My Senior Project research paper

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Taylor Boles
Mrs. Lester
Adv. Comp.
29 November 2011
Shortage of Math Teachers
According to an article from Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, a little more than
23,000 teachers, in California, were informed that in 2010 they would be let go (Phillip). It is not
a surprise that there is a shortage of math teachers, when teachers are being laid off. The shortage
is also not a surprise because of the economy with its ups and downs. For the past five years, the
math teacher shortage has been similar to the economic crisis because one year there is not a
need for teachers, but the next year the states are looking at hiring up to a hundred teachers.
Recently, the shortage is extremely high and it needs to be resolved. A shortage of math teachers
is the single greatest threat to math education in the world today.
To begin with, the shortage of math teachers is a major issue in the education profession.
As teachers are starting to retire, college students are not going to college to be teachers.
Therefore, a teacher shortage has become an issue because there will not be enough teachers to
meet the dramatically increasing number of students enrolling in elementary school. Alarmingly,
this number is estimated to increase even more (Phillip). All the changes happening at once are
causing a shortage in math teachers because about 3.4 million people who are already teachers
are retiring and there are not a large number of college students wanting to be teachers. It also
does not help that the number of primary school students has increased, so schools need more
people to teach. Honestly, the problem is not getting people to major in math and science, but
getting them to become teachers instead of engineers (Phillip). The math and science majors

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want to be engineers because they are paid more and have more benefits, and in today's
economy, money really matters. Therefore, people are going for the higher paying jobs in order
to obtain the lifestyle they would like, or in some cases their dreams of having the perfect life.
Another reason there is a shortage is that state and local governments are cutting benefits
because of the economy, and college students get discouraged because they know there will be
fewer and fewer good benefits in the future (Phillip). The students are also changing their minds
about being teachers because they want better job security. The job security is disappearing
because the government is cutting jobs because of the economy. They want the security because
they need to know they will be able to support themselves, and that they will have a job in the
future. Therefore, the shortage of math teachers affects the lives of generations to come because
without job security people will not want to become teachers.
The shortage of math teachers significantly affects the education that children receive.
When there are not qualified teachers to accept the open jobs, schools hire temporary unqualified
teachers to fill in the openings (Sausner). The schools hiring unqualified teachers are hurting the
children because they are not receiving a proper education. The unqualified teachers usually do
not know how to teach in-depth information about the subject they are teaching, and in this case,
they do not know how to teach in-depth math. Therefore, being a qualified teacher is very
important because the “teacher can make or break a student, and studies show three years with
ineffective teachers can have a lasting negative impact on a child’s education” (Badertscher,
Diamond, and Sarrio A1). It is very important that the children receive the best education
because it has a major effect on their future. The children need the good education in order to
succeed in life. Also, emergency hires have caused math courses to be taught by teachers who
are certified for other subjects, and who are not prepared to teach math (Darling-Hammond). The

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teachers are certified for other subjects, and they are teaching math because there is not a
shortage for other types of teachers other than math and science. These quick hires affect the
student’s education. Even though, the teacher is a certified teacher, she is certified for another
subject, which means she might not teach the same way a math teacher might teach. The teachers
who are certified for other subjects are as qualified as substitute teachers, and from experience
substitute teachers are not able to fully answer questions the student might have about the
subject. The difference in teaching type might affect the student’s ability to learn. Importantly,
several schools are not just looking for math teachers but male teachers, to inspire the children in
lower income areas (Phillip). The male teachers inspire other male children to stay in school,
and to try harder in school to get good grades. The male teachers affect the education of the
children because they are encouraging them to stay in school, and they are good examples for the
children. As a result, the shortage of math teachers is affecting the children’s future because
schools are hiring teachers who are unqualified and the students do not get the proper education,
which will cause the students to fail in the future.
Although the shortage of math teachers is a major issue, it has several resolutions. For
example, some colleges are encouraging their students, particularly math majors, to tutor
elementary school students to see if they would like to become math teachers (Phillip). The
colleges are trying to create a solution to the shortage by exposing the college students to the
teaching field so they can see if they want to become teachers. It is a simple solution just by
exposing more students to the field. They are also showing students who think they do not want
to be teachers that they should consider becoming teachers, especially if they enjoyed working
with and helping children. Also, school boards need to give college students more of a financial
encouragement to get them to consider choosing to become a teacher over higher paying jobs

