As a 33 year veteran teacher, I suggest that you talk to teachers about their working conditions. The disrespect has infected the classrooms. Teachers are being verbally and physically attacked by students and even parents on a daily basis. A lot of this stems from mental health issues, yet nothing is ever done about it.

Low wages, harassment, bullying, KARENs, lack of security, respect, paperwork, working conditions, pay, safety, updated and fact based books, etc. Plus who the heck wants to worry about being murdered at their job, not having security taken seriously by those in charge( this will NEVER happen at are school) attitude.

It's hardly surprising. Even in rich districts teachers are underpaid, undervalued, and overworked. They are expected to take on more responsibilities every year with fewer and fewer resources, all while administrators ignore their pleas and parents treat them like overqualified babysitters. My wife quit teaching several years ago. She was working 6-7 days a week and spending hundreds of dollars a month on supplies just to keep her classroom running, and the school gave her absolutely no support with unruly students.

Who wants to get shot in the classroom while trying to protect these disrespectful students who cuss you out on a daily basis?!?

Maybe people should ask themselves why. Teachers are treated like garbage and are not allowed to teach. I am done teaching and will never go back.

A lot more than a fair payrate is needed. Teachers are not respected and they are threatened by parents and students. No one can do their job under continuous threats.

Who would want to teach the often violent brats these days in a system that undermines teachers every step of the way?

Respect for teachers is not just about the salary -- although an increase in salary is sorely needed. Teacher pay has always been lower than other professions with the same education and experience. It's also about respect for the profession. Student behavior, in my view, can be linked to the disrespect for teachers they're seeing parents, administrators, and politicians demonstrate. Hiring a person trained as a soldier to teach is VERY disrespectful to the profession. As a teacher, I don't feel qualified to do the job of a soldier; i respect the profession too much. The "anybody can teach" attitude is not only insulting, it's ignorant.

If I was under the threat of being arrested for teaching facts, then I wouldn't want to teach either!

How about quit threatening to sue them, because they teach real history.

I was raised in a teaching family when the profession was respected and teacher strikes unheard of. Fast forward to a major university where teaching majors walk away from the profession after their first classroom experiences. Why would any sane person want to be in a job when they are disrespected or not trusted so much?

Teachers have been attacked by kindergarten students with knives. Our neighbor was attacked years ago which is why she quit teaching. She was also not supported by the school administration.

Of course Florida has the biggest teacher shortage, parents can be rewarded for turning in teachers like some 1984 dystopia...

DECADES of "we need to cut the education budget" created an environment where supplies are now being provided at cost to the teachers, larger classes, low respect (with more flak being thrown their way this year due to BS rhetoric), denigration from political grand standers, and then pile on top this push for parents wanting to directly interfere in the teacher's professional conduct. You have caused the great resignation of teachers. Own up to it and fix your funding priorities.

Third generation educator, here. Many years ago, I was studying for the PRAXIS exam with the goal of becoming a science teacher. I have a BS in Biology. At the time, my father was a high school teacher. He was also a former college wrestler. He was attacked by a student. When my dad defended himself, HE was let go from his job. I don't think anything was done to the student other than, admonishment. I've heard similar anecdotes from other teachers. The absolute disrespect from many of today's kids, lack of support from administrators and low pay, drives MANY people who would love to teach away from this wonderful profession.

"Shortage of experienced teachers who are still willing to do the job in return for current compensation."

