MCPS faces Teacher shortage next year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a labor shortage. This is not unique to mcps.

There isn't a shortage of qualified teachers. There is a shortage of qualified teachers willing to do the job. There's a difference.

I would disagree.

There are retirees as boomers and others leave the workforce. There is pandemic burnout taking others out of teaching.

Interest in being a teacher is waning. We are not graduating from college and producing enough certified teachers. Exit > Entrants

Wonder why when there are active posters here saying their kids “strive to be better than education majors.” This county is full of terrible people who demand teachers while belittling teachers. Hypocrisy at its finest.

I’m not sure students are swayed away from majoring in education after leaving high school because of posts on DCUM. Students are dissuaded by the lack of earning potential after college with an education degree. First year teachers make a fraction of what other majors make and the long term career trajectory remains a fraction of other majors.

My daughter’s starting salary as a Finance major was $80,000 with a $10,000 signing bonus. After a year on the job, she was told that she will be receiving a 15% pay increase. She has one Friday off a month in addition to four weeks of paid time off. Her department also only recently went back to the office but only for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Computer Science majors and Engineering majors are on an even higher trajectory.

It’s economics that cannot be ignored. Public education will struggle to fill jobs for in person positions if they remain so much lower than other fields.

The double downside is then keeping the teachers already on staff. My daughter has a friend from high school that did become a teacher. She is currently a first year teacher in a Title I school. She teaches third grade with 27 kids. The demands of the job is exhausting with no mentorship and students who probably need an IEP but she is discouraged from referring them. As a result, she is trying to individually meet all her students needs which is an impossible job. As a result, she is rethinking her career choice.

Teacher here-we are just sick and tired of the people who constantly disparage us all while basically begging we exist. I don't even have a teaching degree. I went a different route- BS in business and MS in cybersecurity. I'm teaching your kids how to have a better future in high school. I could be making so much more. MOST teachers could be doing better for themselves...We are here. I'm not asking for applause, just asking that people shut up when they continually talk about things they have no idea about.

Parents aren’t your problem. Your martyrdom complex is the problem. Instead of aiming your anger at parents, you should join their advocacy for teachers receiving higher salaries comparable to other industries. Parents aren’t the ones who failed to keep teacher salaries up to date. It’s MCPS administrators who make 3 times your salary who limits teacher raises.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

Teachers on a regular basis put in more than an 8 hour a day when you consider the amount of grading and lesson planning required to do the job. 180 days is also the number of days students are in school. Teachers start the school year several weeks before students and are in school after the last day of school so they work more than 180 days. Professional days are filled with departmental meetings and training requirements so they are not days off. Sure they get eight weeks off during the summer, but that is without pay.

The compensation is not enough to attract and retain teachers. Either the school system recognizes and fixes that issue or it will continue to have vacancies that are impacting their ability to teach students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

Teachers on a regular basis put in more than an 8 hour a day when you consider the amount of grading and lesson planning required to do the job. 180 days is also the number of days students are in school. Teachers start the school year several weeks before students and are in school after the last day of school so they work more than 180 days. Professional days are filled with departmental meetings and training requirements so they are not days off. Sure they get eight weeks off during the summer, but that is without pay.

The compensation is not enough to attract and retain teachers. Either the school system recognizes and fixes that issue or it will continue to have vacancies that are impacting their ability to teach students.

Sacrifices even extend to the amount of money teachers spend for books and supplies for their classrooms. So many teachers spend hundreds of dollars on basic supplies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a labor shortage. This is not unique to mcps.

There isn't a shortage of qualified teachers. There is a shortage of qualified teachers willing to do the job. There's a difference.

I would disagree.

There are retirees as boomers and others leave the workforce. There is pandemic burnout taking others out of teaching.

Interest in being a teacher is waning. We are not graduating from college and producing enough certified teachers. Exit > Entrants

Wonder why when there are active posters here saying their kids “strive to be better than education majors.” This county is full of terrible people who demand teachers while belittling teachers. Hypocrisy at its finest.

I’m not sure students are swayed away from majoring in education after leaving high school because of posts on DCUM. Students are dissuaded by the lack of earning potential after college with an education degree. First year teachers make a fraction of what other majors make and the long term career trajectory remains a fraction of other majors.

My daughter’s starting salary as a Finance major was $80,000 with a $10,000 signing bonus. After a year on the job, she was told that she will be receiving a 15% pay increase. She has one Friday off a month in addition to four weeks of paid time off. Her department also only recently went back to the office but only for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Computer Science majors and Engineering majors are on an even higher trajectory.

It’s economics that cannot be ignored. Public education will struggle to fill jobs for in person positions if they remain so much lower than other fields.

The double downside is then keeping the teachers already on staff. My daughter has a friend from high school that did become a teacher. She is currently a first year teacher in a Title I school. She teaches third grade with 27 kids. The demands of the job is exhausting with no mentorship and students who probably need an IEP but she is discouraged from referring them. As a result, she is trying to individually meet all her students needs which is an impossible job. As a result, she is rethinking her career choice.

If they could factored the pension and time off they'd soon realize it's actually a great job.

