We depend on education to address so many important issues in society one might think that the importance of those who serve this general societal need would draw the best and the brightest. Data from universities and colleges offer a very different picture. Enrollment in teacher preparation programs nationwide has declined by more than 30% and the decline in some states (e.g., Michigan, Oklahoma, Illinois) is greater than 50%. This trend despite what has been described as a generally better economy and an increasing population requiring more teachers.
Teacher compensation is certainly part of the problem. Teachers make 21% less than those with other BA/BS degrees. This differential can be interpreted as a reflection of many factors, but this differential has decreased greatly in recent years. The difference has increased over the last thirty years. Many news outlets have described the needs for teachers to pay for part of their own classroom resources and have brought attention to the multiple teacher strikes that have occurred this past year. Yes, teachers are striking for more money, but also over issues of the number of students in their classrooms and other student-focused issues such as access to counselors.
The public has common issues when it comes to education. A frequent complaint is that teachers work 9 months a year and I assume that many contrast this with their own year-round employment obligations. Not teaching year-round is a condition that teachers themselves created. Many do look for other employment options during their time out of the classroom, but if you considered what you might do when out of work on a regular basis it should be clear that the options are limited. One in six educators has at least one other job and this is not a function of being unemployed in the summer. During the early years of work, most educators must also spend time and money seeking the graduate work necessary for them to advance on the salary schedule and to meet expectations for professional status in some states.
There are some issues that do irritate me about the behavior of some teachers. I attribute many of these issues to the vagueness of whether being a K12 teachers is a profession or a job. Teachers themselves seem to see this differently and I don’t think this necessarily works to their benefit. How many hours you work and having a balanced life are positions on work I don’t associate with professionals. I agree that more are talking about work/life balance, but to me professionals primarily worry about the quality of their work. You complain about the demands that limit this goal – responsibility for too many people and too many expectations for what is to be accomplished, unnecessary tasks that compete with primary responsibilities, lack of support from those you seek to help, and lack of resources important in achieving the goals of your profession.
I am also troubled by the perspective of outsiders than anyone can teach. Sure, it is great that programs encourage young people to dedicate a few years to education, but at least the area in which I work (classroom application of technology) shows that it takes several years to reach a peak in application. Data on classroom applications that show this growth over the first half-dozen or so years makes some sense. The complexities of the classroom and school setting require some experience and there are priorities that are focused on early with more advanced skills that involve innovation appearing later. As educators gain this experience there is also the reality that they must continue to invest time to make use of new methods and address new problems society expects educators to solve.
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