There is NO shortage of teachers...there is a shortage of adequate pay, support and respect!

I spoke to a few former teachers in the last few months and a lot of them cited the pandemic, lack pay and the children themselves as a reason to leave. Upon returning, a lot of kids do not know how to behave anymore. As well, a friend of mine taught high school and found herself being cussed out by 14 year olds with parents waiting and willing to defend their child's action rather than correct it. I do not blame her for leaving.

As a former teacher, it was not primarily about the pay to me. I get tired of it always being about the pay in the news. My top reasons for leaving teaching were 1) student behavior and 2) a completely unmanageable workload. You couldn't pay me enough to go back to that! So I don't personally even think raising pay would fix this. And what an insult to teachers that they're bringing in people to teach that don't even have degrees. I get that they're desperate, but it's still incredibly insulting.

There is no teacher shortage. There is a shortage of teacher pay.

Teachers are underappreciated, underpaid and in some states will be required to be armed with a gun... making it difficult to choose this job as a career.

I am a trained teacher of 32 years of experience but never felt appreciated by the school leaders. The parents loved me. Give me a pay raise and I will gladly teach your kids again. It’s hard work changing the world.

America is short changing their future.

Pay teachers more and there will not be a shortage. States literally get vets without bachelors or immigrants before they pay teachers more

Politicians more and more are beating up on teachers and they are leaving. Look at the states with the fewest teachers. they have the most political intervention.

My daughter just started a job having just graduated college with a BS in nursing. She is making the same salary that took me 30 years to make as a teacher. I left teaching after 36 years because I was being micro-managed, the government was controlling what I taught and how I taught it, and I no longer was treated like a professional. With the pandemic, I was working 12-14 hour days, and had little to no support. I used to tell my student teachers that the best advice I could give them was to remember they are not teaching "curriculum," but that they are teaching "children." Today, I don't feel the children are the focus of decisions anymore, as much as finances, test score numbers and comparing school districts with one another. Sad.

They give these teachers subsidized housing. How about offering that benefit to local ones?

I have 3 degrees in education and this will be my 10th year teaching. I have students loans. I still live in an apartment because I can't afford to buy a house. My friend that does not have any degrees works from home for a big drug company makes $185,000 a year. I am quitting my job next year because I am tired a living like a college student. I need some real money.

Truthfully speaking...as a teacher, not teaching right now....it is a combination of things; low pay, no accountability for student and parent bad behaviors, the political climate, fear of retribution for teaching 'the wrong thing. COVID just made all these issues more prevalent and brought them to the forefront. Yes let's put the Veterans, that aren't taken care of in our country,(mental health) to work with our children. Ok , let's get ready for the lawsuits.... because the first time a little gangster wannabe smacks an ex-Marine.... that's what we will see.

I was a teacher for 3 years and when you have a degree but parents treat you like your incompetent and they know better getting upset over policy I have no control over, it's tiring and the kids eventually aren't enough to keep you going. Then to be told there wouldn't be a retirement plan and because we couldn't get a grant instead of 11 dollars a hour we need to pay you 9. I couldn't do it anymore. I snapped and left for good.

PAY US! That’s it. No one wants to continue to be berated for pennies. So many expectations and not enough support financially or mentally. Some parents are out of control and so are the some of the kids. For some its not worth it. Teachers are aging out. Younger, potential educators want money. COLLEGE DEBT.

Five years in public school teaching and education and the ‘20-‘21 school year was my last year. It was the best decision I made for my mental and physical health and I haven’t looked back.

They’ve treated teachers like crap for decades now. Low pay (many can’t afford to live in the district where they work), no respect, politicians demonizing them. In Wisconsin, Republicans took away our benefits, our job security, tried to steal our pension funds. And the pay sucks. I retired.