I was a Science teacher and left. I was worn out. Extremely low pay, dealing with disrespectful students who'd rather play video games and chat on phones, paying out of pocket for supplies and additional schooling, little to no moral support from the parents or community, insufficient materials and supplies for teaching, teaching in extremely old classrooms that didn't meet the standards of current technologies and also needing to meet criteria often written by people who have never set foot in a classroom before. It's ridiculous that Americans can find money for their extracurricular activities, such as movies or streaming networks, but can't give more to their children's education. Hollywood movie stars can make 10s of millions of dollars and be put on high pedestals like they are gods for junk that, in this day, tends to teach inappropriate morals to children than help them. Yet, disrespect is at a high for the teachers who spend countless hours, up against these walls, to teach not only basic schooling, but model appropriate behaviors. Often having to be the parent surrogate for the absent ones at home. All while walking on eggshells that one might do or say the smallest slight, that if some student or parent gets offended, could possibly ruin a teacher's entire career. I loved working with the kids and developing lessons that would grab their attention. I loved teaching my subject; to inspire! I loved the heart of what teaching is supposed to be. However, the current culture of catering to everyone's special needs and desires has literally hurt the profession to the point where a teacher is spending more time worrying about achieving administrative and govt regulations than being able to extend their passion about their subject to their students. COVID, which added even more to a teacher's shoulders, just put it all over the edge. Teachers are human beings, not robots. It is time that our society realizes that.

Over-qualified teacher here...I quit because I live in Florida. Besides book bannings and the governor's fascist rule, I also don't feel like getting shot. 🤷

I was a teacher for 12 years. I still have students that reach out. I loved teaching- but I HATE school. They treat teachers like indentured servants. I had 7 daily classes of 40 kids each. Between the administrations absolutely ridiculous expectations (I was supposed to grade 5 HW, a quiz, a test and and essay every week. For 280 kids) the stupid and needless paperwork- and the PARENTS- it was just too much. And the pay? I have a MS degree and I made less than hourly workers in my local call center. Most teachers have a side hustle or a second job. And we take our work home, arrive early, stay late and still never have a chance to be caught up. We also wind up buying our own books for students and supplies. For example - I got $75 a year to supply and decorate (the decorating was mandatory bulletin boards etc). I had to provide expo markers, tissue, pencils, everything. Even class sets of books get paid out of teachers money. We need an overhaul

As a former teacher In the St. Louis Public Schools, I can tell you that the administrators don't value the education and experience of their own teachers. Teachers are handed a detailed curriculum in which even the lessons are completely scripted (e.g) Teacher says "..." students might say "..." Teacher responds " ..." and so on. If teachers veer off from the script, they are reprimanded to enforce compliance or forced into another position that is intended to make the teacher quit.

As a sister and wife to an ex teacher, I can say that teachers need to get paid a lot more money. A lot of teachers have masters degrees and are making less than other professions. Teachers don't have the backing of their school districts and unions. Teachers are disrespected verbally and physically by students and even the parents. I don't want to include all parents regarding the disrespect, but you do have those parents that don't teach their children respect, morals and sense of integrity. The government should look into school districts that do not give the teachers a pay rise but are fast into giving the school district administration pay rise's before a teacher. Teachers have to work through their prep times and are not even given a complete lunch break, because they have to spend their extra time having to discipline students when the students break the classroom or school rules. Because most principals like to take the high road and leave it up to the teacher. But lets not forget that a bigger problem has become a problem for all teachers, is the mass shootings in schools! There should be accountability in all areas. Lets do better for our educators.

There's not a teacher shortage. There's a teacher pay, shortage. And teacher protection, shortage. And anti-Constitutional curriculum restrictions. With all that going on, why in the world would a teacher ever want to work there?

If parents don’t support teachers, even more will leave. Johnny can’t read because He doesn’t have parents pushing him to learn and support teachers with respect not anger.

I went back to college to become a secondary teacher in history. I already had a BS. It wasn't about money. Still isn't. But with the no child left behind I walked away. I wanted to teach, not teach to a test. I have the credentials but I won't sacrifice my knowledge to climb up a student's grade. They always came first to me.

Teachers shouldn’t have to work two jobs to make ends meet or buy supplies for students out of their own pockets. America has under valued it’s teachers for decades. They’re under paid, under funded, and under appreciated. Maybe we should spend a little less on the military and more on teacher compensation. After all, education is a national security issue.

Pay teachers 40% more. And instill greater protections in the classrooms.

