Obama's shrinking army of teachers
President Obama’s dream of creating an “army of new teachers” that he passionately advocated during his election campaign has been shattered, especially in California.
Instead of adding new brigades to its teaching corps, California is laying them off – by the tens of thousands.
This year there are 16,000 fewer teachers in the classroom than there were last year. And school districts have just given pink slips to another 26,000. Depending on what happens in the next few months, a majority of those will not be back in the classroom in the fall.
What is clear is that at a time when California should be preparing for its future teaching force, the state is moving in just the opposite direction.
California for years faced a looming shortage of teachers. Most estimates projected that California would need
Instead of adding new brigades to its teaching corps, California is laying them off – by the tens of thousands.
This year there are 16,000 fewer teachers in the classroom than there were last year. And school districts have just given pink slips to another 26,000. Depending on what happens in the next few months, a majority of those will not be back in the classroom in the fall.
What is clear is that at a time when California should be preparing for its future teaching force, the state is moving in just the opposite direction.
California for years faced a looming shortage of teachers. Most estimates projected that California would need
