Can't Imagine why there is a teacher shortage?

  

Can't imagine why there is a teacher shortage

Florida is facing a severe teacher shortage.   Almost every state is, particularly in Maryland.   

A teacher in Satellite Beach, FL is not going to have her contract renewed.  You might wonder why.   Is she a bad teacher?   Nope, families have rallied around her because she is a great and compassionate teacher.   Did she do something immoral in the community?   Nope, not that either.  Well then what dastardly dead did she do to warrant such a serious consequence, even possibly losing not just her job but her license to teach.   SHE CALLED A STUDENT BY HIS PREFERRED NAME!!!  Oh no, not that.   Yep, and in Florida that is grounds for dismissal if parents don’t agree IN WRITING that it’s ok.  The principal has said that “teachers like all state employees are expected to follow the law”.   

Over 26,000 people have signed a petition calling the teacher an “advocate for respect and student rights” and demanding that her contract be renewed.  A group of Satellite high school students held a walkout in support of the teacher.   A parent testified before the school board saying, “The teacher made a difference in her classroom and in the lives of our students, including my own child; she deserved more than a quiet exit.  She deserved fairness, context and compassion.”  

Brevard County where the school is located is where the right-wing conservative group Moms for Liberty was founded.   The are working to prohibit teachers from discussing gender and sexuality during school hours.   Florida has the Parental Rights in Education law which has been dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its critics.   It bans the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in lower grades.   Teachers have been investigated for showing elementary age children Disney movies that have a gay character. 

This teacher did NOT teach about sexuality.  What she did was use a student’s preferred nickname.  As one person testified, “There was no harm, no threat, no malicious intent, just a teacher trying to connect with a student, and for that, her contract is not going to be renewed, despite her strong dedication and years of service?”  Yep, that seems to be the case, at least in Florida and 13 other states that have restrictive speech requirements for their teachers.

Let’s keep trying to recruit teachers and then wonder why there is such a shortage when there are all these reasons for losing your job that have no relationship to the quality of your teaching.