What's the Big Deal?
According to a report conducted by the Maryland Department of Planning, it has been predicted that the number of students attending Maryland public schools will increase. In fact, the report mentions that the public school population will increase from 862,867 to about 898,090 between 2017 to 2027. As a result, there has been an increase in demand for teachers in Maryland. In fact, since 2013, the demand for teachers was at 175,000 (Sutcher). Since then, the demand has increased and is reaching nearly 300,000 (Sutcher). However, there is large concern that with our current trends, there will not be enough teachers to meet the demand. Thus it is likely that we will see a shortage of teachers unless we do something about it. A shortage of teachers can lead to two different outcomes:
1) an increase in student-teacher ratios in the state of Maryland and/or
2) lower qualification standards for becoming a teacher in Maryland which will allow less-qualified candidates to become teachers.
Both scenarios are detrimental to society as they either diminish the teacher's ability to help students who need more individualized attention, or allow sub-par candidates to teach in school districts in need of better educational opportunities. Both of these outcomes will cause students in need of more support and/or attention to fall behind compared to their peers. It will also hurt state-wide and national average intelligence scores and further the issues in regards to the achievement gap. A lack of qualified candidates from our educational systems can also create issues with the job world. With a small number of qualified candidates, it is likely that large companies will recruit foreign, qualified candidates to work in the U.S.
1) an increase in student-teacher ratios in the state of Maryland and/or
2) lower qualification standards for becoming a teacher in Maryland which will allow less-qualified candidates to become teachers.
Both scenarios are detrimental to society as they either diminish the teacher's ability to help students who need more individualized attention, or allow sub-par candidates to teach in school districts in need of better educational opportunities. Both of these outcomes will cause students in need of more support and/or attention to fall behind compared to their peers. It will also hurt state-wide and national average intelligence scores and further the issues in regards to the achievement gap. A lack of qualified candidates from our educational systems can also create issues with the job world. With a small number of qualified candidates, it is likely that large companies will recruit foreign, qualified candidates to work in the U.S.
This website was designed to inform others about current trends, past solutions, and possible future solutions that can be implemented in Maryland to avoid such an issue.