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No, that is still wrong. A shortage of labor means that the employer is unable to fill all the available positions. Schools don't have that problem because they eliminated positions and the resignation rate is significantly less.
It matters not how dire the need is for math teachers as far as the students are concerned. I'm not a student. That doesn't mean I don't care, it simply means that if there's no available jobs, then there's no shortage in the math teacher labor market.
In normal market conditions, there IS a shortage. Where the hell do you live? I know here, they constantly hire when there is no recession. You still don't seem to grasp normal market vs. recessionary market. Right now, they CANNOT hire anyone, because there is no capital to do so. However, there IS a need. Again, I need food, but if I can't afford it, I can't buy it now can I? When the capital is there, then they hire, and math/science teachers are the most likely to be hired because there are usually less of them within a department. Then, there is a shortage IN NORMAL CONDITIONS. It's not a fraud, it's a change in circumstance, and you have not grasped this.
In normal market conditions, there IS a shortage. Where the hell do you live? I know here, they constantly hire when there is no recession. You still don't seem to grasp normal market vs. recessionary market. Right now, they CANNOT hire anyone, because there is no capital to do so. However, there IS a need. Again, I need food, but if I can't afford it, I can't buy it now can I? When the capital is there, then they hire, and math/science teachers are the most likely to be hired because there are usually less of them within a department. Then, there is a shortage IN NORMAL CONDITIONS. It's not a fraud, it's a change in circumstance, and you have not grasped this.
OK we are going in circles here. I am not talking about the past when things were different, I am talking about today -- the recessionary job market. There is no shortage of teachers today, period!
Your food example -- yes you need food, but that makes no difference to the grocery store. If you're not there buying their food since you don't have any money, it doesn't matter how hungry you are, they do NOT have a shortage of food. They have plenty of food to sell to other people because you're not there buying it.
I am sending the following letter to Texas Teachers tomorrow (in all fairness, there is more than one alternative certification program out there, but this is the one that I went with, hence the letter being sent to them)
October 6, 2009
...
Texas Teachers
1600 Airport Freeway
Suite 204
Bedford, TX 76022
Dear Texas Teachers:
I wanted to be a math teacher because I am good at explaining mathematical concepts to people, whether basic or advanced, and I enjoy working with young people. I was under the impression that math teachers are in high demand and that I would have no problem finding a job as a math teacher in junior high or high school.
I spent several hundred dollars on your tuition and state exam fees. I passed TExES math 4-8 and math 8-12. I applied to every school district in Tarrant County plus a few in Dallas County (e.g., Carrollton and Farmers Branch).
As part of my training, I spent a week at Trimble Tech High School in Ft Worth assisting in Algebra I and Algebra II. I greatly enjoyed my time there, and I looked forward to helping students learn, especially those from disadvantaged homes, which is the great majority of students who attend Trimble Tech. One of the students asked me if I was going to be back next week, and I was sorry to say that I wasn't.
I was very disappointed by the response I got from school districts. Crowley ISD was nice enough to send me a rejection letter while everyone else ignored me. I got one interview in Arlington ISD and no job offer or rejection letter.
I am writing you to let you know that I am very dissatisfied with your false claims. Essentially, your organization is a fraud. There were hundreds of people in your training seminar, all of whom were excited about making a positive difference in students' lives. Very few of them will actually be able to do that. The vast majority of your customers, like myself, will be disappointed and angry that they wasted time and money looking for teaching jobs that do not exist.
By making false claims that the alternative certification program and resume tips from an HR representative will result in a high likelihood of getting a job, especially in math and science, you are doing people a disservice and basically stealing their money.
I have spoken to several people on this subject, and I have informed them that the wild claims that certified teachers, especially in math and science, are difficult for schools to find, is a joke.
I am going to write my state representatives to ask them to shut down the alternative certification program on account of it being a fraud.
I would like for you to shut your doors because you are a fraud, and it makes no difference to schools since they will continue to hire people from universities with teaching certificates and student teaching experience.
Sincerely,
...
Yes and all of those who did get jobs will have nice solid pensions when they retire.
OK we are going in circles here. I am not talking about the past when things were different, I am talking about today -- the recessionary job market. There is no shortage of teachers today, period!
