At the beginning of the recession, many careers were flagged as being "safe." Education was among the few careers at the top the list. The popular thought was people being laid off would go back to school. Education would be a huge priority at all levels so a disastrous recession wouldn't repeat itself.
In the middle of the recession, educators around the country were feeling things differently. Schools weren't hiring, jobs weren't being posted, and the teacher job fairs of past years were dwindling. Districts seemed to convey that it was a one-year problem. After state and district budgets were squared away and played safe, the following hiring season would be more promising.
Well, we are now in the midst of the next hiring season for teachers. The experts say the recession is over, but teachers aren't prospering more than last year. In states where school begins in August, contracts are traditionally offered late March or early April. Large urban districts, like Atlanta, are holding contracts longer this year as current staff is expected to wait and see what happens.
Gone are last year's long lines for job fairs, since most prospective teachers can't even find one to attend. Several schools, including one in Rhode Island and one in Georgia, have fired their entire staff. Hot spots for teaching jobs in the U.S. dwindle to include just several urban markets. The highest paying cities for teachers are inundated with applications for teaching spots they don't have, or the candidate pool doesn't match their need.
In other recent news, Kansas City is closing half its schools, The Chicago Tribune lists per district the hundreds of teachers getting the axe, 700 teachers expect to be laid off in Albuquerque, and a whopping 22,000 teachers may get pink slips in California. The once over 3 million strong teaching force in the U.S. is shrinking rapidly.
The President stands behind these mass firings as way to change the status quo. A big focus of the education policy agenda has been the Reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Every teacher in the system knows a big change is necessary for progress. But for those great teachers now sitting on the side lines without a job, the current process is hard to swallow. As states stammer to fix their budgets by eliminating school staff, class sizes get bigger. Good teachers-- new and veteran ones with fantastic skills-- get shoved out of classrooms and lose hope. Teachers with advanced degrees and wealth of knowledge sit idle and wait for a job to open while others try to secure a teaching job overseas in a more in-demand climate for teachers.
What's going to happen to our next generation of teachers? Will the current job market for educators deter more promising minds from pursuing the profession? I seriously hope not.
Jobless teachers: don't give up. Continue to search job boards for open positions. Keep learning, keep networking, and keeping looking to find a way to put your talents to good use, perhaps in an alternate education career.
I hope next year's hiring season shows districts bouncing back and offering contracts rather than pink slips.
In the middle of the recession, educators around the country were feeling things differently. Schools weren't hiring, jobs weren't being posted, and the teacher job fairs of past years were dwindling. Districts seemed to convey that it was a one-year problem. After state and district budgets were squared away and played safe, the following hiring season would be more promising.
Well, we are now in the midst of the next hiring season for teachers. The experts say the recession is over, but teachers aren't prospering more than last year. In states where school begins in August, contracts are traditionally offered late March or early April. Large urban districts, like Atlanta, are holding contracts longer this year as current staff is expected to wait and see what happens.
Gone are last year's long lines for job fairs, since most prospective teachers can't even find one to attend. Several schools, including one in Rhode Island and one in Georgia, have fired their entire staff. Hot spots for teaching jobs in the U.S. dwindle to include just several urban markets. The highest paying cities for teachers are inundated with applications for teaching spots they don't have, or the candidate pool doesn't match their need.
In other recent news, Kansas City is closing half its schools, The Chicago Tribune lists per district the hundreds of teachers getting the axe, 700 teachers expect to be laid off in Albuquerque, and a whopping 22,000 teachers may get pink slips in California. The once over 3 million strong teaching force in the U.S. is shrinking rapidly.
The President stands behind these mass firings as way to change the status quo. A big focus of the education policy agenda has been the Reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Every teacher in the system knows a big change is necessary for progress. But for those great teachers now sitting on the side lines without a job, the current process is hard to swallow. As states stammer to fix their budgets by eliminating school staff, class sizes get bigger. Good teachers-- new and veteran ones with fantastic skills-- get shoved out of classrooms and lose hope. Teachers with advanced degrees and wealth of knowledge sit idle and wait for a job to open while others try to secure a teaching job overseas in a more in-demand climate for teachers.
What's going to happen to our next generation of teachers? Will the current job market for educators deter more promising minds from pursuing the profession? I seriously hope not.
Jobless teachers: don't give up. Continue to search job boards for open positions. Keep learning, keep networking, and keeping looking to find a way to put your talents to good use, perhaps in an alternate education career.
I hope next year's hiring season shows districts bouncing back and offering contracts rather than pink slips.
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