The Teacher Shortage Crisis
Even before the pandemic lock-downs, American teachers from sea to shining sea reported a critical shortage of teachers within their ranks, and have watched in horror at the crippling levels of greed, arrogance, apathy, and ignorance at every level of K-12 educational governance.While embattled teachers have continued to try in vain to draw attention to the issues, our leaders have failed to acknowledge the problems at all. But since covid, the nation’s teachers have borne witness to a break neck hastening pace of this downward spiral–and a total avoidance of a conversation from our leaders.
This a-political podcast, created and produced exclusively by teachers, gets into the nitty gritty details of why teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and uncovers huge contributing structural problems baked into the teaching profession which are not discussed or understood even within the K-12 educational world, which also explain why so much of what is done in K-12 is ineffective. These desperate, passionate, highly qualified teachers use this podcast series to insert teachers forcefully into the national conversation about the critical issues plaguing K-12 education, because no one else was letting them in–a fact which belies a central thesis about the roots of the problems discussed throughout the episodes. Listeners will be gripped by the reality that without substantial reforms which empower teachers to lead the work, the inevitable result is a collapse of our very ability to effectively self-govern–a process which they argue is already well underway.
Listen as they describe the problems in teacher pay, teacher preparation requirements, special education, climate and culture, reading instruction, the false promise of existing DEI based frameworks in K-12, and the problems inherent in outsourced canned curriculums. Become a part of the solution as they outline a framework to authentically fix these problems, which require all hands on deck from both inside and outside of K-12 education.
The Teacher Shortage Crisis
3. Teacher Pay is Bizarre! The Oppressive and Misunderstood History of Teacher Pay
In this episode, Amanda and Trina English delve into the critical issue of the teacher shortage crisis, focusing primarily on the history and issues surrounding teacher pay. They discuss the historical context for why teacher salaries are designed the way they are, touching on themes of structural sexism and income inequality. They also explore the broader implications of the teacher pay structure on attracting new talent, especially from diverse backgrounds. They emphasize the need for systemic change and offer insights on how to address these entrenched issues. The conversation sets the stage for a series of episodes aimed at uncovering the underlying factors contributing to the teacher shortage, all from teachers' point of view.
00:00 Introduction and Purpose of the Series
02:07 Meet Trina English: A Rebel Teacher
05:21 The Teacher Shortage Crisis: Why It Matters
07:32 Understanding Teacher Pay: A Historical Perspective
10:10 Structural Oppression in Teacher Pay
36:53 Per Pupil Spending and Its Impact
43:26 Conclusion and Call to Action
Visit teachershortagecrisis.com to join the movement of teachers speaking up about the mess in K-12 Education in the United States.
www.teachershortagecrisis.com
Petition to Save K-12 Schooling and our Precious Democracy!
