There ISN'T a "Teacher Shortage" in the United States 

Absolutely, it's just sad how the job has degraded to the state it's in now.

Especially these days with what is being termed "Roommate Parents" who want teachers to parent their children while they get to just hang out with them and be their friend.

Precisely! It's honestly not that hard to recruit and retain quality educators if you actually treat them as professionals and pay them the wage that multiple degrees and certifications entitle them to. Instead, we've de-professionalized educators, pay them far below people who have commensurate levels of education and experience, and have essentially surrendered the school system to student and administrative control. Admin doesn't provide repercussions for anything anymore and the kids know it.

Ban cell phones ? 😂 what

@@thisgirlisoverit I didn't comment on that originally because I'm conflicted on the idea of banning cellphones. My cohost and I actually recorded an entire podcast episode on this almost a year ago where we discussed that cell phones are heavily disrupting the classroom these days but that banning may not be realistic either. Give it a listen if you're interested: open.spotify.com/episode/5GYXa9gt7aUA0UkM2ME7hB?si=Z6aYD_jKRO-Z2-hudX38-Q

"Most admins left the classroom before becoming competent teachers themselves"--EXACTLY!!! I've been in education 27 years and during my generation, I had to teach 10 years before I could become an admin and my nephew only taught a 1.5 years and became an admin before me. His comment was he had to fire teachers and he himself hates teaching!

​@@judisnyder4868 We've reached the point that administrators are often people who have no experience in education at all, or were only teachers for 2 years before moving up because they hated actually being in the classroom. This is becoming the new norm by far. I once had an admin that everyone knew totally failed as a teacher and moved up to be an assistant principal to avoid being fired for poor performance. It's why no one respected her and her ideas were always nonsensical or out of touch. She actually played a massive role in getting me let go from that school when I called her out on her incompetence. The egos teachers have to put up with their admin alone is causing so many to leave the classroom. I always name administrators as one of the top two reasons I quit teaching entirely.

Exactly! Education has reached a reckoning over the last 4 and a half years because teachers have finally woken up to how bad our students have become since the pandemic. We finally found our voice and realized that in the end, we have to take care of ourselves first. We spent a long time being the selfless teacher that dutifully did a service for society but have now found positions and careers where we can take care of our mental health, have work life balance, and be there for those we care about.

Of course! I think the media (like everyone else) just latches on to what the main narrative is - which is "teacher shortage" - and never ask the teachers themselves what that really means. We're often the last to be consulted about anything. I know I never would have left education if so many things were different...but her =e we are.

Yeah, our "raises" never meet the standard of living or inflation, so we're actually making less every year. Plus, we aren't making a salary commensurate with people who have the same level of degrees and certifications - because educators aren't seen as professionals and content experts anymore, just professional babysitters. Even with training too, there's just no career advancement in education. Unless you want to take on more work for a stipend or become an administrator, there's nowhere for you to go. That leads to career stagnation over time.

I know...it's like people are somehow surprised that educators have finally woken up to how abusive and toxic a job teaching is and chose other careers instead. It feels like society as a whole, and politicians and administrators in particular, believed that the goldilocks era of teachers doing as they were told and being professional babysitters would never end.

That doesn't surprise me at all unfortunately. We've de-professionalized education and everything to such a degree that we have eroded the institution as a whole. Sure, there's the political argument that they want to privatize education, but at the same time we need to acknowledge that part of it is just a changing culture when it comes to parenting. They expect educators to not only teach their children but also parent them as well because they just want to be their kids' friends - which is beyond our purview and saddles educators with more work and stress that they don't need. It's debilitating the professional as a whole and leading us down a road where students will be taught by the worst quality educators.