So, instead of increasing salaries, let's find people from other countries (maybe where cost of living is lower?) or untrained ex-military personal. this isn't much different than outsourcing to save money. That's good for our students, NOT! They'll do everything they can as long as it means that a career (involving over 80% female teachers, mind you) doesn't get what is deserved in pay. This career choice often includes teachers who've taken MANY graduate courses or completed masters degrees (my state even forced us teachers back to college to remain certified, without helping us pay for it just to return the favor with 8 years of our pay being frozen due to economic issues). Many of us our still in college debt, and I am, even after 23 years of teaching experience.

I resigned last September. The right-wing extremism was the last straw for me.

It's simple. You want teachers? Stop turning classrooms into the ok corral. Ban military style weapons like ar 15s for starters. This country once had a ban on military style weapons. Reinstate the ban. Sell the citizen owned ones to the military. Stop the excessive violence against children. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Stop weighing teachers down with so much busywork, proving this and that in relation to SOLs, and stupid college board crap. Oh if only the college board would go away. Teachers need time to plan their day, teach, and check work/provide feedback.

I wouldn't mind teaching students if it weren't for the parents.

Veterans teaching? I worked as a Special Ed teacher in 1998 without training and it was a mess.

Raise the teacher salaries. I bet you'll see more teachers.

If the regular staff teachers treated substitutes better, this would not be as bad. I tried to be a substitute, but I could not take the daily abuse and lack of support. BTW: I hold 2 degrees. You could not pay me enough to take what they give, along with the terrible atmosphere in schools in general.

I cant imagine who would want to teach in this day and age?

When we pay teachers what they are worth and take the politics out of the equation, we will turn this around.

This is actually terrifying.

It's as if teachers weren't making any money doing one of the hardest jobs out there...hum...COULD THIS BE RELATED TO THE SHORTAGE? uh-oh. But sure, like for any other sector, don't give people raises NOPE - let's instead hire foreigners who'll work for 2cts an hour. Or better d'you know what - why don't they hire teachers directly in China and have lessons entirely remotely? That'll save even more money! YAY

Not enough teachers will work for crappy pay and total disrespect.

Well yeah, low wages and then you wonder why they don't want to be teachers? 🤯 Just pay em more. Cut down on war budget and fund teachers instead.

There is not a shortage of teachers but there are a shortage of teachers willing to put up with the mess right now for those few pennies and I don't blame them at all...teachers have never gotten their due diligence in America..Shame on the US

We've been underpaid and overworked since before the pandemic,. Heck, I've even worked through an 8-year pay freeze before and after 2008 due to the recession. It's just that now they keep asking more and more from us and we are getting BURNT OUT! I'm not quitting, but I definitely won't work past 30 years (that's 7 more years for me). I used to say that I would teach until all my kids are out of college, but I honestly don't know how much more stress my body and mind can handle (elementary teacher here, kindergarten at the moment). And I definitely won't be able to afford retirement in 7 years, but I'll have to work through my retirement I guess, just not as a teacher.

I think for the rest of this decade going forward school districts in this country will keep having huge shortages of teachers. Substitute teaching also is not very fun either. I tried it one day and didn't want to bother it again. Someone has to actually love working with kids in order to stay in the field of teaching. It doesn't matter what a school district will pay. If teaching is not a decades visionary career for someone, they won't do it.

The pay scale is too low. With all of the school shooting and discipline problems of the children this is why teachers are leaving teaching. Bus drivers should be paid well.

Thank you Gayle, teachers need all the support they can get!

