Q & A
Dr. Donna M. Druery @many2try
The Teacher Certification Challenges and Changes and How It Impacts Public Schools
@many2try
Dr. Mike Robinson: Is the best way to solve the teacher shortage crisis to lower the requirements for teacher certification?
Dr. Donna Druery: The United States has found itself in a conundrum with the mass exodus of departures, resignations, and retiring teachers from the education field over the past couple of years. According to a recent survey of 3,600 members from the National Education Association, 55% of the respondents stated they are likely to leave or retire from education! We see that happening now in almost every state. On March 22, 2022, a post from Angela on Twitter, who calls herself "@wokeSTEM teacher," stated that her mom told her, "26 teachers from her school are quitting. That's -all the kindergarten teachers, all the 4th-grade teachers, all the 5th-grade teachers, all but one 1st-grade teacher, all but one 2nd-grade teacher, all but one 3rd-grade teacher." This is not an anomaly; it is occurring all across America. Teachers are burnt out, there is little support, and they are stressed beyond measure. As one teacher told me, "Right now, asking if you want fries with that shake sounds good." Should the requirements have been lowered? I think they did what they had to do. I also think the powers that be wanted to ridicule the teachers who left the field and even say, "See, anybody can teach."
So, even though this is not ideal, the school doors will open in August with thousands of children. Who will teach them? On the one hand, schools had to do what they had to get bodies into the classrooms. Will the teachers be ready after two or three weeks of orientation? Probably not. I predict that over 50% will leave by December, and about 25% will not return after the first year. Will there be a fallout when the standardized tests are even more behind? Absolutely. This is obviously not a great situation, but I see it from both sides. One solution is that all new teachers hired without certification should be enrolled post haste in Alternative Certification Programs.
Dr. Mike Robinson: To what extent would an increase in teacher pay and better work conditions address the teacher shortages facing many school districts?
Dr. Donna Druery: In Texas, the pay for most beginning teachers in small towns is about $45,000 to $50,000 and about $10,00 to $20,000 more for urban areas. In efforts to lure teachers into the classrooms this year, some districts posted beginning salaries at $60,000 and above. This means that the beginning teacher with zero years of experience will make $10 to $20,000 more than experienced teachers, some with at least two to ten years of experience. But then, these experienced teachers will be asked to show the newbie the ropes and or train them without added compensation. Do we think that will happen? What should have happened was to give the bulk of the money to experienced teachers, raise their salaries, and provide step raises for each year teachers and educators remain. As they mentor other teachers, that would also require stipends. Saying that the districts, states, and federal entities did not have the money is a slap. Where did this influx of cash come from if they didn't have it?
Dr. Mike Robinson: Should the State Department of Education determine the criteria for teacher certification, or should the local school districts?
Dr. Donna Druery: The State Department of Education should continue to determine the criteria for teacher certification. It definitely should not be the local school districts. Can you imagine the mess that that will be? There are already proven areas of nepotism in some school districts, so imagine what we would have if every LEA was in charge of this morass!
Dr. Mike Robinson: What do you say to those who see the high standards for teacher certification as a way to ensure the best educators are leading the classrooms?
Dr. Donna Druery: We need the standards; otherwise, who can be a doctor? Who can be a lawyer? Who can be a Professor? If the door opens without certification, where would we be as educators?
Bio
Dr. Donna M. Druery earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration at Texas A&M University, College Station, Tx, in May 2021. Donna also holds certifications in the following areas: Superintendency; College Teaching (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas); Nonprofit Management (George Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University), and as a Certified Teacher and an Administrator. Donna earned her M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Sam Houston State University, her B.A. in English with double minors in Business Administration and Speech Communication at Texas A&M University, and an A.A. in Business Administration at Blinn College. Dr. Druery has served as a Research Specialist and has worked on multi-million-dollar grants related to the Accelerated Preparation of Leaders for Underserved Schools (APLUS). Her research focuses on educational policy and politics, school choice, race, class, gender, cultural issues, and social stratification of education and communities. Donna volunteers her time in the community, tutoring and assisting first-generation college students with financial assistance, course arrangements, goal setting, and college enrollment applications.