AZ isn't requiring a college degree to teach. They just need to be pursuing a degree. It's too much to ask our legislature to respect educators and public schools. They are required by our state constitution to fully fund public schools, but they allow private schools to get the money that was designated for public schools based on vouchers. Private schools are already better funded; therefore, public schools are still left in the dust.

Politicians have been systematically defunding public education for decades. A report heard on WDET public radio noted that Michigan schools are operating on one tenth of the budget they had in the 90s, even after adjusting for inflation. Conservatives have long pushed to privatize education and underfunding the public education system has been the long-term strategy. We need to separate education funding from local property taxes so that poor school districts can get the funding they deserve. Teachers hold MASTERS degrees and deserve to be payed accordingly.

Much of this is caused by the party of freedom GOP wanting to micromanage what teacher can say or more important NOT say or do. For many teachers this was the straw that broke the camel back

A better question would be - what is a single mom with 2 kids going to do with 35k a year- basically work 2 jobs to break even - maybe every month, hope the car keeps working, you don’t get sick- that’s the reality check

Florida is an example why teachers are staying away from the profecion. When the governor is trying to demote rather than promote the teachers. Because of his mythical CRTS.

This is what's wrong with the USA, education is totally neglected, due to individual greed.

This may be a simplistic view of what was said, but I don't believe giving the schools money and having the schools figure it out is the best option. They haven't gotten it right so far. I am not a teacher but here is what I see teachers have the biggest issues with and need to be addressed on top of pay and benefits. Teacher correct me if I am off base. 1. A better teacher /student ratio - depends on school age / grade but 1 teacher to 30+ elem students is a no! 2. An actually "Planning" period - yes they do need time to plan and sometime decompress. 3. More school aides - Also could help if planning periods are not available. These could be volunteers, brand new teachers in training, high school/college students. 4. Stop using teachers as fillers for other positions - They should not be the primary janitor, nurse, counselor, parent, or hall way monitor. 5. Set better expectations between parents, teachers, and students. Teaching a child takes 3 people, if they all do not work together the child is one who fails. 6. Admins need to do better job handing situation when expectations are not met including utilization of law enforcement. That goes for teachers, students, and parents. 7. Mandatory - Admins need to get back in the classrooms - no less than 4 times a year they need to teach at least one class day. One of those days needs to be in a classroom that is struggling. 8. Poll your teachers on any changes to see what works and what doesn't and LISTEN to them. Every school is different so some of the things listed above may not give any impact in certain classroom or subjects. I am sure the teachers will tell you. 9. This may be already there but there needs to be evaluations going up. Teachers should be able to speak out on issues they feel were not addressed by the admins and evaluate on the support they receive. It's call accountability. 10. Teachers need to feel safe in order to do a good job and teach. Threats of any kind from students, parents, or other teachers should never be tolerated and needs to be dealt with no excuses. See point 6 and 7. Probably more but it's a start.

They glossed right over it, but I've always thought society pays teachers so poorly because it is predominantly women. I think there is just a bias that - teaching can't be that hard, anyone can do it, women can get married and don't need real salaries. Its sexism plain as day. Then when when people aren't educated enough for the high tech jobs in the country, we just import people from countries that value education. I'm not against immigration, but this situation is unacceptable.

You don’t just want “smart people” teaching. You need professional teachers who have been trained in professional teaching methodologies, techniques, theories, etc. How much does a vet know about handling a large group of kids who have a wide range of learning gifts and challenges all at once?

A lot of comments, virtually no one citing the elephant in the room: systemic racist school funding based upon property taxes. Other countries INSIST that every school district be funded the same. These countries are consistently rated at the top in worldwide education surveys and results. BTW, these countries also fully fund health care and mental health too!

What? You mean getting threats for teaching actually history or being fired for being in an inter racial marriage is hurting moral?

Do you blame them? Who would go to a job everyday scared that they might get shot? They make very little money for a job that demands a Master's Degree, long hours and buying supplies for students that can't afford it. Teaching is so important and they should be making $100,000 a year minimum for what they put up with.

