Teachers getting younger in Tennessee
For decades, teachers have entered the classroom in their early 20s and stayed in front of the blackboard for 25 years, 30 years or longer.
But that traditional model is changing.
Many educators leave teaching after just a few years -- some estimates say half leave within the first five years. But other factors are changing teacher retention, too.
In the last several years, regulations governing who can become and who can stay a teacher have tightened, especially in Tennessee, even as a generation of baby boomer teachers is retiring. Other would-be educators are entering the profession later in life, after careers as scientists, engineers or accountants. And a growing number of educators see teaching not as a career but a pit stop, as some alternative programs such as Teach for America require only a two-year commitment.
Altogether, that's a drastic shift away from a cadre of career educators who mostly were trained at