President's Viewpoint
A Respect Shortage

There has been a lot of talk about a teacher shortage. But what's really in short supply is respect for teachers.

At the start of every school year, we read in the newspaper--hear on the radio--see on the television--stories about schools scrambling to hire teachers. The "teacher shortage" stories are as predictable as the autumn leaves. And this year, a new federal law has sparked even more discussion about the teacher supply problem. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires that every teacher in every classroom in every public school in the United States must be "highly qualified" by the spring of 2006.

This is a bold and noble goal--one that NEA has advocated for years and heartily supports. But school administrators, the people who must implement the goal, are already voicing doubts about achieving it. As one urban school superintendent said: "A third of our new teachers have emergency credentials. I don't know where we are going to find highly qualified teachers to fill every classroom."

Is there really a shortage of qualified teachers? I would say so. And why? Because there is a "shortage of respect."

Each year, America's colleges of education could produce enough new teachers to replace retiring teachers and meet the needs of growing student enrollments. The problem is not that too few men and women desire to come into the profession. The problem is that there are too many sacrifices that must be made to realize success in the profession. And the solution is not to develop alternative routes of entry into the profession or to increase the supply of recruits by allowing prospective teachers to skip "burdensome" education courses or student teaching. The solution is to show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, and show us the money.

We are short of qualified teachers because education and educators have not been given the respect that we deserve. Respect that is reflected in our work environment--modern schools, small class sizes, and adequate resources. Respect that is reflected in our compensation--educators should not have to sacrifice the desire to pursue an honorable profession in order to provide a decent standard of living for their families. Change those conditions and the teacher quality, recruitment, and retention issues will vanish.

Don't get me wrong. Teaching is a tough, tough job, and not everyone is cut out for it. However, teacher turnover on the scale that we are experiencing today is disastrous. Consider these facts:

Almost a third of America's teachers leave the profession sometime during their first three years of teaching, and almost half leave after five years.

Teacher drop-out rates are highest in the areas of special education, mathematics, and science; in these fields nearly 20 percent of the teachers leave each year.

n In urban schools, poor and minority students are three to four times more likely to have an inexperienced teacher than students in wealthier districts. (Research tells us that students of experienced teachers do significantly better than students of inexperienced teachers--those with less than two to three years of experience.)

There is no wonder that we--NEA--cannot and will not accept the status quo. Our students deserve better.

My friends, our challenge as an Association is to "teach" policymakers in 2002 and 2004. They must understand what respect means to us: professional pay, mentoring and professional development, modern facilities, and smaller class sizes--it means consulting with us, not dictating to us on education reform.

Gimmicks and cutting corners will never put a qualified teacher in every classroom. But respect will.

Comments? E-mail Reg Weaver at RegWeaver@nea.org.