Dr. Donna Druery: The United States has found itself in a conundrum with the mass exodus of departures, resignations, and retiring teachers from the education field over the past couple of years. According to a recent survey of 3,600 members from the National Education Association, 55% of the respondents stated they are likely to leave or retire from education! We see that happening now in almost every state. On March 22, 2022, a post from Angela on Twitter, who calls herself "@wokeSTEM teacher," stated that her mom told her, "26 teachers from her school are quitting. That's -all the kindergarten teachers, all the 4th-grade teachers, all the 5th-grade teachers, all but one 1st-grade teacher, all but one 2nd-grade teacher, all but one 3rd-grade teacher." This is not an anomaly; it is occurring all across America. Teachers are burnt out, there is little support, and they are stressed beyond measure. As one teacher told me, "Right now, asking if you want fries with that shake sounds good." Should the requirements have been lowered? I think they did what they had to do. I also think the powers that be wanted to ridicule the teachers who left the field and even say, "See, anybody can teach."
So, even though this is not ideal, the school doors will open in August with thousands of children. Who will teach them? On the one hand, schools had to do what they had to get bodies into the classrooms. Will the teachers be ready after two or three weeks of orientation? Probably not. I predict that over 50% will leave by December, and about 25% will not return after the first year. Will there be a fallout when the standardized tests are even more behind? Absolutely. This is obviously not a great situation, but I see it from both sides. One solution is that all new teachers hired without certification should be enrolled post haste in Alternative Certification Programs.
Dr. Mike Robinson: To what extent would an increase in teacher pay and better work conditions address the teacher shortages facing many school districts?
Dr. Donna Druery: In Texas, the pay for most beginning teachers in small towns is about $45,000 to $50,000 and about $10,00 to $20,000 more for urban areas. In efforts to lure teachers into the classrooms this year, some districts posted beginning salaries at $60,000 and above. This means that the beginning teacher with zero years of experience will make $10 to $20,000 more than experienced teachers, some with at least two to ten years of experience. But then, these experienced teachers will be asked to show the newbie the ropes and or train them without added compensation. Do we think that will happen? What should have happened was to give the bulk of the money to experienced teachers, raise their salaries, and provide step raises for each year teachers and educators remain. As they mentor other teachers, that would also require stipends. Saying that the districts, states, and federal entities did not have the money is a slap. Where did this influx of cash come from if they didn't have it?
Dr. Mike Robinson: Should the State Department of Education determine the criteria for teacher certification, or should the local school districts?
Dr. Donna Druery: The State Department of Education should continue to determine the criteria for teacher certification. It definitely should not be the local school districts. Can you imagine the mess that that will be? There are already proven areas of nepotism in some school districts, so imagine what we would have if every LEA was in charge of this morass!
Dr. Mike Robinson: What do you say to those who see the high standards for teacher certification as a way to ensure the best educators are leading the classrooms?
Dr. Donna Druery: We need the standards; otherwise, who can be a doctor? Who can be a lawyer? Who can be a Professor? If the door opens without certification, where would we be as educators?
Bio
Dr. Donna M. Druery earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration at Texas A&M University, College Station, Tx, in May 2021. Donna also holds certifications in the following areas: Superintendency; College Teaching (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas); Nonprofit Management (George Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University), and as a Certified Teacher and an Administrator. Donna earned her M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Sam Houston State University, her B.A. in English with double minors in Business Administration and Speech Communication at Texas A&M University, and an A.A. in Business Administration at Blinn College. Dr. Druery has served as a Research Specialist and has worked on multi-million-dollar grants related to the Accelerated Preparation of Leaders for Underserved Schools (APLUS). Her research focuses on educational policy and politics, school choice, race, class, gender, cultural issues, and social stratification of education and communities. Donna volunteers her time in the community, tutoring and assisting first-generation college students with financial assistance, course arrangements, goal setting, and college enrollment applications.