The Education Crisis: Teaching Internships
In an economy where article upon article advises current college students to choose majors that will allow them to obtain a job after graduation, the education major has had a relative boom since many people believe there will always be open positions for teachers. Graduates with a bachelor’s in education make up about 6-10% of the degrees awarded since 2008. That is about 100,000+ people qualified to teach joining the job market each year.
Great news, right? Here we are in an education crisis where teachers are overworked, students are under taught, and classes are overfilled. More qualified teachers appear to be exactly what we need as a country to get ourselves out of the education crisis.
With more teachers we can have arts education be part of regular curriculum again; classroom sizes can be tailored so that students can receive more personalized attention; and more schools can be staffed to full capacity.
Except education funding fails to be amplified and is instead cut. So, teachers are not hired. That is what led to a program created in St. Charles, Illinois where graduates with a bachelor’s in education who can’t find teaching work can do an unpaid internship. While it is commendable that the city is willing to provide experience to graduates that cannot find work, it is only a short term solution. They cannot stay in internships forever. Funding for education and teachers salaries needs to be amplified so these potential teachers can have the career they worked hard towards and fix the education crisis.
Link to original article http://quarterlifecrisisnews.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/teaching-internships/
Dark Horse Writing 