every state, there is some standardized certification test that the student-teacher must pass. For example, in Michigan, each future teacher must become certified by passing the Michigan Teacher Test for Certification, the MTTC. They also must receive a score of at least 220 to become certified. Additionally, in 40 states, student-teachers have to complete the PRAXIS test. Similarly to the MTTC, it is a standardized test to measure the academic skills and subject-specific content knowledge the teacher must possess. Subsequently, many students are turned away from this path as college can be stressful enough, who wants to take an extra test that determines everything? Furthermore, students in the teacher-prep program must complete at least a one semester experience in a classroom, which is student teaching. Student teaching is a full-load; student teachers must go to a classroom 5-days a week and be the teacher. However, they are not paid for this “internship” and must pay regular tuition for this class.
The Effect of the Pandemic on Teaching
Graph 2 (Hoarce Mann Educators Corporation)
This data shows how educators have felt within the pandemic. It specifically details how teachers feel about their work environment, workload, job satisfaction, and consideration for leaving the field.
In "normal" times, the classroom feels like a home away from home. It is where teachers inspire and educate their students, building relationships with them at the same time. However, the classroom throughout the pandemic has turned into a more scary place as both teachers and students fear testing positive for the coronavirus. A majority of teachers feel as though their districts have not taken appropriate precautions in protecting their safety. This is a significant problem as 1 in 6 teachers are over 55 years old and are more likely to have health conditions; this puts them in the major-risk category for contracting the coronavirus. Subsequently, with teaching already on the decline, the pandemic has only made it worse. There are mass amounts of teachers considering quitting within the year 2020. Specifically, a survey found that 27% of teachers have considered leaving the career as seen through Graph 2.
Additionally, as teachers are already underpaid, the pandemic has created additional financial stress. Horace Mann Educators corporation conducted a survey asking current teachers various questions relating to the pandemic. One section of questions thoroughly covered finances. 25% of teachers said they were just getting by and 50% stated they were just doing okay. Many teachers see themselves having more credit card balances, struggling to pay bills, and having more debt. These additional financial stresses are driving teachers farther away from the field.
The Importance of Teachers
Within this mini podcast, I discuss the importance of teachers from an aspiring educator point of view. I specifically talk about why I believe teachers are so crucial in educating future generations and what inspired me to go into this field.
Within this video created by Great Teachers Needed, teachers and students discuss the impact teachers have. Teachers make content understandable, help students build problem solving skills, inspire them be a life long learners, and much more. Most importantly, teachers build relationships with students to make them comfortable in a class.
The Future of Education by Brooke Madgwick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
