K-5 teacher overload: Too many trained, not enough jobs

K-5 teacher overload: Too many trained, not enough jobs

But shortages remain in math, science and special education.

The nation is training twice as many K-5 elementary school teachers as needed each year, while teacher shortages remain in the content specific areas of math, science and special education.

Illinois trained roughly 10 teachers for every one position available, according to an estimate by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a Washington based research and policy group.

In New York, about 6,500 childhood education specialists were trained in 2010 to fill the projected demand of 2,800 in 2011, according to the state's education department and labor bureau.

Public elementary schools in Cherry Hill, N.J., average 400 to 600 applicants for one full-time position ; the numbers are up to 400 for work as a long-term substitute, said George Guy, the principal for A. Russell Knight Elementary School.

NCTQ president Kate Walsh says the market is "flooded with elementary teachers" because universities and colleges don't make the effort to match supply and demand as other professions might do. Dean Donald Heller of Michigan State's College of Education says it is true that MSU does not coordinate with the state regarding how many elementary school teachers are needed. But the school produces teachers for a nationwide market, not specifically for Michigan, he countered.

The National Center for Education Statistics reported there were 1,708,057 elementary school teachers in 2010, the most recent year for which statistics are available, a decrease from 1,774,295 in 2009.

doesn't this somewhat justify underpaying K-5 teachers?

and to indoctrinate your kids sooner.

No worries; the government will just create earlier and earlier "pre-K" schools and programs in order to hire more teachers and make budgets bigger, unions bigger, and to indoctrinate your kids sooner.

Doesn't surprise me. No one wants to teach middle/highschoolers due to all the BS involved. Small kids are still more or less polite and harmless, sometimes you get a bathroom accident or whatnot, but the work level is low (not much "homework" or grading) and the hours are shorter.

No worries; the government will just create earlier and earlier "pre-K" schools and programs in order to hire more teachers and make budgets bigger, unions bigger, and to indoctrinate your kids sooner.

surprisingly this seems very true.. A year ago people would probably attack over this comment.. but since it's occurring, it's hard to dispute. Now if this does occur how much does damage does it to the private industry that does daycare/education that handles Pre-K children?

It appears that that is precisely the conclusion the Bush-era, corporate-funded propaganda group cited in the article wants you to reach.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index....er_Quality

No worries; the government will just create earlier and earlier "pre-K" schools and programs in order to hire more teachers and make budgets bigger, unions bigger, and to indoctrinate your kids sooner.

I was unaware statistics could be propaganda.. To many teachers, to few positions. Supply and demand.

Illinois trained roughly 10 teachers for every one position available, according to an estimate by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a Washington based research and policy group.

Your article doesn't quote statistics from the NCTQ. It quotes a guess:

Your article doesn't quote statistics from the NCTQ. It quotes a guess:

What the teacher surplus means for teacher preparation
08/29/2011

Michigan isn't alone. Nationally, only around 40% of the 235,000 graduates of teacher preparation programs are hired immediately after getting certified.

What's more, the field's focus on quantity undermines the training of all teachers. The student teaching experience is where most teacher candidates first try their hand at teaching. But, as we found in our report on student teaching, enrollment in teacher prep is so large that teacher candidates are literally begging for placements. Programs themselves by and large don't try to find effective mentors for their candidates — nor could they, given the volume at which they are producing teachers.

The National Center for Education Statistics reported there were 1,708,057 elementary school teachers in 2010, the most recent year for which statistics are available, a decrease from 1,774,295 in 2009.