Missed a perfect opportunity to educate people on the importance of state govts and how republican ideology and governance leads to massive problems.

Hello from Scotland. CRT, book banning and shock jocks (not a pun) constantly criticizing teachers. Are you surprised? In the end who suffers, pupils.

Low pay, lousy working conditions and the chance of getting shot every day. Why would people leave the profession?

TAKE CARE OF OUR TEACHERS!!!!!!! FINANCIALLY AND SAFETY!!!!!!!! 🇺🇲

Don’t expect this problem to get any better until A LOT of things change.

Greedy corporations took trillions of dollars of COVID bailout money even though their profits where soaring. Yet teachers didn’t get a dime to help pay for additional costs to accommodate online classroom preparations or to help pay for medical expenses from classroom exposure! Sickening

Education was sold to the highest bidder, the testing industry and expectations became unrealistic as teachers became targets instead of actually helping students. Give teachers autonomy and a voice on what and how they teach. I left and I don’t know how long my former colleagues will last in extremely toxic environments.

The cultural contempt for learning in US is predictably leading to less individuals being willing to bear the burden of said contempt. Surprise?

I was a substitute teacher in the public school system. It is a hard job and after Covid dangers and republican violence and attacks I am not going back. I made as much as teaching as a trader in the first quarter.

We deserve more, not because of the pandemic, but because we are highly trained individuals. It's crazy to me that every parent believes their children deserves the best education but they won't fight to make sure the best teachers stay in the profession.

I am starting my 27th year as an educator first is a high school teacher for almost two decades and now is Elementary School principal and I always worry about my staff I am always concerned about their safety the changes in society the changes in how students act and parents act and how that trickles down to the lack of respect for the educators or education it's stunning I'm sick of politicians who underfunded us then hold us to this insane accountability I'm sick of standardized tests because kids do not need that they need a love of learning and they need the support of their families and their community.

Well, maybe if you give them proper compensation, properly supplied them, and didn't ask them to be the first responders to an active shooter situation, there'd be more people signing up.

In Canada, conservatives constantly attack teachers (however teachers here have good wages, etc--they have union!). I always thought if teachers just quit, maybe people would appreciate them more. My partner is a teacher-principal and he puts in endless amounts of unpaid time. Even with good wages here in Canada, teachers will never be rich. Teaching is a way life for many people, whether you are the Coach of the basketball team or leading up the Debate Club, The School Band, etc. Why they are so disrespected is beyond me.

I retired as early as possible as a professor of Computer Science. I won't write the book here that it would take to cover all the reasons, and anyway, the big shots and politicians already know what is wrong. They just aren't willing to do the work and fight the battles necessary to fix things, starting with not having our schools be a farm system for pro sports.

How about the thought of your entire class and yourself being gun downed at any time? That thought is with you as a teacher, it's always percolating under the surface, always there. Just having to endure that thought is unacceptable. That is subliminal stress. But no problem, we'll train you all to carry and shoot a gun and get the bad guy before he gets you. So, in additional to ALL the soft skills you already need to have to be a good teacher, and along with your professional ability to convey curriculum, you also need to have the skills of a police officer to be prepared to teach your class. And for all this responsibility, let's pay you at a crap wage. Man, who needs it? And since there are so few teachers available, this story talks about employing former military to fill in all the job vacancies. I guess the counter to these people not having teaching degrees is the idea that they will already be understanding and experienced with guns. Absurd.

The main thing fla could do to get teachers back is get rid of desantis

The "teacher shortage" is a myth: rational people are no longer enthusiastic about teaching, at any level, and that is not surprising. I taught, in college, for about 6 years. The students were, overall, adequate, but there were enough of them that had little to no enthusiasm: you cannot teach if your students are bored or tired, it is debilitating. That said, the "crisis" that educators are so worried about will come to nothing, just like the salaries that teachers continue to receive. Who in their right mind wants to take a job that is rejected by most rational teachers.