@@KevinTheID I’ve seen the deflection of responsibility things, but it seems to vary widely even within my own metro area. Refugees and new immigrants don’t do that, for the most part. But every school where I’ve worked has had at least a few entitled parents. Sometimes to a comical degree. I love serving a school with 30% English Language Learners. The kids come in with a work ethic, and their parents are actually grateful. I mean, a good number of the other families are great, too. But it’s really obvious which kids have no behavioral expectations at home. And their parents would really like us to fix that. Along with teaching them to tie their shoes, wipe their own noses, etc. If I had a whole school full of that, I would have quit a long time ago.

@@AprilFriday-de6vm Well put!

Oh yeah, I think anyone with half a brain has known for a long time that education has been subverted by politicians to push agendas. Though politics have always been a component of education, it had never reached the levels it does now. Teachers are now seen as professional babysitters rather than their deserved status as subject matter experts. As a result, we aren't consulted on anything that we need or asked on what would actually make the system better. It's like ordering a new building be constructed without ever consulting a construction worker.

I should also add back in 2010 Australia moved away from permanent work and only offered contracts or casual employment. This has meant most teachers my age and experience have never had a permanent job or job security. So when NSW offered only 1400 permanent positions it was a real insult to the situation.

That's astonishing and unsurprising at the same time. We too are experiencing major layoffs in the U.S. despite also saying we don't have enough teachers - and yet they refuse to understand that root causes of that problem and why over a million educators have quit or retired early since January, 2020. This situation is happening all over the world and we honestly refuse to admit that it is as big of a reckoning that it is. I think it would be absolutely wonderful to have you on our podcast to talk about the situation in Australia and how it is concurrent to that here in the United States if you would be interested!

@@KevinTheID actually I’d love too

Glad to hear that! Here's the link to my LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-wheeler92/ Go ahead and message me on there and we can set something up!

I think that decades' old illusion has finally broken too with the fact that so many teachers have not only left but how much we have de-professionalized educators in recent years. We aren't superhuman and we're tired of trying to live up to that moniker. We completely burned out from it and realized we could find a better life outside of the classroom than what the role of teacher could provide.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!

Your students are fortunate to have such a committed educator! However, the fact that you're making less than at the start of your career and can't retire continues to illuminate one of the core issues of public education as a whole right now. I hope you get to enjoy you well-deserved retirement soon!

@@KevinTheID Thanks! Hanging in there. Someone needs to stay in order to keep the boat from sinking and drowning even more little ones. I don’t feel like the Captain of the Titanic but maybe more like the Old Man and the Sea!

You must work in a very small town in America and a state like Oklahoma or someplace where you have 12-15 kids per classroom.

@@judisnyder4868 Most likely. I know it was incredibly rare here in SoCal to have any fewer than 36 per class.

It's similar here, we have a massive surplus in secondary Humanities. As a history teacher, I remember just how difficult it was to find a job and there were years where I didn't find something and had to substitute. I had to get a dual credential in English just to improve my chances of getting a new position at one point, which though proved successful, still showed how much we had to do to get noticed. The situation is horrendous in education these days as a whole and teachers have finally stopped putting up with it. I think the general public sees how bad it is now too and are choosing alternative options for their children; hence the push for school choice and the declining enrollment schools are facing in part due to that.

@@KevinTheID Indeed. I'm a history teacher and subbed for years as well. I've actually left public education and transitioned to working in museums. I get to work in my field of historical interest and it's much less stressful. I still sub on occasion if I'm bored and want an extra bit of money.

@@fwfs Best of both worlds I think. I also looked into museums when I was transitioning out but the ones in my area are either far away, don't pay much, or are entirely volunteer based.

Glad you got out! Having sanity back is priceless for me as well.

And nothing but the truth!

