Inside America’s Teacher Shortage

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST: And now, from the world stage to the classroom, imagine this, 70 percent of 10-year-olds in low-and-middle-income countries around the world cannot read. It’s a fact worsened by COVID of course. And our next guest says that America schools are also under threat. Journalist Jennifer Berkshire is co-author of “A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door”. An analysis of what she calls the dismantling of America’s public education system. She is speaking to Hari Sreenivasan about why teachers are in such short supply now in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARI SREENIVASAN, CORRESPONDENT: Christiane, thanks. Jennifer Berkshire, thanks so much for joining us.

JENNIFER BERKSHIRE, COAUTHOR, “A WOLF AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR”: Thank you so much for having me.

SREENIVASAN: First, I want to ask, you know, I have seen and so many parents have seen these headlines, around the country of teacher shortages. And I want to know how bad is it.

BERKSHIRE: Great question. So, the — whether you are experiencing a teacher shortage depends on where you are and what subject matter is being taught. So, there are subject matters where we have had long running teacher shortages in this country, like special ed and certain stampedes (ph). But now we’re seeing something a little different. We’re seeing regional parts of the country where teacher shortages are really starting to get severe. And I’m thinking of places like Arizona and Florida. Places that are often in the news for other reasons pertaining to school related politics. And then the — I think the other thing to keep an eye on is when you hear teacher shortages, look to see what people are saying about the pipeline of future teachers, right? So, maybe the problem in your area isn’t evident today. But what if there is no one in that queue preparing to be a teacher tomorrow? That’s something we all need to worry about.

SREENIVASAN: One of the statistics that’s really concerning is from National Education Association survey back in February. And it said some 55 percent of educators are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than they had planned. So, let’s start to look at some of the reasons why that is. This is something that is been made worse by the pandemic, I imagine.

BERKSHIRE: Absolutely. So, you will see a lot of statistics like that. And to the critics of the teacher shortage narrative will say, well, you know, it turns out that teachers often say that they’re going to leave but then, you know, that they — a lot of them ended up not leaving. Well, it tells us that we are looking at a profession that, in many ways, is in the throes of a crisis. And the pandemic definitely made things worse. The post- pandemic political charged atmosphere is making things worse.

SREENIVASAN: So, let’s talk a little bit about the accelerant that the pandemic was in this problem. I mean, you know, within months of children going to Zoom, there was almost this seemingly universal love of parents saying, oh, my gosh. Teachers need to be paid more. It is unbelievable what they’re dealing with all day. And I’m having to figure that out as a parent. Where — how do we get from that where we consider them heroes to the state where so many of them are saying, you know what, I don’t need to do this to myself. I’m going to switch professions or I’m going to retire.

BERKSHIRE: When I interviewed teachers over the summer for a big piece I wrote for “The Nation” about teachers leaving. They — so many of them pointed to that, the pendulum swing. The fact that you don’t like the school shut down, they’re recognized as heroes, people are tweeting every teacher should be paid $1 million dollars. And then we see, you know, not just the pendulum reverses but just this sort of incredible backlash. Some of it had to do with school closures. And some of it had to do with just this intense politicization, right? There’s this argument that started to take hold, I think, very opportunistically about schools indoctrinating kids. And of course, who’s doing the indoctrinating then? It’s teachers. And so, all of those things, sort of, set the stage. And I think for so many teachers, it was just this incredible disconnect between realizing that, you know, that they could go from being held in very high esteem to being, you know, like a real — like a full-on enemy within, you know, like within just a few months. That was just really — that was really disconcerting.

SREENIVASAN: Are the forces that are increasing the pressure on teachers, I guess the same people who felt like the mask policies or the vaccine policies were wrong. And now they’re shifting, I guess, focus on what’s wrong with teaching or is there — are there discrete groups that are, kind of, adding to this pressure?

BERKSHIRE: I think the loudest voices that we hear right now really are an extension of what you just described. If you look at a community that’s really being rocked by these parent protests, you’ll see the issues keep morphing. First, it’s school reopening. Then it’s masks and vaccines. Then it’s critical race theory. Then it’s what they’re calling a gender ideology. And often they’re making specific demands about what they want teachers to do. They want them to post all of their lesson plans prior to the start of the year. The gubernatorial candidate in Arizona wants cameras in every classroom. So, you can see that there is this, sort of, organized course that’s now more and more concentrated on teachers. And if you are paying attention to conservative media, there is a kind of implied message that what teachers are doing is so bad that violence might be called for. And I think that that, in particular, is just so alarming to people.

