Teachers are leaving and few people want to join the field. Experts are sounding the alarm.

Early numbers from the COVID-19 pandemic show a concerning result… more and more young Americans are being dissuaded from pursuing a teaching career. Many institutions have reported significant declines in the amount of new graduate students, with the loss hitting smaller institutions serving rural communities the most. Even before COVID, teaching has been seen as a profession that promises high stress with little pay and little respect. This is unacceptable.

The decline is even more concerning given that teachers of color are already underrepresented in the education field. Additionally, teachers should reflect the socioeconomic backgrounds of their students, but because teaching degrees are incredibly expensive to obtain the profession is not economically accessible. If we want to increase the racial and socioeconomic diversity of our teaching staff, we NEED to reform the way we fund our schools and recruit and pay our teachers.

SF Chronicle

Teachers are leaving and few people want to join the field. Experts are sounding the alarm.

By Christina Maxouris and Christina Zdanowicz, SF Chronicle | 2/5/2022