As the school year is about to start in the United States, many states have expressed concerns that there is a shortage of teachers across the country.
One of the main reasons for the lack of qualified faculty members is that fewer students are interested in pursuing higher education to become teachers. Another big concern is that many of the educated and trained teachers decide to leave the profession.
According to many former faculty members, the educational system in the United States is not focused on caring about teachers. This means that many teachers find themselves changing profession to secure better pay and pension plans.
The disparity between the expensive university education and the low pay teachers receive discourages a lot of young adults from choosing the teaching profession.
Teacher shortages are a global problem
The United States is not the only country which struggles to secure enough teachers. Many countries across the world are facing challenges when it comes to achieving a satisfactory student-teacher ratio.
Some examples include India and China, where the student-teacher ratio is ineffective, as there is one teacher per more than fifteen students.
To battle teacher shortages, many states have started issuing emergency teacher certifications. One example is Oklahoma, where emergency certification was first adopted as a temporary solution to the problem. However, currently, the state issues hundreds of these certificates every year, to make sure that schools have enough teachers.
Teacher shortages are a severe problem, and reforms should begin with attracting more students to go after this career. Governments should also look into ways to make this profession more rewarding, so already educated teachers would not think about changing career paths.
