Our Voice: Teacher shortage an unsettling predicament

A shortage of teachers is forcing school districts all across the country to make emergency hires this fall, and unfortunately, the Tri-Cities is no exception.

That means some students will have teachers who have never taught in a classroom before. It is certainly not ideal, but that is how desperate the situation has become.

The number of new teachers entering the profession is not keeping up with those who are leaving it. That, combined with increased enrollments, has decimated the applicant pool.

It also doesn’t help that the state saw a push for small class sizes and full-day kindergarten when it doesn’t have enough teachers to lead those classrooms.

All this points to an alarming trend that, if not addressed, could lead to generations of students getting their instruction from inexperienced teachers.

Most people who want to become teachers enjoy children and want to make a difference in their lives. The best teachers have a nurturing, selfless spirit. But that spirit can be beaten down when they don’t feel valued.

According to a recent story in The Washington Post, public school teachers nationwide are “more disillusioned about their jobs than they have been in many years.” The article cited one 2013 poll that found teacher satisfaction had declined 23 percentage points since 2008, from 62 percent to 39 percent very satisfied, which is the lowest level in 25 years.

It certainly does not help that education has become a political hot-potato and legislative reforms made to improve the system may, in fact, be pushing teachers away.

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, recently said in the New York Times that “thanks to our test-and-punish fixation, high-stakes test prep has eclipsed teaching and learning and is sucking the creativity and joy out of classrooms.” She went on to say teachers are no longer getting the respect or support they need to do their jobs.

Teachers, like anyone else, want to believe their hard work is appreciated. But when their success is reduced to test scores, the fact that they were the most encouraging force in a child’s life doesn’t seem to matter much to the public.

It is ironic that in making these emergency hires, it perpetuates the idea that almost anyone can teach. That is not an acceptable attitude.

Yet here we are.

Kennewick, Richland and outlying school districts all have hired emergency certified substitute teachers to start the school year off this week. Pasco has as well, but the start date is not certain because of contract negotiations that are still going on as of this writing.

The emergency hires have been screened. Some are student teachers and some were emergency substitutes last year. Still, others will only have a bachelor’s degree — and not necessarily in education.

They may do really well, but they would have a better start if they had some more experience and training.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Teacher shortage an unsettling predicament."