How do we get more teachers?

Ted Alling recently asked on LinkedIn: “What are some ways we can have an educational renaissance in America to get more young people interested in being teachers?”

My mother recently left teaching (public and private schools in 3 states) after 35 years.

I think there are 3 ingredients to attract teachers from the next generation…

An environment that empowers and protects teachers

Teachers want to teach, not deal with difficult parents who carelessly overstep boundaries. Administrators need to protect the time and attention of teachers by running interception and interference with well-intentioned distractors.

Jaw-dropping pay

A teacher has the same hard skills and soft skills as a product manager at a Series B startup, but the latter pays 2-3x + equity + Unlimited PTO.

A ‘no asking’ rule

Teachers should not have to ask parents to help with resources or time for something the schools could/should provide. If the parents want to volunteer their time (e.g., reading for storytime), then great! But teachers should have the budget and the people to do their job how they see fit.