This teacher shortage: A tale of two teaching worlds

 

Teaching is a tale of two teaching worlds.
 

If you teach in an affluent community?
You earn more money, 

You have more say in curriculum choices, 

You have better health care,
You have better retirement packages,

You have more resources,

You have more specialized staff support,

You have beautiful, fully staffed libraries, 

You have more choices for sports,

You have better maintained and cleaner buildings, 

Your students have access to more books,
Your students have more access to 

You have meaningful professional development.

You have more respectful treatment from administrators.

Yes, you still have struggles, challenges, and hard work to do,

But, it does not wear you down. Teachers are not fleeing poor schools, because they don't want to teach.
They are fleeing abusive working conditions,
They are fleeing abusive learning conditions,
Conditions, that are doing great harm to the children they teach,
They are fleeing failed unjust leadership,
They are fleeing the inhumanity of a system that regularly spends 20 Billion Dollars more on wealthy schools than poor schools,
Their hearts are broken,
They are fleeing, because they can't take it any longer. 

First, Truth to Power moment about our teacher shortage. There will be no teacher shortage in affluent public schools. This shortage is real, but it will not be happening in our Affluent Public Schools. 

Second Truth to Power moment, give our teachers teaching in our Poor Communities all the above, and there will be no teacher shortage. The lack of our policymakers and legislators' will to bring equity to our public schools for children harms both child and teacher. 

Third Truth to Power, America is willing to see the collapse of public education rather than do the right thing for all our children. 

Last Truth to Power, give all teachers what wealthy schools have, and watch learning bloom for all of America's children.  

Rise up:
Teachers,
Parents,
Students,
Building a public will for doing the right thing for all children, teachers, and public schools is the only way to end this teacher shortage. Anything less increases the prison population and increases teacher flight from our poorest public schools.

Silence and apathy are the biggest threats to our public schools,
Dr. Jesse P. Turner 
Uniting to Save Our Schools
Proud Badass Teacher

If you like to listen to the tune that inspired my morning walk, it "Teach Your Children Well" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQOaUnSmJr8

"You, who are on the road

"Must have a code

That you can live by

And so become yourself

Because the past is just a goodbye"