SREENIVASAN: So, tell me some of the teachers that you speak with. When you talk about this potential violence and fear factor, give me some examples of what teachers were telling you in your reporting?

BERKSHIRE: Absolutely. So, I — you know, I think people really need to understand just how politicized things are right now. And so, think about a history teacher who, as part of his standard approach, teaches a lesson on the electoral polish (ph). But now half of the people in your Iowa community don’t believe that Biden won the election. Suddenly, everything you’re doing is controversial. So, what are those parents going to do? Well, they’re going to call the administration and complain about you. And the administration just wants the calls to stop. And so, suddenly you’re sort of out there on your own. And then you’re — you know, there are these intense school board meetings where, you know, maybe you’re in a community where the Proud Boys are showing up. And so, the — it’s not just the threat of violence that is coming through the TV. There’s menace in your community. And for people who think of school board meetings as just these state boring affairs, you know, this is really something new to deal with. I think all of those things start to add up. The feeling of being isolated. The feeling of being under constant watch and having, you know, having things that you’ve always taught now being under a microscope. And politicians calling for more. Calling for things like, you know, for you to be accused of a felony if you’re teaching a book that they’re saying is pornographic, right? All of these things really have people on edge.

SREENIVASAN: How concerted are these efforts at school board meetings around the country when this pressure is being applied, when these policies are being questioned? Is there the equivalent of a rule book online, so to speak, where these advocates are saying, oh, here’s what work in Iowa, let’s try it here.

BERKSHIRE: Absolutely. So, on the one hand, there is a genuine grassroots element to a lot of this stuff. You know, the pandemic was genuinely unsettling for all of us. But particularly, you know, for parents of school age kids. It was profoundly disruptive. And wherever you were, whether you are in a red state or a blue state, a city or a rural area. It disrupted life. And so, in many ways the protests we’re seeing are a response to that. We’re experiencing the long tale of that. But there is definitely concerted, organized, very well-funded part of this as well. The politicization and the disruption around schools plays into long-standing political goals to privatize education. And you’ll see organizations being more and more explicit about this, right? This is our shot. Let’s go for it. And so right now, in a state like Michigan where maybe you would’ve had school board protests during the pandemic, now you have — you know, you’re in the throes of a debate about full-on privatization through a statewide voucher program. Things are moving fast and I think that people are starting to realize that this is — this isn’t just the voices of a collection of angry parents. That there is money behind this. There is power behind this. And that the goal is to privatized public education.

SREENIVASAN: So, I guess let’s — a philosophical question that probably needs to be answered to some of the folks who might be interested in privatizing it or taking the funding away from the State. I mean, what does a public education mean to the country?

BERKSHIRE: Yes, so it’s a really good question and it’s really worth looking. If you’re in a state where one of this privatization plans is being proposed, pay very close attention to the money that they’re talking about. Because typically, the amount of the voucher doesn’t cover the whole cost of an education. It certainly doesn’t cover what we now spend on public education. And so, it means that we’re talking about shifting some portion of the cost on to parents themselves. Think about that. In a country as unequal as we are, what’s that going to do? That is absolutely going to cement inequity in a way that I think is really concerning to think about. And then, you know, think about the other things that schools do. Our public schools are a public good. You pay for them even if you don’t have kids. You pay for them because they are a benefit to the community. You pay for them because we are investing in the idea of schools as growing civic – – future civic leaders and participants in our democracy. What does it say that we’re going to walk away from that and start to define education as an individual responsibility that you shoulder the burden for yourself much like we treat higher ed? And think about our debate right now about higher ed. How has that experiment worked out?

SREENIVASAN: Where do you see this soar of attempt kind of furthest along?

