美国出现了严重的教师短缺(上)

United States

美国版块

Teachers

教师

A touch of class

接触课堂

The new “national teacher shortage” is neither new nor national

新的“国家教师短缺”既不是什么新鲜事，也不是全国性的

The narrative goes as follows.

故事是这样的。

America is suffering from a nationwide teacher shortage.

美国正在遭受全国性的教师短缺。

Stresses from the pandemic and the culture war have caused the entire profession to hit a tipping point.

最近疫情和文化战争带来的压力导致整个行业达到了一个临界点。

Teachers are leaving in droves.

教师们大批量地离开了。

Some districts are offering five-figure bonuses in an effort to recruit.

为了招聘教师，一些地区提供五位数的奖金。

Florida is allowing military veterans without the usually required qualification of a bachelor’s degree to teach while taking college classes.

佛罗里达州允许没有学士学位资格的退伍军人参与教学，与此同时，他们也在进修大学课程。

Some rural schools are even resorting to four-day weeks.

一些农村学校甚至开始实行每周上四天学。

These stories are true.

这些故事都是真的。

Some schools and subjects are facing desperate shortages.

一些学校和学科教师正面临严重短缺。

But the problem is hardly national and certainly not new.

但这个问题并非全国性的，当然也不是什么新鲜事。

National data on teacher vacancies are hard to come by.

关于教师职位空缺的全国性数据很难获得。

But researchers from Kansas State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign gathered information from state education departments and news media.

因此，来自堪萨斯州立大学和伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳香槟分校的研究人员从州立教育部门和新闻媒体那里收集了信息。

Among the 18 states with vacancy information for the past school year, only three (Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia) needed to fill 5% or more teaching positions.

在上一学年有空缺信息的18个州中，只有3个州(阿拉巴马州、密西西比州和西弗吉尼亚州)需要填补5%或更多的教师职位。

A shortage of teachers exist, but not nationwide.

教师短缺的现象确实存在，但不是在全国性的。

States that have historically invested in public education face fewer labour problems.

历史上投资于公共教育的州面临的劳动力挑战较少。

New Jersey ranks high on many measures -- test scores, per-pupil spending, graduation rates -- and was fully staffed last year.

新泽西州在许多指标上都名列前茅--考试成绩、每个学生的花费、毕业率--而且该州去年的教师资源是充足的。

Alabama ranks low on achievement (it comes 49th on national maths scores, for example).

相比之下，阿拉巴马州的成绩排名较低(例如，它在全国数学成绩中排名第49位)。

It needed to fill over 3,000 vacancies last year, about 7% of its teaching positions.

去年，该州需要填补3000多个职位空缺，约占其教师职位的7%。

Its troubles have continued into the current school year.

这种窘况一直持续到这学年。

Typically hard-to-staff areas and subjects continue to experience short supply.

通常情况下，一些地区和学科的教师短缺现象会一直持续。

A government survey in June found that 47% of schools needed to fill a vacancy in special education, compared with only 11% in physical education.

政府6月份的一项调查发现，47%的学校需要填补特殊教育的空缺，相比之下，只有11%的学校需要填补体育教育的空缺。

Non-white schools and those in areas of high poverty face more pressure to hire than whiter and richer schools, and they have struggled with teacher shortages for decades.

非白人学校和高度贫困地区的学校面临着比白人和富裕学校更大的招聘压力，他们几十年来一直在为师资短缺而苦苦挣扎。

This problem is not new.

这个问题并不罕见。

But for some states it is getting worse.

但对于一些州来说，情况正在变得更糟。

In 2021-2022, Mississippi needed to fill 3,036 of its positions (nearly 10% of its staff).

在2021-2022年，密西西比州需要填补3036个职位(近10%的员工)。

Three years before, it needed 1,063 teachers.

三年前，该州仅需要1063名教师。

As usual, the shortage is largely confined to certain areas and subjects.

与往年一样，短缺主要局限于某些区域和科目。

Yet recently it has been perceived as a broader problem.

然而，最近它被认为是一个更大范围内的问题。