People mention pay, but in some places, not all, the pay is competitive for the responsibility and having a 4 year degree, for example middle managers in retail will make less than teachers were I live, and work they grueling hours and are responsible for many people and their problems. I think it's the lack of control teachers have over their environment that is the number one reason people do not teach in the US public school system when the pay is competitive for other jobs with general 4 year degrees. When education is a right and not a privilege, people will abuse that right. Go to a country where education is a privilege and student behavior is vastly improved. A significant population of the students view school as a prison they are forced to go to in the US, while in other places in the world people risk their lives to get educated, like girls in Aghanistan. It is very difficult to control a classroom where everyone has the right/is forced to be in that classroom no matter how bad they behave and the measures that you use to control that classroom take far too long to work except in the cases of violence, which seem to be increasing. Look at the cellphone holder on the doors of many class rooms for example of parents/students getting their way over teachers wishes to control their work environment in a productive way. If you make it almost impossible to achieve results in a job, many people will not attempt to achieve results. People, especially educated people, tend not to put themselves in positions to fail. Foreigners and military veterans will also mostly not be successful in this current system since the rules haves not changed, but perhaps if they start to quit as well, the rules will change since their will be no one left except for perhaps former violent felons who cannot find work anywhere and who have earned their GED in prison. Would the school district allow those teachers over changing the rules/environment? Only time will tell. But for now most motivated teachers will teach at private schools/online/abroad rather than teach in the US public school system. Also, I know people with six figure incomes in government and private sector jobs and I have spent time with them during their daily work hours, and I have also taught at a public high school and I can tell you there is no way most people would trade that environment for the public school one. You would have to pay someone an absurd amount to teach in the system we have now for them go into the field and stay long term, perhaps over 150k a year or more, or you could change the system and give teachers control over their environment and work and keep their salaries the same or raise them to a more competitive rate and many people will teach again because the job will cease being a herculean struggle and become more of a routine job with summers off and a pension. But even if the teachers did have more control, the job was less stressful, and the pay was competitive, the school violence and shootings are also a serious deterrent.

I taught with international teachers in New Mexico- they were delightful and usually overqualified.

Teacher shortages are not widespread. Some counties and their principals, particularly schools in affluent suburban areas, are avoiding applicants new to teaching. They want to be able to boast about having "seasoned professionals" on their staff. They don't want to hire additional support staff for new teachers either. Every industry seems to be totally against giving entry-level applicants an opportunity to work. The education industry is no exception. Principals hire teachers who are either already in the system or teachers with many years of classroom experience. How will educators, new to the field, ever become experienced if no one gives them opportunities to work?

It's like do anything, say anything to avoid making the changes needed to resolve the problems. It's beginning to look like all the hand wringing & pearl clutching is for show and there's no real interest in the situation at the district level or above.

If they actually wanted to retain teachers they would offer remote teaching jobs in larger numbers. I would bet the vast majority of teachers who are leaving would stay if they could teach remotely from home. If you insist on making them come into the building everyday you will lose more each year. It's not a good environment really in many districts. Teaching remotely allows the teacher a calm peaceful place and I'm telling you fewer would quit if you allowed this.

It's not so much about money it's all the BS that they put on the teachers

So the great replacement theory is real??? Because my mother just moved to florida and it seems they are dragging their feet even with picking her for substitute positions. This isn't good for americans...... what's the applicant to hire ratio?? pathetic......

I am seriously worried about solving this issue by lowering the requirements to become an educator. This is a difficult job, our schools need good teachers, not just more teachers. Veterans need support don't get me wrong, but to think that military experience qualifies someone to teach children is absurd.

Are you kidding me? Why are veterans equipped to teach without a degree but civilians aren’t? Ridiculous.

It's been a while since college but I think one of the basic tenets of Capitalsm 101 runs something like this: "If you aren't getting a sufficient number of qualified applicants for the open position, your compensation package is inadequate."

What Americans don't understand is that however poor, under resourced or understaffed American Public Schools are, it is still more than teachers in many countries have to work with. So there will always be willing applicants, wanting to teach in America.

Virginia and Florida will experience a vast amount of teachers shortage!! Backlash for politics interfering with education!!

Stop looking to other solutions and JUST PAY THEM MORE.

I taught school for 32 years and need a pay raise to go back to work.

Ron Desantis is a freaking joke.. sure put a PTSD veteran in the class along with his AR 15

Pay them 80k minimum and see what happens

Does the GOP know about this idea of hiring foreign teachers?

Teachers all over this country deserve a pay raise! Not only that, the threats from crazy parents NEED to stop and stop now! Accusing teachers of "indoctrinating" children is so stupid and false! Leave the teachers alone and let them do their jobs! If you don't like it, send them to another school at your own expense or even homeschool them!