As a veteran teacher and a union represenative, come talk to us! Our working conditions are untenable. How about more teacher led schools and less top-down management? Yes pay is important, but that only goes so far if you work in a toxic environment. Eliminate standardized testing. More federal funding for increased pay. Just. Come. Talk. To. Us!!!!

The median household income in 2020 was $67,521 (Statistica, July 22, 2022). If a first year teacher starts out at $32,000, how would raising their pay by $5,000 make their salary more competitive??? To fix the problems we are seeing in the education system, we need to decisively and aggressively take actions to do so. But we need to listen to teachers to make sure these changes actually mean something and work to improve working conditions. 1. Teachers everywhere should be paid at least the median wage for their state. No one is asking to become a millionaire for teaching, they just want to be compensated for giving your children an education and providing childcare during the day while you’re at your own job. 2. Classes need to be reduced to a manageable size. Having one adult for 30 or more students is not sustainable. 3. All schools need to be given the proper funding they need to be effective. School choice is important, but it shouldn’t matter where you live. Whether out in the country, in suburbia or in a city, all children deserve the same high level of education. We need to stop prioritizing one school over another. 4. Some parents, but people in general, need to stop discrediting the teaching profession. It’s not an easy job and it takes a lot of hard work and education to know how to effectively teach children. Not just anybody can step into this and it takes a lot of determination to stick with it. Especially when you receive constant disrespect from some students and their parents and see people trolling around on the internet making wild accusations and assumptions about you and the profession. 5. School admin need to address toxic elements of the work environment in their schools. Advocate for your teachers and have their backs. Don’t hold frequent/useless meetings that don’t do anything other than take away from your teachers’ planning time. And please understand that there are new and more effective ways to teach. Don’t just get in the way because you don’t understand it and say it was different back your day. Like the rest of the world, education has evolved over time and will continue to. 6. Jaded and ineffective teachers need to either retire or move into a new profession. If you hate what you’re doing and all you do is run through the material in the lead up to the next test, than maybe there’s a different profession that better suits you elsewhere. Perhaps admin or Ed tech.

I don't blame the teachers. Trump and DeSantis (the GOP) has advocated against teachers. They don't get paid enough for all this chaos. DeSantis wants teachers to be obsolete. He will get his wish. The working parents can teach their own now.

I’m paying supplies out of my own money. In addition, the district is piling more students in my already crowded classroom due to the teacher shortage.

So sad to lose so many great teachers but I don’t blame them! They’ve been used and abused for too long

The educational standards in Nigeria started falling from late 1970 because religion became the main focus in the country. America is going through the same problem. Some Americans want religion to dominate, like Putin's Russia. Sorry America, if the Trump/Putin worlds win in this war of freedom against despotism, the world will be doomed. Everything about Trump is shabby; nothing sophisticated about him.

The children's education is responsible of all, not just teachers and school's!!!

More male teachers, nurses, and group care workers are needed

To be a teacher in the United States, the teachers should be getting hazardous duty combat pay. They are in a danger zone.

What happened to the days when children were told to “listen” to their teachers? Nowadays parents are defending students’ poor behaviors. But then again, it’s almost not surprising since we live in a society where everyone gets a trophy, (boo boo to good ol’ competition) etc…

In the U.S., it will really behoove us to adopt the Finnish model in the context of hiring and retaining k-12 public school teachers: Increase the qualification standards for teachers to be comparable to a person with a doctorate degree (especially for mathematics and science), and increase the salary accordingly. Many contemporary teachers in the U.S. are alarmingly under-educated. Additionally, all k-12 public institutions should hold parents/guardians accountable for their students' academic deficits, and conduct infractions.

There is no shortage of teachers. Stop using this word. There are tons of credentialed teachers. Increase pay and listen to them on teaching plans. It’s not hard.

Well who would've thought? Better pay, working conditions, and benefits could make people want to work again. No one has ever come up with such profound ideas before.

