Why is there a teacher shortage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

You see what they did there, don't you? They're comparing how much time US teachers are given during the school day for planning versus how much time teachers in other countries actually spend on lesson planning, regardless of whether or not it is time spent during their school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

You see what they did there, don't you? They're comparing how much time US teachers are given during the school day for planning versus how much time teachers in other countries actually spend on lesson planning, regardless of whether or not it is time spent during their school day.

Did you read the report? Because that's not what they're comparing.

In the report it notes that American secondary teachers spend 63% more hours instructing students than their peers in other OECD countries. That's an enormous difference.

[Anonymous]

Right. American teachers have more student “face time” than teachers in other countries. I’ve taught overseas and in addition to lunch, I always had two and sometimes 3 planning periods per day when my students went to at least two resource/language classes. We don’t have FL classes here so one resource class is the only time we have to plan, grade, have meetings etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

You see what they did there, don't you? They're comparing how much time US teachers are given during the school day for planning versus how much time teachers in other countries actually spend on lesson planning, regardless of whether or not it is time spent during their school day.

I tried to backtrack on this thread, but can’t find the article this quote is from. Any chance someone can post it?

I know several European teachers (two different countries). They all teach for about half the week, and have planning for the other half. By contrast, I get 4 hours of planning a week. They have 60 or so students. I have 150. They are not expected to work all weekend like I am.

I know this is merely anecdotal, but I am having a hard time believing PP’s interpretation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

Ok, and since it has been confirmed a lot of the time teachers are using pre generated curriculum they are given and computer games, that isn’t much they need to plan. Maybe other countries have teachers actually coming up with the material and methods they need to teach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

Ok, and since it has been confirmed a lot of the time teachers are using pre generated curriculum they are given and computer games, that isn’t much they need to plan. Maybe other countries have teachers actually coming up with the material and methods they need to teach.

We did that. For a long time. A lot of us were good at it.

We're not trusted anymore. Society has gone off the rails. Kids don't want to work hard or respect adults.

And we get the blame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

Ok, and since it has been confirmed a lot of the time teachers are using pre generated curriculum they are given and computer games, that isn’t much they need to plan. Maybe other countries have teachers actually coming up with the material and methods they need to teach.

I teacher 3 different classes. 2 of them come with no curriculum, so I have to create it myself. I also work in a private high school that discourages a ton of online work, so most of my students’ work is done on paper. There are no online lessons or games. I used to work in a public school. I was only given a 4-page guide for each quarter. I had to develop the lessons.

Teaching varies widely from school to school. One thing that seems consistent, though, is that teachers are fleeing (and I mean FLEEING) out of the classroom.

Considering the departures we are experiencing, it seems like the majority of teachers feel extremely, extremely overworked.

[Anonymous]

Ok, and since it has been confirmed a lot of the time teachers are using pre generated curriculum they are given and computer games, that isn’t much they need to plan. Maybe other countries have teachers actually coming up with the material and methods they need to teach.

Yeah, nobody confirmed that. When I create playlists for my students, I am required to make them basically individually based on recent formative assessment data. It is way more time consuming than in the days when I could assign groups of students to physical centers, not least because I have to do so much documentation about everything I am doing and why, because nobody trusts me to know what my students need.

[Anonymous]

I’m an ESOL teacher. We don’t have a curriculum so we are expected to teach our students based on their needs. This year, I have a lot of new kindergartners who don’t speak any English and have never been to school. They have zero number sense and no understanding of one-to one correspondence. Normally I’m not involved in the math curriculum but because so many of them need help, I’m teaching an extra class to help them with these math basics. I have to find and purchase the materials I need for this. Then I have to write lessons plans. This is in addition to my other classes. I spend at least an hour a day on this. This hour happens at night after my kids are in bed.

[Anonymous]

It pays pretty well in urban areas like nova, but it's not a cushy job. It's a horrible job with long hours, no respect, and a ton of stress. Lots of people go into teaching - few stay long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an ESOL teacher. We don’t have a curriculum so we are expected to teach our students based on their needs. This year, I have a lot of new kindergartners who don’t speak any English and have never been to school. They have zero number sense and no understanding of one-to one correspondence. Normally I’m not involved in the math curriculum but because so many of them need help, I’m teaching an extra class to help them with these math basics. I have to find and purchase the materials I need for this. Then I have to write lessons plans. This is in addition to my other classes. I spend at least an hour a day on this. This hour happens at night after my kids are in bed.

Thank you. I wish you had more planning time during the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an ESOL teacher. We don’t have a curriculum so we are expected to teach our students based on their needs. This year, I have a lot of new kindergartners who don’t speak any English and have never been to school. They have zero number sense and no understanding of one-to one correspondence. Normally I’m not involved in the math curriculum but because so many of them need help, I’m teaching an extra class to help them with these math basics. I have to find and purchase the materials I need for this. Then I have to write lessons plans. This is in addition to my other classes. I spend at least an hour a day on this. This hour happens at night after my kids are in bed.

I used to be an ESOL teacher, too, in FCPS. It took me about 5 years to amass the number of books and materials I needed to teach. I remember being shocked when I got there and realized I was supposed to teach English language, reading, writing, math, and history to kids who spoke no English, but I was supposed to do it without one single book. No grammar books, no dictionaries, no math problem sets, nothing. I couldn't even communicate with my students, but I didn't one single item to try to teach them anything with. I had to stay up late trying to create my own picture dictionaries using clipart and a printer. This "program" is such an absolute crime of poor education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

Ok, and since it has been confirmed a lot of the time teachers are using pre generated curriculum they are given and computer games, that isn’t much they need to plan. Maybe other countries have teachers actually coming up with the material and methods they need to teach.

Please tell me who confirmed this and where it is happening. I might consider teaching there. I certainly wasn't given a damn thing in FCPS. I had to make or buy everything myself, right down to the books my students used for reading groups.

[Anonymous]

Because Republicans are idiots

Who wants to teach with those morons as parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s awful. Teachers in this country would quit instead and that’s what they are doing.

Pretty soon we can turn this job over to ChatGPT and the problem will be solved.

They practically have. All this talk about lengthy lesson plans and such. I don’t see this. It’s mostly canned curriculums and “educational” computer games

Blame the people in school headquarters who buy these apps and online platforms and then require teachers to use them. In my district, they rank schools based on usage of certain apps. Principals go to meetings where they show these rankings and then they come back to school to make sure we use them at least the minimum amount per week.

Not blaming the teachers, just pointing out that not a lot of individual lesson planning and actual teaching is going on. There is a teaching shortage, but not a teacher shortage

Not true.
“According to the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, research shows that American teachers usually have from three to five hours a week for lesson planning. In many other countries, teachers spend fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on lesson planning.”

Ok, and since it has been confirmed a lot of the time teachers are using pre generated curriculum they are given and computer games, that isn’t much they need to plan. Maybe other countries have teachers actually coming up with the material and methods they need to teach.

I teacher 3 different classes. 2 of them come with no curriculum, so I have to create it myself. I also work in a private high school that discourages a ton of online work, so most of my students’ work is done on paper. There are no online lessons or games. I used to work in a public school. I was only given a 4-page guide for each quarter. I had to develop the lessons.

Teaching varies widely from school to school. One thing that seems consistent, though, is that teachers are fleeing (and I mean FLEEING) out of the classroom.

Considering the departures we are experiencing, it seems like the majority of teachers feel extremely, extremely overworked.

Yup...throw in the extreme disrespect and teachers are done!