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(Hoff). The financial encouragements will help the students and teachers feel like they have
something to look forward to after college and at work. When they have bonuses or higher
salaries, these perks encourage college students to become teachers which helps with the teacher
shortage. The encouragements also give the students and teachers the security that they will be
paid top salaries in education. Another solution is a program administrator to encourage people
to try substitute teaching to prepare them to be teachers and to gain real classroom experiences,
which gives them a competitive advantage over other applicants (Sawchuk). It is a solution
because the people with actual teaching experience will be showing the schools that they can be
teachers and the schools should offer them the jobs. The people with experience will be offered
the jobs first, so they do not have to worry about other applicants. The more jobs offered, the
more that will be taken and the more the shortage decreases. In addition, parents are upset
because schools are saying that their teachers are the best despite decreasing test scores, and the
parents fill as if they have been cheated of the education the schools promised (Badertscher,
Diamond, and Sarrio A10). A solution to the issue would be to make sure the new and current
teachers are actually qualified to be teachers and not just saying they are qualified. The schools
could do this check of qualifications by giving teachers a test and making the teachers teach a
class to get feedback on how to fix the class. Therefore, the improvements and solutions help the
outlook for the math field.
Finally, the future of math teachers is promising because new programs are being created
to lure math majors into teaching. In some areas in the country, the number of applicants for a
teaching program has increased compared to the last couple of years (Sawchuk). In the future,
the number of applicants should increase even more because of the new programs being created
to improve the number of math teachers. Perhaps, the programs will encourage people to become

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teachers, and as time passes the shortage of math teachers will gradually disappear. In Texas and
Massachusetts, school districts are offering signing bonuses now and will continue to do so in the
future (Hartigan). The signing bonuses are already offered, and they are part of the solution.
However, school districts that are not already offering signing bonuses are going to start offering
them in the future. New teachers will be encouraged to go to the schools that offer the signing
bonuses, and the teachers will sign, reducing the shortage. Also, there will not be any gaps to fill
in the school because the teachers will be signing more. However, in the September 18, 2011
issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, an article shows that signing bonuses are not working
because American teachers are not excepting the signing bonuses (Badertscher, Diamond, and
Sarrio A1). A solution might be that America needs to hire teachers from third world countries.
This solution will be an issue with the language barriers, so in the future the signing bonuses
need to be increased in order to fix the shortage. In the future, the government should offer
scholarships for college students who are going to be math and science teachers (Darling-
Hammond). The scholarships will be given to college students who want to become math
teachers. The scholarships help the students pay for college, and it will help them make the
decision to become teacher because they do not have to worry about money straight after college.
As a result, the future of math teachers is very promising because there are openings, but the
shortage is decreasing which is good.
Shockingly, the research reveals that citizens do not realize the extreme need for math
teachers. They do not realize the importance of a good qualified math teacher, and they need to
know because it affects the future of the world. The resistance to the suggested solutions is also
shocking because they are reasonable ones that most would believe teachers would accept
without question. Becoming a math teacher is definitely a career worth going into because there

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are so many openings now. Furthermore, being a math teacher is a career that will always be
needed. People will always need math skills, so there will be jobs for years to come. Also,
schools are starting to offer more money to math teachers, which also is a good reason to go into
the career field. Another good reason to go into the career field is to improve education, not just
for strangers but for their own family members. High school seniors and college freshman should
look into the secondary mathematics career field. The career field is a necessity and will always
be needed because students need teachers to teach them math so they can be successful in their
futures.

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Works Cited
Badertscher, Nancy, Laura Diamond, and Jaime Sarrio. “Georgia Fails at Improving Teachers.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 18 Sept. 2011: A1, A10-A11. Print.
Darling-Hammond, Linda. “We Need to Invest in Math and Science Teachers.” Chronicle of
Higher Education 21 Dec. 2007: B20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Sept. 2011.
<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=127&sid=60b4b7fd-63f7-4400-
8e66-
93d036b25a03%40sessionmgr113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a
9h&AN=28105355>.
Hartigan, Rachel. “If You Can Teach Math, You’re Hired.” U.S. News & World Report Winter
2002: 35. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/
ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=127&sid=60b4b7fd-63f7-4400-8e66-
93d036b25a03%40sessionmgr113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a
9h&AN=5559830>.
Hoff, David J. “Effort to Recruit Math, Science Teachers Urged.” Education Week 4 Oct. 2000:
1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Sept. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/
detail?vid=6&hid=111&sid=e7a17aef-69d8-4776-ab3e-
c7fd3d66bbd3%40sessionmgr111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a
9h&AN=3654649>.

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Phillip, Amara. “Academy Steps up Recruitment with Looming Nationwide Teacher Shortage.”
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education 28 Apr. 2011: 7. Academic Search Complete. Web.
12 Sept. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=127&sid=60b4b7fd-
63f7-4400-8e66-
93d036b25a03%40sessionmgr113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a
9h&AN=60277310>.
Sausner, Rebecca. “Desperately Seeking Teachers.” District Administration Oct. 2002: n. pag.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/
pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=91f79411-ae82-419a-a45c-
21365dec9d9d%40sessionmgr12&vid=4&hid=127>.
Sawchuk, Stephen. “STEM Talent Increases, Jobs Decrease.” Education Week 26 Aug. 2009: 1-
14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/
detail?vid=3&hid=12&sid=9f51dda3-9cab-4f3b-b565-
4a1bf6416c66%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9
h&AN=44207021>.