Lol the pension sucks. The job sucks. "But SuMmErS oFf, bEiNg a TeAcHeR iS sO EaSy..." There's a reason there's a shortage. People are realizing they can do better. Hell, people are quitting to take jobs at Giant.

If the pension "sucks" then MCPS should eliminate it because it is extremely expensive to taxpayers and you could do a lot of other things with that money that would benefit teachers. But frankly, when posters here complain about their MCPS pensions, I have to almost wonder if they are anti-teacher trolls because it strikes me as incredibly entitled to complain about this benefit. Remember, the vast majority of workers in Montgomery County either have no retirement plan, or have to contribute 15%-20% of their salaries to their 401ks in order to guarantee any kind of decent retirement. You all can get 60% of your income, PLUS social security guaranteed on retirement, by contributing 7.5% of your salary to the pension fund. I am happy for you that you have this benefit and wish other workers did too. But to complain about it? Damn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

It would be much more productive to acknowledge how common regular teacher absences are than to disparage a parent raising a legitimate concern. Teacher absences are a huge problem for which there is no solution, at least from a parent perspective. It doesn't matter what the reason is (that's a matter between the administration and the teacher), but significant absences harm student learning, which doesn't get acknowledged. If you want teachers to be paid like highly skilled professionals, ensure they are held to the same standards that highly skilled professionals in other industries are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

It would be much more productive to acknowledge how common regular teacher absences are than to disparage a parent raising a legitimate concern. Teacher absences are a huge problem for which there is no solution, at least from a parent perspective. It doesn't matter what the reason is (that's a matter between the administration and the teacher), but significant absences harm student learning, which doesn't get acknowledged. If you want teachers to be paid like highly skilled professionals, ensure they are held to the same standards that highly skilled professionals in other industries are.

What? Other highly skilled professionals don’t take leave?

I work at a school and have no idea what you mean about frequent teacher absences. Like any other professional we get sick leave and take doctor’s appointments. Teachers virtually never take personal leave or go on vacation. And when we do we can’t just walk away — we have to get up at the crack of dawn despite whatever illness to prepare elaborate sub plans for whoever is going to cover for us (probably not an actual sub because there’s a huge shortage of those too). You just feel teacher absences more strongly than you feel any other professionals’ absences because teachers are so NECESSARY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

It would be much more productive to acknowledge how common regular teacher absences are than to disparage a parent raising a legitimate concern. Teacher absences are a huge problem for which there is no solution, at least from a parent perspective. It doesn't matter what the reason is (that's a matter between the administration and the teacher), but significant absences harm student learning, which doesn't get acknowledged. If you want teachers to be paid like highly skilled professionals, ensure they are held to the same standards that highly skilled professionals in other industries are.

Teachers get sick, And, those who take personal days often have to pay for the sub. They may also have departmental requirements. It's not like they get all this vacay time during the school year. As another poster said, the amount of time they spend grading often far exceeds their paid hours. Plus they show up to evening school events, parent teacher conferences, etc. It's a lot. Very grateful for our teachers and the investment they make!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

It would be much more productive to acknowledge how common regular teacher absences are than to disparage a parent raising a legitimate concern. Teacher absences are a huge problem for which there is no solution, at least from a parent perspective. It doesn't matter what the reason is (that's a matter between the administration and the teacher), but significant absences harm student learning, which doesn't get acknowledged. If you want teachers to be paid like highly skilled professionals, ensure they are held to the same standards that highly skilled professionals in other industries are.

If someone says they wish they had a teacher's hours, it's not disparaging to point out that they can have them if choose to be a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

It would be much more productive to acknowledge how common regular teacher absences are than to disparage a parent raising a legitimate concern. Teacher absences are a huge problem for which there is no solution, at least from a parent perspective. It doesn't matter what the reason is (that's a matter between the administration and the teacher), but significant absences harm student learning, which doesn't get acknowledged. If you want teachers to be paid like highly skilled professionals, ensure they are held to the same standards that highly skilled professionals in other industries are.

What? Other highly skilled professionals don’t take leave?

I work at a school and have no idea what you mean about frequent teacher absences. Like any other professional we get sick leave and take doctor’s appointments. Teachers virtually never take personal leave or go on vacation. And when we do we can’t just walk away — we have to get up at the crack of dawn despite whatever illness to prepare elaborate sub plans for whoever is going to cover for us (probably not an actual sub because there’s a huge shortage of those too). You just feel teacher absences more strongly than you feel any other professionals’ absences because teachers are so NECESSARY.

I agree that teachers are NECESSARY. Based on my experience with multiple kids, I firmly believe that the amount of time teachers are not in the classroom has increased over the years and is a huge problem. Here is an interesting study on the issue, which notes that teachers in the US:

. . . are notably large in comparison to other industries and countries. Though comparatively high absences among teachers have been documented previously, we suspect these rates may not be perceived as worrisome because teachers have good reasons for being absent. After all, the nature of the job entails high levels of contact with kids who get sick frequently, and the large share of women in the profession could imply teachers take more days off due to maternity leave or other household caregiving responsibilities.

