Teacher Teacher on the Wall, Who is the fairest of them all?

Close your eyes and think for a minute about the teachers you’ve had in your life who affected you profoundly, perhaps even changed the direction of your life?

Brings a lovely smile to your face….doesn’t it?

Now with your eyes open, think of all the teachers in your life who you have spent many hours with; probably more hours than anyone else in your life who you’re not related to, and how little effect they've had upon you?

Both a few great teachers and many mediocre teachers are part of the reality and the problem of education in America today.

The lack of great teachers still falls far short of the lack of sufficiently motivated students and parents as the biggest problem with education in the US today, but improved teachers would help considerably. 

We have a dearth of great teachers. Research shows that 93% of our top students say they don’t think of teaching as a career choice. Of the 7% that do go into teaching, half leave within the first five years. 

College teaching programs are apparently attracting students from the bottom twenty percent to bottom third of their academic class, depending upon who you believe. Suffice if to say highly motivated students are not choosing teaching as a career. 

Minorities are also not going into teaching. Male Hispanic and African American teachers are each only 1.7% of the teachers in the US. Much higher percentages of these groups are in jail than are teachers. 

Worcester Public School students are 38% Hispanic and 14% African-American. Yet the percentage of teachers in Worcester is only 5.5% Hispanic and 3.6% African-American. 

There is also a lack of teachers for English language learners, special education, science and math. 20% of teachers in urban areas quit every year. Half of all teachers quit before their fifth year. 

One wonders why an overwhelming number of students who have been through our school systems do not chose teaching as a career. Is it because teaching 20-30 students with varying degrees of motivation is just too hard? Or is it that the schooling experience was so dulling to them when they were students that no one can bear the thought of voluntarily being in it for any more years?

Why do the best and brightest not go into teaching? What is it about the environment within schools which encourages so many teachers to quit their profession? How do we recruit, reward and retain great teachers?

We generally know why people want to become teachers: number one, love of children; number two, love of the subject matter they teach. Most teachers do think of teaching as a calling.

Teachers are a vital part of the education system. We also need to change the American education system if America is to succeed. To improve the lives of the high percentage of Americans caught in our current economic downward spiral, a decline that unfortunately may not be temporary, we need to find a way to recruit and retain teachers who can inspire and instruct students in the education and training they need. 

Gone is the era where a high school degree and hard work with one’s hands (and sometimes back) can bring one’s family security and prosperity. It now all comes down to education and training. If one is not sufficiently educated, one will not generally live a life of economic opportunity. Three million job postings in the US are unfilled because people lack the qualifications for those jobs. Out of 34 countries ranked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. ranked 14^th in reading, 17^th in science, and 25^th in math.

An increase in teacher salaries, coupled with serious teacher evaluation and review, along with the end of tenure and promotion by seniority, are all required. The average starting salary for a starting teacher nationally is $39,000; the average salary is $67,000. In Worcester, the average teaching salary, according to Worcester Public Schools, is approximately at $71,153.  Financially rewarding teachers by performance instead of by the level of higher education degree they achieve would directly benefit students instead of the colleges that offer the courses.

For America to prosper we must improve our educational system. Getting the best people possible to go into teaching is an important component. Getting more of us inspired to learn has never been more vital for our students, teachers, parents, and country.