Several educators testified before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Thursday, hoping to draw attention to national teacher shortages, particularly in specific fields of study, and the fact that demands on teachers have increased in recent years without commensurate increases in pay.
Sen Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, chairs the committee and, in his opening remarks, said, “We understand that the children, young people of this country, are our future and there is, in fact … nothing more important that we can do to provide a quality education to all of our young people. And yet, for decades, public school teachers have been overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and maybe most importantly, underappreciated.”
He said an increase in stress levels, anxiety, and burnout, made worse by the pandemic, is one reason some 44 percent of beginning teachers leave the profession within the first five years and the National Center for Education Statistics reported that in 2021, about 80 percent of school districts in the US had difficulty recruiting new teachers. The amount of pay they get is another reason.
The case for higher teacher pay was countered by well-taken points from some parent groups and one fellow from the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, Robert Pondiscio.
“Higher pay does not ease the burden we place on teachers or add hours to their day,” he testified. “By all means, raise teacher pay, but do not assume it will solve teacher shortages or keep good teachers in the classroom. Poor training, deteriorating classroom conditions, shoddy curriculum, and spiraling demands have made an already challenging job nearly impossible to do well and sustainably.”