This is what happened with your lab partitions to scapegoat teachers for their bad policies and decisions teachers are gods gift to this world. Teachers help to shape the minds of our future leaders, business person, entrepreneurs, and inventors. They helped to steal those character traits that sometime we ourselves as parents lack. But we allowed politicians to use them as pawns in a political scheme during the pandemic even though Teacher will put their lives in their family lives on the line every day.

I wish I could come out of retirement. ….I loved teaching ❤️I am highly qualified. Hmmmm. I might put in another year…if I could be assured of a safe work place, supportive administration, respect from parents, students and the community, and descent pay. Also, my cousin who is still in the classroom, has taught 3 different math curriculum in one cohort. DeVos was a disaster.

All they talk about are teacher salaries because they don’t want to talk about the REAL problem: STUDENT DISCIPLINE

Funny , you cut their pay for years and then wonder why people don’t want to get into the field

I've watched so many of these videos, and I find the data collection annoying being that media outlets are only seeking non-teachers to answer as to why we are leaving ! Ask former teachers and actual teacher. Stop seeking the advice for people who have never been in the classroom. Chilleeee... Nevertheless, Mr. Cardona's hypothesis is correct. If males were mostly K-12 teachers, the pay would be 30,000 more than . The question he asked if surely one my cohort and I have asked as well during our graduate program.

How about locks on doors, proper heating and AC in the classes, in house security officers, better pay, taking over all or part of student loans, and demand for respect! Teachers, Law Enforcement, Medical Staff, and Military Personal should never have to be in financial trouble or a lack of respect. Can they abuse their position? Yes. Should everyone in these fields be held accountable and mistreated for the few? NO!!!

In some States, the Republican Legislators and Governors are also telling teachers what they can and cannot teach. Republican States don't want children, who one day will be adults in a World where their Education will be really important. Having Vets who are not certified to teach is a ridiculous idea. Vets need jobs, but really, put them in a classroom not qualified to do the job. Will Republicans later decide to put Vets in hospitals and let them be doctors and nurses? This is a ridiculous idea.

The part that always comes to mind for me as a teacher, when I think of what would make more teachers stay in the field, is to treat us like human beings and not saints. In NO other profession is it acceptable for a consumer to disrespect or harrass an employee consistently. Eventually, you tell that particular consumer to go elsewhere for the goods or service. In public schools, teachers are expected to sit there and take it over, and over, and over again. Nobody deserves that kind of treatment. We need to stop letting a few children ruin the bunch and our education system. Get rid of compulsory schooling, and/or allow schools to put students with behavior issues in alternative schools, or home school. Most veteran teachers I've talked to loathe students because they have been so broken down by the bad kids in their classes who only come to make our job even more difficult. So, if you want teachers to stay, kick out the kids who can't behave. End of story.

Teachers need to bail out now and find another job. Many of them are already exhausted after the first 2 weeks of school managing 40 to 60 kids alone, then asked to teach the class that doesn’t have a teacher on top of that. And having to break up fights all the time…

"We need to be more precautious" and this is the Secretary of Education?

pay them more & stop threatening them for teaching fairness & critical thinking.

PAY THEM!!! I'm a senior...and I know they make very little money. HORRIBLE

For the ten weeks that I don't get paid I run a handyman business. I find it very satisfying and I'm planning to leave the classroom in three years, which is ten years early. This school year will be my 33rd in the classroom. The low pay is just an indicator of the lack of respect, and Covid proved to me that the US school system is just expected to be the world's biggest daycare so that parents can take their place as cogs in the economic machine to make rich people more money.

the teacher should become truck drivers we really need a lot more of them too

I don‘t blame the teacher ! Pay and the bigger problem are the parents !

I love how this politician never directly answered any of the questions given to him, especially the one asking him what he’s going to do to see that the allocated funds actually end up as a salary increase for teachers.

GEE WIZZ I CANT IMAGINE WHY!!!

