In the world today, there are several huge problems in the education world, and they are growing larger and larger by the year. One of these problems is bullying, and cyberbullying. This is a problem that seems to plague schools worldwide, and continues to be a prominent issue in the world today; there is little evidence that it is being effectively handled at this present time. However, there is another issue in the education world that is one of the largest, but seemingly ignored problems and that is a shortage of teachers. Interesting enough, it can be said that a teacher shortage is a good thing because whoever the students or some students had that previous year will not be back the following school year. Of course, there is nothing good about a teacher shortage because little do the populace know that a shortage of teachers can spell doom for schools across the nation, and the double whammy effect is that it will bring the gears of education to a grinding, screeching halt. If this is allowed to happen, the ramifications of this occurrence will be shockingly severe, and the suffering of school age children will know no bounds. Generally, a lot of questions are abound about the teacher shortage such as why is it happening, what caused it, who is to blame, who is in charge and why did they do it? Nevertheless, as it is said, there are two sides to every story. Sadly, some of the teachers do not get to tell theirs because they are let go before they even get the chance. Teaching unions have claimed significant success from the latest in a series of one-day strikes over pay, pension and working conditions, with many hundreds of schools completely or partly closed across London and the southeast as well as northeast and southwest of England (Walker). As the case in point previously stated, the teacher shortage problem is not going away. As we speak, the teacher shortage is still a prominent issue today, but there are other reasons why there are teacher shortages all over the world and those are just as serious now as they were 18 years ago.
As previously stated, there are a host of reasons why teacher shortages are completely evident, and one of the other reasons why is because of student loans. Frighteningly, graduate students who aspire to become teachers do not exercise their right to do so because of the fact that they have student loans that they need to pay off. Some potential teachers know the debt that awaits them after they graduate from college, and they feel that going into the field of teaching will not help their cause because having debt on top of college debt can overwhelm them. A lot of teachers who work for several years usually get to a point where they realize that they are fighting a losing battle with paying off their loans because doing that vs. working 3 jobs equal not enough money to pay off the first month’s payment let alone the monthly payments thereafter. Given that they have so much debt, they do not bother with trying to go into the teaching field because of the evident rumors that teachers are making much, much less than uneducated factory workers who are apparently making more. Forgiving student loans for the most qualified Americans to encourage them to enter the field of education seems like a very small national investment. (Bernstein). Sadly, those who do enter into the teaching field are not there for very long because on top of having student loans to pay off and back. Teacher salaries are dwindling to the point where some do not even bother trying to get a job teaching because they know that they are no better off than they would be if they were selling oranges on the street corner. Teacher shortages due to student loans are a very effervescent problem especially those who take the teaching exam, and pass with flying colors. Student loans are one of the things that are creating the teacher shortage, and that is made evident by the fact that some of them do not feel that it is wise to go into their newfound profession with student loans. In turn, they get other jobs or demand a raise so they can work toward paying off their student loan quickly, easily, while still having money in their pocket.
22 years ago, becoming a teacher was one of the greatest aspirations of college age students in existence, and some of them have reached that goal. Teachers and students had nothing to fear from one another, it was just teachers teaching their students, and students listening to their teachers in order to pass their class. However, teacher shortages have become evident due to another issue with teachers vs. male and female students. There have been some teachers who are fearful of the fact that being in the same room alone with a student could spell disaster, and educational ruin for the teacher. This is partially due to the student manipulating the teacher to get whatever he/she wants which in turn causes the student to tell lies in order to achieve that goal or grade in some cases. Teaching officials usually stick or band together when there was a student telling a lie, but there are more teachers selling each other out because the student tells a white lie; the irony is disgustingly palpable. Ever since this issue became a hot button for educators, there are some who decide to get out of the teaching field because it is a situation that they do not want to be a part of. On that fact alone, there are more teacher shortages because of this for the reason that no one wants a lawsuit or to be blamed for a crime that the teacher did not commit. What makes this situation even worse is that teachers are being let go because of these allegations whether they do or do not exist, but there are some teachers that do commit these acts. It seems like every day there is a teacher going to court or jail over their actions with students of the opposite sex. (Hanks) There are teachers who decide to touch a student or students under the watchful eyes of the administrators, and get in a lot of trouble because of it; accidental or otherwise. This is generally a cause for concern because even though there are new generations of teachers who are born every year, some students are used to that one teacher who teaches the way they are used to. Nevertheless, a teacher that has been teaching for years getting fired over something like sex with a student can drastically alter the teaching path of many teachers worldwide causing the teacher shortage.
The teacher shortage is a big issue indeed, and it does not just impact teachers or tenured professors; it affects inexperienced teachers as well. There are reasons why inexperienced teachers are a big part of the teacher shortage, and one more reason is because of the lack of teaching experience. Every year, there are millions of people who go to college to become a teacher, and they take all of the necessary classes as well as partake in the extracurricular activities such as leading classroom discussions; talking with the teacher/professor one on one is also one of these activities. However, the one thing that they lack is experience, and they can only get it through actually teaching experience. For example, a college student spends 7 ½ years at school learning all of the necessary techniques to become a teacher, but they do not get the experience such as learning how to deal with youths of all ages or adults who are just coming back to school. The experience is crucial in giving birth to a successful teacher, but without that experience, the inexperienced teachers give up on teaching altogether or they find another job and renounce their teaching knighthood (so to speak). Nationally, a shortage of 1.2 million teachers in the next 10 years will be predicted. (Kinsella) This shortage comes as no surprise because as most people know, they do not want to get a job doing something that they do not want to do. Some teachers only take the job just long enough to pay off their student loans or gambling debts, and usually quit thereafter. Interesting enough, inexperienced teachers are usually among this crowd because some of them only see teaching as a job, and that alone. You would think that school administrators are constantly trying to find qualified teachers to teach respective courses, and offer some incentive, but all that is really happening is getting anyone they can find into the school system to teach these kids. Overall, the administrators are not even taking into account the experience level of the teachers that they hire, and to some of these administrators, inexperienced teachers are just a means to an end.
References
Burns, J. (2013, July 1). New training plan risks teacher shortage, study warns. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23134979
Kinsella, T. (1986, April 13). Connecticut opinion; teacher shortage spells disaster. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/13/nyregion/connecticut-opinion-teacher-shortage-spells-disaster.html
Walker, P. (2013, October 13). Teachers' strike: unions claim success as hundreds of schools close. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/17/teachers-strike-unions-claim-success-schools-close
Bernstein, M. (2013, October 10). The impending teacher shortage. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-f-bernstein/the-impending-teacher-sho_b_4077506.html
Hanks, B. (2007, August 17). Why does america have a teacher shortage?. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/why-does-america-teacher-shortage-491531.html?cat=4
