In June of 2018, I had the opportunity to learn about educational policy - how it was created and taken back to other states to be implemented - at a conference put on by an organization called Educational Commission of the States. This organization is a non-partisan policy organization that collects research and data about initiatives so that state leaders can bring policy back to their own states.
As I listened to these speakers in the keynotes and breakout sessions, I felt myself enraged. There was an issue that should have been the entire reason we were there, but it was nowhere to be found on the schedule. How were we talking "business as usual" with no one screaming from the rooftop of the true crisis in front of us. That issue was the impending teacher shortage. I remember thinking to myself that we were building a ship that would set sail each year. The passengers would load, but there would be no crew to sail it. NO CREW to sail it. Let that sink in. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue? Can you imagine the worry and frustration from the crew who knew how a fully-staffed ship should operate?
And here we are, almost four short years later facing this crisis that we've had years to address. We are building a ship (our public schools) and they set sail each year with our most important passengers (our children), yet we do not have the crew (the administrators, teachers, paras, cooks, bus drivers, custodians) to successfully and safely sail the waters in front of us. If you are lucky and it hasn't hit your district yet, it soon will.
I have watched with heartache as parents and politicians storm board of education meeting across the country - fighting about masks and topics like Critical Race Theory. I have watched parents picket outside of schools against policies meant to keep all students and staff safer.
But where is the outrage that districts across this country cannot find qualified educators to teach our children?
I believe in the power of a free, accessible education for all students in the United States of America. I believe an educated citizenry is one of the most crucial cornerstones of our democracy. I believe that schools are needed for our economy to flourish.
Communities and schools must come together to fix this, or our ships will never leave port. It is simply unsustainable. How can schools better meet the needs of the communities they serve? How can communities provide opportunities for educators to invest in these careers that guide and shape our children?
This will not be fixed by one entity alone. Together, we will either set sail or sink this ship.
Where can we start? We start with something we CAN fix. Right now, schools need help with substitutes teachers. Businesses - you need your workers to be at work, and they cannot work if their kids are not in school. The CEO of Watermark Bank in Oklahoma, Matt Pollock, has stated he will do whatever is needed to help his employees get certified to substitute teach -- and that he expects them to dedicate two days a month to doing so. Not only that - he will make sure they receive a full day's pay from the bank each time they invest in their local school as a substitute teachers. This is just one example of what can be done. What businesses in your area could make an investment like this?
Many communities need early childcare and daycare needs - how can we work together to fix this? How can we include students in this so that they learn beneficial skills from trained adults?
Many future teachers change career paths because they cannot afford loan payments on a teaching salary. Without going into the debate as to raising teacher salaries - how can we fix this? Can we start foundations in our local hometowns dedicated to granting scholarships to students who return to teach in our schools? Imagine the power in knowing that your hometown believes in you enough to bring you back to teach.
I am not going to spew toxic positivity and pretend that the issues facing education aren't big. In my 20 years of teaching this is by far the most difficult year I have ever taught. This is not going to be an easy fix. But what won't fix things is pointing fingers and fighting. I actually think that if we sat down at the table together, we'd realize that what we are all hoping for really isn't that different. We want what is best for our kids.
Surely there are ways we can do this. Surely we can come together as a community and figure out how to build a crew for our ship. Surely we can show up.
Our children deserve to feel the wind behind their sails. And they deserve a trained crew to guide them.
