Sure, after four, five, six … years of college, teachers wish to be paid at a rate similar to others with that investment of time and money. Other issues, however, are definitely in play.
The percentage of children being born to young, educated women is below the China-one-child policy. So why would someone who doesn’t want to be ruled by one child wish to spend all day with 25 or more?
Many children entering our schools are being raised by parents who themselves are products of small family units, and never in a situation to closely observe what it takes to raise a well-mannered child. It’s a modern societal problem. With only one child, it’s easier to “make their bed” than it is to have them “make their own bed.” School may be the child’s rare experience of hearing the word “no!”
One-third of new teachers exit by their third year of teaching. This isn’t just due to the money. Some are disillusioned by the bureaucracy of tests and paperwork. Some realize other professions cover the cost of classes required to satisfy rules created by politicians. Sometimes, due to parents’ anger when their child is resistant to expectations and they want someone else to blame, those in charge don’t have enough “teeth” to control the situation.
Teachers want fair pay, class sizes and benefits. But the teacher shortage is due to many other factors. A teacher’s individual creative personality needs the space to bloom into an exciting, welcoming learning environment. Much of that potential has been extinguished by the grinding teach-to-the-test evolution.
Nettie Stanton
Granite Falls
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