Smith1

Kolby Smith
Professor Parrish
English 1010
November, 13, 2016
Thirteen years I have been in the American educational system and for those years, I
found that the teachers I learned the most from were those who genuinely cared for me. The
same could not be said for those who were not happy with their jobs. Nation wide a teacher
shortage is arising. Within Utah, the teacher shortage is prominent because fewer teachers are
staying within the classroom also, even fewer college graduates are choosing teaching as their
profession. Though the shortage may be prominent it is misunderstood. The claim of a teacher
shortage is misleading, as well as being misinterpreted.
Having the misinterpretation of what a teacher shortage is leads to the idea that there is
not a teacher shortage at all. Where the shortage lays is within each subject area. Math and
science are depleting areas of education while English and social studies are well equipped.
According to America's teaching force, by the numbers, colleges are producing more elementary
teachers rather than secondary teachers. Teachers specializing in special education or English as
a second language are in high demand. The teacher shortage could be a serious thing, but every
state reports each statistic differently some school subjects are just fine. Rural areas are also a
key place where the shortage is prominent. Now that the teacher shortage has been addressed, is
it fixable?
Being fixable is not the problem inasmuch as is it a problem people want to fix. Is it one
problem or a combination of multiple problems? According to Making Sense of The Teacher

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Shortage and US Teacher Shortage: how to keep teachers from quitting, states that teachers are
under professional frustration that comes from the standardized testing, the lack of support from
fellow teachers and administration, and the amount of time it takes to be a teacher. Subject area
and geographical area both play a role in what has to be done to help fix the teacher problem.
Specific subjects can become hard to fill when the area is more of a rural place, such as an art
teacher or dance. Given these problems a solution is a feasible goal!
In solving the teacher shortage we can now recognize places of success and where
teachers are happy. According to the Success Story (South Carolina) and US teacher shortage:
how to keep teachers from quitting, has multiple solutions to such problems. Mentoring
programs where the teacher has a built in support group has a immensely positive effect on how
the teacher performs. There are also new and alternate routes to licensure (ARL). These alternate
ways of becoming a teacher does increase the number teachers available but the question of
quality does arise as well. Teachers are growing recourses but only if they choose to use them.
Increasing the atmosphere is also another way teachers will feel appreciated and less likely to
quit. We have made it this far please follow me to the final paragraph where we shall see the
conclusions.
Now that the teacher shortage has been clarified we can see that there is no shortage at
all, but a misinterpreted statistic. Each subject has its own difficulties, the area also has an effect
on the teachers as well as the environment of the teachers. Before people pass judgement on
teaching and say it is an easy job, try teaching and see how many semesters they last. The teacher
shortage is misunderstood rather than actual shortage of teachers.

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Works Cited
Us teacher shortage: how to keep teachers from quitting - CSMonitor 2016. 10 Nov. 2016
<http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2016/0915/US-teacher-shortage-how-to-keep-teach
ers-from-quitting>
Frustration. Burnout. Attrition. Its Time To Address The National - NPR. 2016. 10 Nov.
2016
<http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/15/493808213/frustration-burnout-attrition-its-time-toaddress-the-national-teacher-shortage>
Americas Teaching Force, by the Numbers - The Atlantic. 2015. 10 Nov. 2016
<http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/americas-teaching-force-by-the-number
s/404590/ >
Are we facing a nationwide teacher shortage? | Brookings Institution. 2016. 10 Nov. 2016
<https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2015/11/09/are-we-facing-a-nationw
ide-teacher-shortage/>
Is There Really A Teacher Shortage? - Forbes. 2015. 10 Nov. 2016
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbiggs/2015/08/13/is-there-really-a-teacher-shortage/>
Making sense of Utahs teacher shortage | KSL.com. 2016. 10 Nov. 2016
<https://www.ksl.com/?sid=38751007&nid=148>