In the past 30 years I have taught at a dozen schools and consulted at around a hundred districts across 6 states. The MAIN problem is NOT the pay! It is the psychological, emotional and physical abuse that teachers are being subjected to on a DAILY basis. For you non-teachers, imagine being belittled, abused and demeaned by children, adolescents and even adults (who hold your livelihood in their hands) and at the same time attacked for not "meeting the needs" of your abusers.

A lot of public schools are so run-down, overcrowded, and outdated. The worst public schools, in the poorest conditions, are usually in predominately African-American neighborhoods. Even in middle-income black suburbs, where nicer homes are located, public schools are dilapidated. America's school buildings are not being well maintained and more new schools need to be constructed. What makes people think that a degreed person would accept and be comfortable working in places that are so poorly maintained? Then when teachers try to get into classrooms at nicer schools that are far better supported, they soon find out there are legions of other teachers to compete with who are all trying to do the same thing. As a result, only the most experienced teachers get hired to work at the most desirable schools in affluent districts. America's education system is still so racially- and socioeconomically-segregated. It is a major injustice to restrict certain students and teachers to substandard schools, a poor-quality education, and a ratchet teaching experience.

Republicans must love this . Trump : 'I Love the Poorly Educated'

Weren't the vaccine mandates the main reason for the overall worker shortage (not just the teachers).? Why this reason is never mentioned as even being one of the main reasons? ?

Thank DeSantis and his fascist methods for this. As far as Arizona, it's always been a horrible state to teach in. They are most likely paying the foreign teachers even less than American teachers

Nice, very shameful.. Pay them more.. Stop messing with the students education. Is nice to see that other teachers from other countries helping, but they are not getting paid a lot either. Wow! our poor students cheated by the system. Sad to see our students get hurt. What happened to (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).

Those teachers deserve citizenship.

Jamaica is in a similar position our teachers have migrated to the US because of "better" conditions. Can you imagine? US teachers are not treated well but immigrants think they have it good. sigh

Their requirements are too high. Bachelors Degree and Experience. The pay is way too low for the responsibility. Pay Teachers more and lower the requirements of employment. As long as they pass a background check and have life experience aka ten to fifteen years or more. Let them become a Teacher if they like.

No one will say it, so I will. Woke politics, are leading to a crisis in military recruitment, police recruitment, & teaching. I left the military, due to the devastation that politics has had on discipline within our ranks. Imagine how children behave in school districts like Miami. It's simple math, low pay, plus a negligence for discipline equal a mass exodus.

I'm the author of EIGHT DAYS IN AN INNER CITY SCHOOL the out of control and redundant OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING is chasing off more educators than anything else

The main reason is that teachers are finding more lucrative jobs overseas.

So over hearing its because of COVID why teachers are leaving. When we went hybrid I taught classes of 8-10 every other day. No behaviors, no disrepect. It isn't COVID its student behavior and lack of support. Many educators can't justify stepping in a building any more wondering if they will get shot the next day because they told a kid to put their phone away.

No way this ends badly lmao

They should come to Colombia and hired more professors from here. We got excellent teachers here that go the extra miles for their students. Specially when the money is right.

I recently read comments that American teachers in foreign countries such as UAE, Japan, SIngapore and others are making much more money, are treated with respect and, in some places, are provided with free housing and they do not have to speak the language because the main idea is to have students learn English. If foreign teachers come here, I think they will run back to their native countries and kiss the ground when they arrive.

PERMISSIVE PARENTS and PERMISSIVE TEACHERS are the dilemma in today's educational culture. Teachers are so afraid of students not liking them. They're so afraid of being the "mean" teacher that they will sacrifice respect and classroom expectations to be liked by children. All students have to do today is talk negatively about their teachers to other teachers behind their backs (gossip), to their parents, and/or the school principal to assassinate the character of a teacher. It's insidious. Soon after, the teacher's authority and reputation is ruined and disarmed. It's a way for a kid to control the situation and win favor with other teachers. I've even heard teachers ask students what another teacher is like, which is outrageous. If you want to know what another teacher is like, then you are the ADULT. You should be mature enough to get to know the teacher yourself, rather than ask a seven-year-old his or her opinion about an adult. What do you expect a kid to say about a teacher, especially if the teacher is a no-nonsense kind of teacher who has the high expectations that you don't have of students? I am APPAULED by today's wimpy teachers. You all have no backbones and many of you are childish and just as immature as the students, speaking poorly about other teachers in your building with your students. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL.