BERKSHIRE: It’s furthest along in a State like Arizona which just, over the summer, enacted what is called a Universal Voucher Program. And that means that now, like anyone in Arizona, can basically take taxpayer money and spend it not just on private schools or private religious schools but home-schooling and any education related expense. And so, you know, not surprisingly, the people who have rushed to participate in that program were overwhelmingly already in the private system. So, suddenly you have this pool of money that’s now, you know, being used to subsidize people who were paying for private education. And that’s going to mean less money for kids in the public schools. So, you know, and Arizona is being really held up as a model by folks who believe in this vision. So, I would pay close attention to what’s happening there.

SREENIVASAN: What sort of pipeline problems are we looking at here? And how is this going to impact us two years, five years, 10 years out in the way that public education or just education is structured?

BERKSHIRE: Yes. So, this is really concerning. When you look at the drop in applicants in things like education programs. And we’re not just talking about university-based programs. This is really happening across the board. Think of a program like Teach for America which, you know, just a few years ago was absolutely awash in applicants. They’ve seen — they — this current year they have their smallest class since the program was founded. And that really tells you something, right? Like these are our kids who saw a career advantage in many ways to going into teaching. And now they’re saying, you know, I’m not so sure. And then you talk to folks in rural communities that are really being hit hard by this. They’re seeing the same — you know, it was already hard for them to convince somebody to pack up and move to a small town in Western Kansas. And now they’re looking with great concern to the fact that there are — the pipeline of future teachers in rural Kansas is drying up as well. So, it’s not just that there is this debate about shortages right now. It’s what does the future hold? And I think that’s very concerning.

SREENIVASAN: So, in a perfect market, you know, the supply and demand don’t even out. You see states like Florida changing the requirements of what is necessary to be a schoolteacher. What are the impacts of that?

BERKSHIRE: Well, I think — you know, I think we really need to think about what it says that the response to not enough teachers would be to say basically that anyone can do it. We have all sorts of careers where shortages are a problem. Think of the terrific — you know, there’s a shortage of nurses or doctors in rural areas. And the idea that a governor would come out and say, you know, what? As a temporary stopgap measure, we’re going to let anybody do it. People would immediately see that as a dangerous road to go down. But the difference is that there is this, sort of, larger narrative that teaching doesn’t require any particular skill, right? It’s the only profession where all of us see it done in front of our eyes for at least 12 years. And so, there is this persistent, sort of, undercurrent. Well, you know, I could do it, so maybe DeSantis is right. Maybe somebody coming out of the military would be just as good.

SREENIVASAN: What happens to the idea that teaching is a profession. That it requires training. I’m looking at a stat that says according to a 2019 report from the National Council on Teacher Quality, only 15 States require that candidates pass a basic skills test which measures whether they have a grasp of math, reading, and writing.

BERKSHIRE: Yes, so we’re entering into an era that is profoundly uncertain. And one of the reasons is that the politicization around education is a very much directed at schools of education. If you listen closely to the conservative governors, in particular, who are sort of waging this campaign, this is one of their particular targets. And so, that means that — well, what — you know, how are we going to train teachers then? You know, what are they going to be expected to learn? And so, I actually don’t think you’re going to be seeing a lot of demands for — the sort of, basic skills tests that you were just describing. Instead, there is going to be this battle playing out around the States where you’re going to start to see conservatives calling for their own schools of education. That train teachers in particular sets of ideas around, say, patriotism and virtue. It’s — we’re in for some wild times.

SREENIVASAN: So, what do we do about this? Especially if we know that this is a bigger problem in certain regions of the country where there is more, kind of, pressure on teachers. What do we do to try to improve the situation in these parts the country?

BERKSHIRE: Well, I think that making teaching more attractive as a profession is always the best answer. There are also, you know, a number of places that are doing really interesting things with grow your own teacher programs. I interviewed somebody in rural Texas last week. And so, they have a program where kids leave high school with an associates’ degree. And then the school district basically then pays for the first year or two of their education degree with the understanding that they’ll come back to that rural community of teach. What a cool idea. So, I’m hoping that we’ll see these — you know, in some ways the shortages will read some creative solutions. I also think it’s really important not to focus on the most negative stories. The loudest voices. The most, sort of, school — you know, the disruption around school boards. Look at some communities where folks have really banded together to support teachers, to support their public schools. And you’ll be surprised that actually these stories are in the majority.

SREENIVASAN: Jennifer Berkshire, co-author of the book, “A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School”. Thanks so much for joining us.

BERKSHIRE: Thanks so much for having me.