Sent to the New York Times, August 9, 2015
Why the teacher shortages? ("Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble (Credentials Optional), Aug 9").
Among the reasons: the constant disrespecting of teachers in the media, despite evidence that American educators have been very successful (when we control for poverty, our students rank near the top of the world on international tests), elimination of seniority pay and elimination of due process in several states, massive high-pressure testing that makes teaching very difficult, and evaluation of teachers based on invalid measures.
I am surprised that the shortage is not greater than it is.
Stephen Krashen
Professor Emeritus
University of Southern California
Why the teacher shortages? ("Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble (Credentials Optional), Aug 9").
Among the reasons: the constant disrespecting of teachers in the media, despite evidence that American educators have been very successful (when we control for poverty, our students rank near the top of the world on international tests), elimination of seniority pay and elimination of due process in several states, massive high-pressure testing that makes teaching very difficult, and evaluation of teachers based on invalid measures.
I am surprised that the shortage is not greater than it is.
Stephen Krashen
Professor Emeritus
University of Southern California
Thank you for getting to the heart of this issue, though many of us in the classroom know that any focus on testing and scores as a measure of true learning distracts us from deep educational work to dignify all students and support their intuitive belief in social justice for all...
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