Yet, our tabulation of data from the Current Population Survey suggest these reasons may not pass muster . . . Both male and female teacher-absence rates are significantly higher than college-educated workers in other industries, including other public service occupations. (Note that we intentionally excluded summer and winter holidays to avoid overcounting teacher absences.) And nurses’ working conditions certainly expose them to sick people more frequently, yet the female nurse-absence rate is comparable to teachers and male nurses are absent about 20% less than male teachers. The data suggests absences among public school teachers are relatively elevated—and a point of leverage worth policy consideration.

Prior evidence on the topic also corroborates excessive absences among school teachers, and that a notable share of teachers’ absences appears to be discretionary. For instance, teachers are more likely to be absent on Mondays and Fridays, and a large percentage of absences due to illness tend to be next on days adjacent to weekends or holidays, or in short blocks of time that do not require medical certification.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/01/27/we-should-be-focusing-on-absenteeism-among-teachers-not-just-students/

This data tracks my experience.

[Anonymous]

Despite earning a higher salary than a teacher in many ways I think it would've been fun to have a positive impact on so many. Also, 180 days a year not to mention personal time off is nothing to complain about not to mention the pension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

It would be much more productive to acknowledge how common regular teacher absences are than to disparage a parent raising a legitimate concern. Teacher absences are a huge problem for which there is no solution, at least from a parent perspective. It doesn't matter what the reason is (that's a matter between the administration and the teacher), but significant absences harm student learning, which doesn't get acknowledged. If you want teachers to be paid like highly skilled professionals, ensure they are held to the same standards that highly skilled professionals in other industries are.

If someone says they wish they had a teacher's hours, it's not disparaging to point out that they can have them if choose to be a teacher.

DP. It's not disparaging. It's a dumb response. Many people who are teachers would HATE my job, and I would hate being a teacher regardless of the hours. Everyone has different skills and preferences and trying to use that as a "gotcha" is just... no. What matters is what are the factors that are driving the teacher shortage. Is the pension not being generous enough driving the teacher shortage? No. Is it not enough days off of work? No. Based on my conversations with teacher friends, the compensation is not the issue either, though I'm sure this is different in other places where compensation is truly terrible. Could it be work hours during the workday (including grading papers)? Sure, I buy that. Is it the lack of flexibility? I can definitely see that. Is it the frustration of dealing with the bureaucracy and parents? That is definitely something I've heard cited from multiple teachers. Is it anti-teacher posts on DCUM? No, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teaching is also one of those jobs where...you're sitting next to someone who makes 3 figures and doesn't care because they've been around 25 years. Meanwhile, you're doing everything for your students and make 55k. That is why I quit and now make a 3 figure salary myself. This is not sustainable. Teachers need to realize they deserve better. The public doesn't care-hell the public is the problem. People continually whine about teachers while simultaneously beg for teachers. It's pathetic. Teachers know this. They just are bigger than your abuse. Teachers are heroes for reasons you've never thought of.

The job is not sustainable if staff have to sacrifice their personal lives to do the job.

My kids teachers work at most 180 days a year. Most of them are out all the time for various personal reasons so it's a lot less than 180 days. I don't think they're really sacrificing their personal lives. Meanwhile the rest of us are working 50 weeks a year and 60 hours a week. I wish I had teacher hours.

You are welcome to have them. There is a teacher shortage and we could use more people!

It would be much more productive to acknowledge how common regular teacher absences are than to disparage a parent raising a legitimate concern. Teacher absences are a huge problem for which there is no solution, at least from a parent perspective. It doesn't matter what the reason is (that's a matter between the administration and the teacher), but significant absences harm student learning, which doesn't get acknowledged. If you want teachers to be paid like highly skilled professionals, ensure they are held to the same standards that highly skilled professionals in other industries are.

If someone says they wish they had a teacher's hours, it's not disparaging to point out that they can have them if choose to be a teacher.

DP. It's not disparaging. It's a dumb response. Many people who are teachers would HATE my job, and I would hate being a teacher regardless of the hours. Everyone has different skills and preferences and trying to use that as a "gotcha" is just... no. What matters is what are the factors that are driving the teacher shortage. Is the pension not being generous enough driving the teacher shortage? No. Is it not enough days off of work? No. Based on my conversations with teacher friends, the compensation is not the issue either, though I'm sure this is different in other places where compensation is truly terrible. Could it be work hours during the workday (including grading papers)? Sure, I buy that. Is it the lack of flexibility? I can definitely see that. Is it the frustration of dealing with the bureaucracy and parents? That is definitely something I've heard cited from multiple teachers. Is it anti-teacher posts on DCUM? No, sorry.

All of the "I wish I could work teachers hours" or "I think it would have been fun" are dumb comments that deserve that kind of response. It's the same as people sitting around daydreaming about being a farmer; it's stupid and no one means it, but it's even more obvious because becoming a teacher is actually pretty easy. If people actually thought it sounded like fun, they'd go do it, and we wouldn't have a shortage. But those comments can absolutely dominate conversations here and step one in figuring out why there's a teacher shortage is often pointing out that those comments aren't grounded in reality.

As for your ideas about the teacher shortage, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, but I'd say current teachers considering leaving and people leaving are who we should actually be asking. Is there any data on that?