Public school teacher shortage

[dan_bgblue]

My daughter is a speech language pathologist at a local Bowling Green middle school, so I get to hear about her opinions on her working environment. She has been at this for 19 years, loves working with kids with speech disabilities, and will likely retire after her 20 years of service is up, and hang out her shingle and work from her home office with the same children she would have been working with in the school system.

Her comments always center around "Dad, the system is broken". She is not as conservative as I am, so I tread lightly when having conversations involving politics, and some social issues, but we can still have a reasoned, productive discussion about many things and her work environment is one 0f those things. It is not her fault, as she was educated in the liberal university environment for 5 years and while I could blunt some of the indoctrination I could not successfully combat all of it as I do not have all the educational paperwork hanging on my wall that my competitors have.

Anyway if the public school system was being run like it was 20 years ago, she would work there until she was 65, but that is far from the case. A few comments from a teacher follow........

School districts across the country have been struggling with an exodus of teachers since the pandemic, as teachers reported burnout stemming from the uncertainty during lockdowns.

A survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 44% of public schools report having full- or part-time teacher vacancies.

The survey, published in March 2022, also found that 61% of public schools reporting at least one vacancy cited the pandemic for the open jobs. Most of the vacancies were due to resignations, not retirement, the survey reported.

Rhode Island high school teacher Ramona Bessinger raised concern over teachers being forced to "adhere to political ideologies in the classroom."

"Teachers are being forced to adhere to these political ideologies in the classroom and contrary to what their personal beliefs are and contrary to what is even right or true. For example, this anti-American content that we're seeing, this anti-girl, anti-boy content that we're seeing."

Bessinger said teachers are being left with a "moral decision" to make and many are opting out.

"Sometimes they just elect to leave the profession or they're pushed out, quite frankly, harassed and bullied."

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Linkage

[DanISSELisdaman]

I personally don't see how anyone could work as a teacher the way things are now, unless they are part of the woke crowd.

[KentuckyWildcat]

My wife thinks she wants to leave occupational therapy to become a teacher....

[MickintheHam]

My daughter is a speech language pathologist at a local Bowling Green middle school, so I get to hear about her opinions on her working environment. She has been at this for 19 years, loves working with kids with speech disabilities, and will likely retire after her 20 years of service is up, and hang out her shingle and work from her home office with the same children she would have been working with in the school system.

Her comments always center around "Dad, the system is broken". She is not as conservative as I am, so I tread lightly when having conversations involving politics, and some social issues, but we can still have a reasoned, productive discussion about many things and her work environment is one 0f those things. It is not her fault, as she was educated in the liberal university environment for 5 years and while I could blunt some of the indoctrination I could not successfully combat all of it as I do not have all the educational paperwork hanging on my wall that my competitors have.

Anyway if the public school system was being run like it was 20 years ago, she would work there until she was 65, but that is far from the case. A few comments from a teacher follow........

School districts across the country have been struggling with an exodus of teachers since the pandemic, as teachers reported burnout stemming from the uncertainty during lockdowns.

A survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 44% of public schools report having full- or part-time teacher vacancies.

The survey, published in March 2022, also found that 61% of public schools reporting at least one vacancy cited the pandemic for the open jobs. Most of the vacancies were due to resignations, not retirement, the survey reported.

Rhode Island high school teacher Ramona Bessinger raised concern over teachers being forced to "adhere to political ideologies in the classroom."

"Teachers are being forced to adhere to these political ideologies in the classroom and contrary to what their personal beliefs are and contrary to what is even right or true. For example, this anti-American content that we're seeing, this anti-girl, anti-boy content that we're seeing."

Bessinger said teachers are being left with a "moral decision" to make and many are opting out.

"Sometimes they just elect to leave the profession or they're pushed out, quite frankly, harassed and bullied."

.

Linkage

Dan, we are lucky here that most all of the suburbs have their own school systems. While you still have the woke interests, the school boards for the most part are accountable to parents and elected officials. And most of the high schools are among the highest ranked in the country (top 500 in nation)

[dan_bgblue]

Mick the schools here are top notch with teaching the 3 Rs and other subjects, they really put together good curriculum that educate the students and stretch their brains. The part my daughter has trouble with is the handling of the behavior of the students, and the lack of interest from many of the parents. BG has award winning schools, but my daughter's case load is supposed to afford her a minimum of 1 assistant and preferably 2 to adequately work with the case load she has and due to a lack of available candidates to assist, she is trying to handle everything by herself. She does not believe that the administrators look at her position like they do the rest of the teaching staff as she is not classified in the same way as the regular teaching staff and they did not beat the bushes to find help for her.

[VirginiaCat]

I have about 40 classrooms (We are Private Day School all Special Ed) and have 34 licensed teachers and 6 provisional licenses. Also have about 6 speech therapits, and 3 Occ Therapists and about 8 BCBA. Those are my professional staff.

All of our kids are IEP and not on standard HS Diploma track so luckily avoid the political attention.

I am having luck taking teachers from Public School. This despite us being a 223 day school year. They are tired of the public school issues. They want to teach. But a real cirricuulum not a proscribed politically motivated one. They are progressive, but not indoctrinated. They also want parents involved, but not determining cirricuulum but that is more about being treated as a knowledgable professional.

[dan_bgblue]

They also want parents involved, but not determining cirricuulum but that is more about being treated as a knowledgable professional.

I would accept that IF I could sit down with a teacher and discuss, as 1 reasonable adult to another, any issues I had with the coursework that my child was being exposed to or indoctrinated with.

[dan_bgblue]

Teacher are welcome to think whatever they want to think.

Just stay out of your bizarro world when you are teaching my child.

[catmanjack]

That group is the only ones who want to be teacher.
They were taught the woke movement and want to continue the down grade of students minds.

I personally don't see how anyone could work as a teacher the way things are now, unless they are part of the woke crowd.

[Doc]

Teacher are welcome to think whatever they want to think.

Just stay out of your bizarro world when you are teaching my child.

Problem is teachers don't see them as your child. They refer to them as "my" or "our" children. They are have no ownership of the student, at least until the teacher helped create them, provides shelter, feeds, clothes and pays for their college education. Until that happens, they are and will always be my children. They are just given the privilege of educating them for ONE year of their lives. Im not sure when teachers will get this thru their thick skulls!

[DanISSELisdaman]

That group is the only ones who want to be teacher.
They were taught the woke movement and want to continue the down grade of students minds.

For the most part, I think you are right. There are of course some that truly love children and want to teach them, but they are the targets of the woke crowd and the laws that are being made today favors them.

[DanISSELisdaman]

Problem is teachers don't see them as your child. They refer to them as "my" or "our" children. They are have no ownership of the student, at least until the teacher helped create them, provides shelter, feeds, clothes and pays for their college education. Until that happens, they are and will always be my children. They are just given the privilege of educating them for ONE year of their lives. Im not sure when teachers will get this thru their thick skulls!

This is absolutely true Doc and it riles me up just thinking about it. I have a 2 year old granddaughter and I can't stand the thoughts of seeing her bussed of to school, not knowing what kind of filthy, warped minded person will be teaching her.

[Doc]

This is absolutely true Doc and it riles me up just thinking about it. I have a 2 year old granddaughter and I can't stand the thoughts of seeing her bussed of to school, not knowing what kind of filthy, warped minded person will be teaching her.

Yep... the should have zero say in how I raise my child. IMO, teachers as a general rule of thumb, do a horrible job. How many HS graduates can find a Ukraine on a map? How many can make correct change on a purchase without a calculator or a register? Instead they are focused on teaching my kid gender identities and pronouns besides HE or SHE. Our education system is an utter failure.