Teachers are the second line in bringing up children. Moms and Pops are front line. The respect, reasoning, do's and don'ts, start in the home. Teachers show children what to do with it. They expand the little minds. It looks like the home is where to start. Teachers can be enforcers of good and bad behaviour as well as the parents. But it starts at home. Its truly unfortunate that the pay and working conditions have become so efed up. Things will improve when things improve in the home. find that love

What do we expect? We put teachers in an impossible position. We don't pay them enough to live on, and we expect them to deal with the brats that we cannot deal with. It has proven to be a deadly profession, without ANY hazard pay nor appreciation.

I’m a nursing assistant in North Carolina level two. I am in nursing school right now to become a registered nurse. I’m really thinking about rethinking maybe going into healthcare management. I get spit on, I get kicked I’ve been punched in the face before I’ve been yelled out by family members I’ve been yelled at by patients I’ve had things thrown at me. It’s rough being a certified nursing assistant but it’s teachers with disrespectful kids and parents gun violence and all of the above they need to be paid a lot more and it they also need to be more respected as human beings. Unfortunately, do United States does not have a very good mental health program for these kids and a lot of these schools and I think that would make a huge difference however pandemic just threw it all out of whack. It’s very unfortunate. Before I went to nursing school, my family told me to become a teacher because I have a bachelors degree. I would never become a teacher I have friends that are teachers and I feel very sorry for them. Three of them actually sought out a different profession for the long term it just was too much. The other friend that I have became a professor at a local community college and he absolutely loves it he gets treated a lot better with people like minded like him that are not disrespectful kids with parents yelling at you and demanding things

Republican policies for decades have been undermining public education. Couple that with the decline in parenting skills, a chronically hostile work environment and you have the collapse of public education in America. This is exactly what the charter and school voucher Christofascist Republicans have always worked toward.

Safety should be another issue on top of salary and respect. I remember desks being thrown at me and attacked verbally. Safety is very important.

"lost generation"? Stop using dramatic labels and asking questions about the past. Teachers deserve great pay, respect and support so that they can focus on their jobs and build up all of our kids.

The U.S. is not dealing with a teacher shortage. The U.S. is dealing with a shortage of respect for teachers and a shortage of respect for education, and those things cause there to be fewer teachers.

Thank you GOP-Attack the teachers, the nurses, the scientists, and now law enforcement-your children will be impacted too. When you hate the truth, you have to home school your kids to keep it from them. Finland reveres its teachers-Rewards education-pays them well-people trust them as they are educated and care about educating children.

Of course the U S. is dealing with a teacher shortage. Thanks to republicans' craziness the last six years, why would anyone want to be a teacher.

Who needs to be in a position to be attacked by parents, over how and what to teach ; their delinquent kids; and mass shooters. :-)

I wonder why.. crap pay. Children who cant be disciplined. This is a headache most people will not want. Pay them double and it might be worth it. These teachers should be some of the most important and well paid jobs. America has its priorities all wrong.

They're worried about schools closing in CITIES. Rural and underdeveloped areas have been dealing with this pre-pandemic, but only seems to be a problem when SOME people face hardships.

American Conservatives have spent the last half century conducting a vicious propaganda war against public education. America was once famous around the world for a public education system that created its culture of freedom and its spectacular economic dynamism. It was the foundation of America's greatness. Conservatives hated that with a passion. Every Conservative wants a society where most people are ignorant, superstitious peasants who will bow down to their aristocratic Masters. The best way to do it was to systematically destroy its public school system. With millions of credulous peasants "home-schooled" into believing that science is evil and that Noah rode dinosaurs on the deck of the Ark, is it any surprise that America can no longer find teachers? Considering the systematic abuse and humiliation that teachers have been subjected to, I'm surprised that there are any left at all.

Teachers definitely deserve better pay, not only they spend their own money to get their classrooms ready for the school year, but they put their lives at risk with all the shootings across our country.

I had seriously considered teaching for a long time, but what stopped me was the parents. I don’t think there’s enough pay in teaching that would make me consider dealing with that.