Cynthia Posey, Legislative Director for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers said she’s hopeful lawmakers will finally address the needs of educators, if not she fears the teacher shortage will only continue to grow. Posey said education reforms over the last decade are only hurting students and driving away teachers.
“The reality is it hasn’t done anything to help education, it’s driven teachers away in droves, and we continue to sink, we’re at the bottom of the barrel, what we’re doing isn’t working,’ said Posey.
Posey said among the concerns is the amount of paperwork teachers are burdened with in addition to low pay. She said it’s difficult for teachers to go to the capitol and express their concerns because committee meetings are held during school hours and teachers endure another level of scrutiny.
“They’ve had to say if they were taking a personal day, or a sick day. They were required to tell where they taught, what district they taught in, and we’ve never required that of anyone testifying before a legislative committee,” said Posey.
Posey said teachers have been leaving the profession because they are no longer allowed to educate and are expected to teach so students will pass standardized tests. And said the pandemic was the last straw for those who were considering leaving to do so even sooner.
And the pool of future teachers is getting smaller. Posey said more parents are discouraging college students from even entering the curriculum.
“Because teachers are not respected anymore, once upon a time they were, once upon a time our schools were the hub of our communities, that’s no longer the case,” said Posey.
While many schools are asking retired teachers to return to the classroom to assist with the shortage, Posey warns the reason they left the profession, to begin with, is still being ignored. She fears most who are asked will not return until their concerns over reforms, paperwork, and pay are addressed.
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