Current and useful articles, research, and stories about the teaching profession.

Check out this list of great stories about teachers and articles on some of the latest topics in the media related to teaching and other good stuff!

Why Are Fewer People Becoming Teachers?

Education Next – An interesting article unpacking how much truth there is behind a few theories on the causes of the decline in teacher preparation enrollments and completions in the past 10 years. Read more

Union’s Survey About Why Teachers Leave Has Flaws, But Hints at Why They Stay

The 74 – A great summary of survey data from the California Teachers Association on why teachers stay in the profession. Teaching is a difficult and stressful profession. But it has its rewards, and they are not all abstract. Read more

Four flaws in the EPI Teacher Pay Gap model

Eduwonk – Chad Aldeman, educational economist from Georgetown University, digs into four fundamental flaws in the EPI Teacher Pay Gap methodology used in their mathematical model to produce the often cited Teacher Pay Gap. Read more

Author reunites with the teacher who changed his life

NPR – Heartwarming story about author Jamil Jan Kochai’s search for the 2nd grade teacher who had changed his life over 20 years earlier. Read more.

Alarming stories about teacher shortages are nothing new

The 74 – An analysis of the history of teacher shortages and how they are reported. The current panic is unusual only in its intensity. Read more.

Researchers say cries of teacher shortages are overblown

The Hechinger Report – The number of teachers leaving the field is in line with historical patterns. “Attrition is definitely up, but it’s not a mass exodus of teachers.” Read more.

Signing bonuses for teachers

The 74 – As the academic year approaches, more districts are offering generous incentives to entice staff. “In short, we believe it is districts’ increase in the number of staff that they seek to employ rather than an exodus from teaching that is straining the teacher labor market.” Read more.

Teachers have great careers. People think otherwise because of bad data.

APSNews: The Back Page – Teaching is a great career option but negativity and misinformation about teaching is pervasive. Read more.

Dean Knight on half a century teaching science at Sonoma Valley High School

Sonoma Index Tribune – the heartwarming story of Dean Knight, a physics and chemistry teacher who is 50 years in and not looking toward retirement.  Read more.

Figuring Out When to Panic About “Teacher Shortages” – How journalism could clarify stories about teacher hiring problems

Education Next – Whether teacher supply problems reflect challenges unique to schools cannot be understood without considering the economy as a whole. This is especially true now, when tight labor markets are forcing employers to address “worker shortages” across the country. Read more.

The scarce, incomplete, and elusive teacher workforce data

NCTQ – Fears of multitudes of teachers leaving the profession have not yet materialized, though there is still much we don’t know. One thing we do know for certain: K-12 educator workforce data is lagging, lacking, and limited. Read more.

2021 Study comparing life and job satisfaction by college major

AMACAD – Even though this study was focused on Humanities majors, it contains some great graphs of life and job satisfaction of Education majors compared to other majors. Education is almost always at or near the top. Read more.

The truth about teacher pay

AEI – Explanation of the flawed methodology in the often cited EPI “Teacher Salary Pay Gap” mathematical model. When applied to other professions, it would also indicate that nurses, firefighters and other professionals are dramatically overpaid. Read more.