start paying teachers and nurses 200000 a year. we pay the freaking basketball ball players baseball players football players , actors who make obscene amount of money it’s disgusting. if your a teacher or a nurse its a thankless profession. no one cares.

There is also a severe shortages of common senses and good moral values among school administrators.

how much do teachers get paid in USA monthly? netpay

Immigration from poor countries is the answer. Pay third world wages you deserve third world teachers. Not that they're bad teachers.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, lol!

My boyfriend has his masters of education and has been teaching for 10years ... he is definitely not paid enough....

I see signs to hire teachers on digital billboards in my state of Maryland. Sad state of affairs in America

Pay then more !

Teachers need to get paid more!!! All Teachers!!! Bottom Line!

In order to get more teachers/substitute teachers into the classroom they need to raise their salary to, or above the national average maybe, they will get more people interested in the teaching profession!

We have a shrinking population where I'm at so in order to keep the school open we get foreign exchange students. Went from having a graduating class of 1 up to 6. No shortage of teachers, just students.

There's a truck driver shortage as well 👀.. maybe the industry can build a robot too teach our kids🤥..

Well they don’t pay enough to begin with and everything is going up everyone has to either get another job or have a side hustle to make extra cash it’s sad they it’s comes to this

If you have to teach junk forced by the government I'd quite too

Say it ain't so Joe!! Isn't your wife a teacher???

What is the average pay of a teacher?

Pandemic definitely a big issue. There is a long list of reasons people don't want to teach and its not just money and safety. A problem that won't be solved by tossing money at it but rather by allowing teachers to do there jobs with out forcing them to follow rules they disagree with. There's a lot of new ideas out and those new ideas are stepping on the toes of how teaching used to be done. A lot quit or got fired over not wanting to follow the rules.

The report was incomplete another reason there is a shortage is because charter schools have expanded so much that now there are more schools then ever before their war on public i schools is winning and now they have the same dilemma charter schools faced in the 90s o over crowding .

Oh now y'all want immigrants? America really needs to get its ducks in a row. Thank you to all the educators no matter where you are from❤

Fix student behavior. Teachers will come back.

This is great!! People out of the USA are way smarter than the teachers we would have. I say bring in foreign teachers foreign drivers!! Keep em as long as you can. Whats military going to teach them? Go on government dole?

This what I say. Americans Better let in immigrants. We have a job shortage and ppl don’t have children. A country with uneducated people and no workers can not survive

Make them earn their pay because when I was in school during the 70's all they did was collect the paycheck and tried to be friends with the parents of the coal company owners while complaining about blah blah and blah, and not teaching the rest of the students 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻😡us poor kids while trying to get of us in the special education classes to get the government money. Without even testing, just agreeing with the teachers in signing your kids for the program.

Rather than fixing the issues, districts are going to go to foreign people to teach our children "english". Yeah, that will fix it!

How do I get recruited? Hi, I am currently living in Brazil. I am an american citizen and have a bachelor degree on education and on early childhood and esl and three post graduate degree. I just don´t have the money to go back to american because I have my daughter and husband. Help me please are they recruiting from other country can they help me and my family? What do I do to be recruited to get a teaching job. I am qualified.

Go ahead & hire teachers of other ethinicities. THe more diverse, the merrier! Until they also find out the same thing. 👀👀

It needs to be foreign White Western European teachers that come into these schools because they know American History better than American teachers do, won't back down or be intimidated by crazy radical far-right conservatives, and will make hay. White Western Europeans are very different than White Americans... very different.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Please cover something more surprising.

just search why teachers are leaving on KZfaq and you will see why.