Your food example -- yes you need food, but that makes no difference to the grocery store. If you're not there buying their food since you don't have any money, it doesn't matter how hungry you are, they do NOT have a shortage of food. They have plenty of food to sell to other people because you're not there buying it.
You've missed the entire point of the food example as well as the symbolism. Also, if you're talking about today's recession, I don't know what the hell your point is. You find it harder to get a job when there is less money for schools to hire teachers, less teachers are retiring due to volatile economic conditions, and there are NOW more applicants because they've been fired from other industries and view teaching in the same way everyone else does: a "backup" option because of the perceived ease of entry. Well, the ease of entry is only true during non-recessionary times, when schools have capital to hire. When their funding is cut, no one gets hired. You don't have to be an economist to figure that out.
Any educated person could tell you what you just learned the hard way. The thing is, the "shortage" applies to NORMAL ECONOMIC TIMES. You're trying to disprove the entire premise, which holds true during normal economic times, that there is a shortage of teachers based on your LIMITED SCOPE on the situation. You have no experience in teaching, you tried to get hired AFTER most schools have done their hiring, and you've done so in a contractionary economic period where funds and turnover rates are low. With this limited POV, you're trying to say that there is no shortage, when the cries of shortages are GENERAL. You know, NORMAL ECONOMIC TIMES, when there is funding coming into the system and teachers are less afraid to leave the profession because of other employment opportunities.
That is why your premise of shortages being a fraud is asinine.
You've missed the entire point of the food example as well as the symbolism. Also, if you're talking about today's recession, I don't know what the hell your point is. You find it harder to get a job when there is less money for schools to hire teachers, less teachers are retiring due to volatile economic conditions, and there are NOW more applicants because they've been fired from other industries and view teaching in the same way everyone else does: a "backup" option because of the perceived ease of entry. Well, the ease of entry is only true during non-recessionary times, when schools have capital to hire. When their funding is cut, no one gets hired. You don't have to be an economist to figure that out.
Any educated person could tell you what you just learned the hard way. The thing is, the "shortage" applies to NORMAL ECONOMIC TIMES. You're trying to disprove the entire premise, which holds true during normal economic times, that there is a shortage of teachers based on your LIMITED SCOPE on the situation. You have no experience in teaching, you tried to get hired AFTER most schools have done their hiring, and you've done so in a contractionary economic period where funds and turnover rates are low. With this limited POV, you're trying to say that there is no shortage, when the cries of shortages are GENERAL. You know, NORMAL ECONOMIC TIMES, when there is funding coming into the system and teachers are less afraid to leave the profession because of other employment opportunities.
That is why your premise of shortages being a fraud is asinine.
Just because there is a shortage doesn't mean that anyone can get hired. There are still standards.
You've missed the entire point of the food example as well as the symbolism. Also, if you're talking about today's recession, I don't know what the hell your point is. You find it harder to get a job when there is less money for schools to hire teachers, less teachers are retiring due to volatile economic conditions, and there are NOW more applicants because they've been fired from other industries and view teaching in the same way everyone else does: a "backup" option because of the perceived ease of entry. Well, the ease of entry is only true during non-recessionary times, when schools have capital to hire. When their funding is cut, no one gets hired. You don't have to be an economist to figure that out.
Any educated person could tell you what you just learned the hard way. The thing is, the "shortage" applies to NORMAL ECONOMIC TIMES. You're trying to disprove the entire premise, which holds true during normal economic times, that there is a shortage of teachers based on your LIMITED SCOPE on the situation. You have no experience in teaching, you tried to get hired AFTER most schools have done their hiring, and you've done so in a contractionary economic period where funds and turnover rates are low. With this limited POV, you're trying to say that there is no shortage, when the cries of shortages are GENERAL. You know, NORMAL ECONOMIC TIMES, when there is funding coming into the system and teachers are less afraid to leave the profession because of other employment opportunities.
That is why your premise of shortages being a fraud is asinine.
You may have missed my post several pages ago, so I will repeat it: the HR director of a large public school district in Texas said that those of us at his resume-writing seminar certified to teach math can leave now and head straight for the schools. This was not years ago, it was months ago.
I was also told that it's not a big deal to start applying in July because schools haven't finalized their enrollment figures and number of teaching slots.
