My text to my husband after my kids got on the bus this morning: Hope they all have a good day ????… I sound like over-anxious. But I work in a school, and I see the truth. And that’s why I worry.
I know it’s one of the hot topics on the chinuch table these days, and you might think it’s overdone.
But if you’re a principal — you’re feeling the strain.
If you’re a teacher — you’re making hard decisions.
And if you’re a parent — you just might not be aware.
Aware of what, you ask?
Your child’s school is facing a serious lack of teachers. And that means that as a whole, the chinuch of our children is suffering.
As a parent, you should know these stats:
2015: When I graduated seminary in 2015, there were 170 girls vying for the same 3 available teaching positions in an elementary school.
2022: At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, Torah Umesorah’s online job board had 90(!) teacher and administrator positions open!
Knowing those facts, these become the burning questions:
Will my daughters be in the hands of qualified, competent role models?
Will she have a skilled guide addressing their questions, struggles or social challenges?
Will my children be able to spend 8 hours each day with teachers who help them thrive?
What’s the cause? It’s math — but also more than that.
Hundreds of talented, capable, passionate schools grads who decide to pursue careers other than education. Are they to blame?
Star teachers who leave the classroom to go into the corporate world. Are they to blame?
No. It’s simple math.
A woman acting as primary breadwinner on a salary of $18, $20,000 a year? Not particularly desirable.
Overheard from a teacher-turned-remote-worker: “‘Talent is appreciated way more in the corporate world than in the classroom. If I could make 100 thousand dollars more than a teaching salary… and work from the comfort of my home! And get health insurance, paid benefits, subsidized daycare, and family leave! I should put myself in front of a classroom?!’
But maybe there’s something else sneaking in.
A well-known teacher who instructs five seminaries in Teaching Methods shared that she’s stumped.
‘‘Here we are, firing our girls up with enthusiasm and passion for teaching, inspiring them, creating ‘Teaching Tracks’ for them. Then they go home and their mothers say, ‘No way.’ So what are we doing over here?!’
So, yes, it’s about the money.
But is it only about the money?
Mrs. Debbie Selengut, assistant principal in Bnos Bracha of Passaic, says
“We’re talking about the whole way we view this profession. We don’t want teaching to be the ‘nebach job.’ Yes, we need to raise salaries, but we also need to raise esteem.”
— source, Ami Magazine
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