There is a lot of talk about teacher shortages across the nation. Here in my little town in southwestern Indiana, we have had a year of juggling teachers and placing non-certified teachers in classrooms, especially in my middle school.
Tonight, I attended our monthly school board meeting, and I think we might be seeing some positive changes. We hired teachers for positions we don't even have open, hoping to hire the best candidates before they are taken by other schools.
I love seeing former students making their way into the education field, and I wonder if people ask them the same question that was asked of my daughter, "Why would you want to become a teacher?"
I think about this a lot, but especially these last few years. My daughter graduated with a 4.0 and received a full scholarship at our local university. Many people questioned her decision to be "just a teacher."
It takes a special person to go into the educational field, especially in our world today. I am a firm believer in "you either have it or you don't." You have to have a big heart because it seems each year, we give a little bit away. As I looked around the room tonight, I could see those hearts full of hope and excitement that belonged to these new teachers. And I am confident that we are heading in the right direction.
Join Two Writing Teachers and other teacher-writers as we
share a slice of life during the month of March.
This is hopeful! I’ve been volunteering at the school I retired from and it has been devastating to see the effects of the teacher shortage. So many classes with subs. Some teachers pulled from their regular positions to sub in other positions. And classes have also had to spend days “split” and sent to other classes with “packets.” Hoping for better next year… but I’ve already heard there are three staff retiring. Oh, my.
ReplyDeleteI hope the positive changes hold! It's a hard time to be a teacher, for sure. The lack of resources, the low pay, the absolute devaluing of the work we do but, yes, it's absolutely vital to have a big heart to do this work.
ReplyDelete