I paid hundreds of dollars to be lied straight in my face. If I were told that there is no shortage of math teachers ... yes in the present economy! ... then I wouldn't have bothered. I don't have any experience teaching and I don't have lots of time and money laying around to try applying just for the fun of it. But when there's a shortage and schools will hire someone who is certified but with no experience, then it's worth it, right? It's not worth it because there is no shortage of math teachers. I am getting tired of repeating myself. There is no shortage of math teachers, and anyone who says otherwise is either on another planet or has discovered a time machine and is speaking from the past when there actually was a shortage.
Just because there is a shortage doesn't mean that anyone can get hired. There are still standards.
Oh I agree, and one of the most important standards is to be certified. If it weren't for NCLB, there wouldn't be a shortage of any teachers in a particular subject matter because anyone can read out of the teacher's book while having no idea what he's talking about.
If there's a shortage and you stink at teaching or interviewing to be a teacher, you'll still get plenty of interviews but no job offers. When the number of interviews in three months can be counted on one hand after having blown off four fingers in a fireworks party, it means there is no shortage.
You may have missed my post several pages ago, so I will repeat it: the HR director of a large public school district in Texas said that those of us at his resume-writing seminar certified to teach math can leave now and head straight for the schools. This was not years ago, it was months ago.
I was also told that it's not a big deal to start applying in July because schools haven't finalized their enrollment figures and number of teaching slots.
I paid hundreds of dollars to be lied straight in my face. If I were told that there is no shortage of math teachers ... yes in the present economy! ... then I wouldn't have bothered. I don't have any experience teaching and I don't have lots of time and money laying around to try applying just for the fun of it. But when there's a shortage and schools will hire someone who is certified but with no experience, then it's worth it, right? It's not worth it because there is no shortage of math teachers. I am getting tired of repeating myself. There is no shortage of math teachers, and anyone who says otherwise is either on another planet or has discovered a time machine and is speaking from the past when there actually was a shortage.
No, school systems are unable to hire right now due to budget constraints... I'm tired of repeating MYSELF. I'm sorry you were lied to (and I doubt an HR director said that), and I'm sorry you're not smart enough to realize economic conditions affect hiring. It's common knowledge that any job in today's market is not easy to obtain and that any jobs that WERE open before budget cuts will not be now. That doesn't change, however, that over the course of years there IS a shortage of qualified math/science teachers, and that in the future when economic recovery takes place, the shortage will rear its ugly head again. The title of your post is "I am exposing the 'teacher shortage' as a fraud," and it sounds like you're talking about OVER TIME, ALL THE TIME, it is a fraud. However, you're trying to say there is no teacher shortage because of PRESENT CONDITIONS and that all of a sudden, shortages are filled and will never exist again. That's stupid!
The most acute teacher shortages in the state are in secondary math and science. Since 2004, those shortages have increased dramatically, especially in high school science where the shortage has jumped by over 80 percent.
AND
Quote:
Projections of future supply and demand suggest that the shortage will continue to increase over the next five years. That shortage comes as Texas high schools implement the 4-by-4 graduation requirements for core courses, including an extra year of math and science. The requirements now apply to freshmen and sophomores.
AND
Quote:
Secondary math and science teachers continue to earn substantially less than their peers in the private sector, even after adjusting for summers off. Teachers made, on average, between $23,000 and $40,000 less than individuals in nonteaching careers in math and science. The average salary in 2007 for math and science teachers was about $47,000.
Now, perhaps you've just been ousted by the economy, or maybe they see you would be a horrible teacher. The point is, your personal experiences do not equate to the reality of the situation.
Just because there is a shortage doesn't mean that anyone can get hired. There are still standards.
I know. I was just talking about the perception of the field. I guess a better way to phrase that would be any intelligent, well qualified person who wants to teach can get a chance at it more easily than other fields in normal economic conditions. Perhaps the OP doesn't fall into this category, especially in this economy.
... That doesn't change, however, that over the course of years there IS a shortage of qualified math/science teachers, and that in the future when economic recovery takes place, the shortage will rear its ugly head again. The title of your post is "I am exposing the 'teacher shortage' as a fraud," and it sounds like you're talking about OVER TIME, ALL THE TIME, it is a fraud. However, you're trying to say there is no teacher shortage because of PRESENT CONDITIONS and that all of a sudden, shortages are filled and will never exist again. That's stupid!
I never said it's always been a fraud. I'm writing in the present tense. You read something into my thread title and first post that isn't there.
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