On the contrary, it's an easy thing to solve, unlike the deep cultural and religious issues that plague Israel and Palestine that prevent them from reaching a simple or sensible compromise. For education: 1. Pay teachers a living wage. 2. Have actual disciplinary consequences for student misbehavior. 3. Restore teacher's abilities to remove troublesome students. 4. Hire administrators who are actually interested in helping their staff rather than just using teachers to get promoted. 5. Allow teachers more flexibility with how they plan and execute curriculum. 6. Abolish the current teacher evaluation system and replace it with one that is fairer instead of one that promotes a "gotcha culture." 7. Allow teachers to evaluate their administrators in the same way administrators evaluate teachers. 8. Abolish standardized testing as an institution in order to stop using it as a basis for evaluations, funding, curriculum, and political control. 9. Ban cellphones or at least create a better system to teach kids how to properly use technology in the classroom. It's currently used as a crutch. 10. Stop socially promoting students who haven't met basic skills and content requirements in order to inflate graduation rates. 11. Increase security across the board. 12. Change school schedules to allow both teachers and students to have actual time off/work-life balance and make school more engaging. 13. Treat educators as subject matter experts with a wealth of knowledge rather than professional babysitters. Now, I know that listing these things are far easier said than done, but this shows that if you actually want to recruit and retain teachers, the steps to do so are right in front of us. However, politicians and administrators won't commit to any of these changes because it goes against their best interests - even though they don't realize that education never was about their best interests. It's supposed to be about the teachers and their students' best interests.

@KevinTheID Hi Kevin, you make many good points, but your best one was: "If you actually want to recruit and retain teachers". The sad reality is they don't. Project 2025, for example, wants to abolish the Department of Education. All the points you make have been made(except for phones) and not addressed since the Reagan(the original villain) Era when I started teaching.

I think blaming this on Reagan isn't fair (with the exception of standardized testing which is generally on him). These problems have been a slow burn since the 1960's and the Vietnam War. Like you pointed out, those with actual political capital don't really have any vested interest in making the system better or recruiting/retaining quality educators. That began with the lack of trust in the government that arose from the handling of Vietnam and the antics of Nixon in the 1970's. Those in power started to use education to push agendas at that point and introduced legislation that changed the nature of education. I mean, you can look backwards all the way to McCarthyism in the 1950's for them changing what educators can and can't do/teach to combat Communism - laws which are are still on the books and restrain teachers about teaching certain aspects of that topic to this day. As for abolishing the Department of Education, that's probably never going to happen. Even if it somehow does, something new will take it's place because there admittedly does need to be some type of governing body that ensures a certain quality of education in this country. The current one doesn't do that though and is something to consider at the very least reforming.

@KevinTheID Reagan and Thatcher started the whole process of winding back progressive gains right back to the new deal. The worldwide destruction of union power has seen worker's share of productivity gains drop from 63.5% in the 1960's to 51% nowadays. The recent Supreme Court decisions have revealed the right's "long game." I think a case could be made that it's more sinister than a lack of motivation.

It's not what any of us signed up for - but ironically it's what most people in the general public seem to think is what we agreed to. No - I chose to be a teacher and educate students, not be mentally and physically assaulted on a daily basis.

The disrespect and abuse has eroded the profession to its core. Teachers can't get out fast enough.

Republican politicians? Really? Democrats run the school systems!

It's more of a teacher retention issue than just a simple "shortage" as I said in the video.

I'm familiar with the ruling, yes. Was there something you were trying to say in regard to that court case? Just wanted to know what you were making the comment about.

A "shortage" implies that they're aren't enough teachers - which strictly speaking is the case, so no, it's not imaginary. However, calling this situation a shortage greatly oversimplifies the reasons why no one want to remain or enter the profession. The only shortage that exists in education are of teachers who want to be underpaid, disrespected, and treated as professional babysitters rather than the subject matter experts that they are. This is why there isn't a shortage in the traditional sense of the term...there's a retention and recruitment problem stemming from a hostile and toxic working environment. The word shortage implies a different problem than what is there.

How so?

No he is totally right

@@fremontpathfinder8463 I am in the classroom. Not buying what you are selling

@steveisaak4320 We aren't "selling" anything. We're stating how bad the public school system is right now and why teachers are leaving and not entering the profession. If you disagree, then that's fine, but you need to offer evidence to the contrary.