My name is Amber Tripp, and I am an early childhood education student at the University of North Texas as well as a preschool teacher at a local church. Due to the lack of qualified teachers, the requirements to be hired as a teacher are becoming much easier for anyone to meet.
Many schools are not even requiring a teaching certificate for people to fill in the spaces caused by the shortage. Today’s children are the future of our world and deserve the same quality of education that the children before them have had, which means teachers should have the same level of education they have been required to have for decades.
The lack of qualified teachers is mostly due to low pay and poor treatment. Since the pandemic, teachers have had to work even harder than before to combat the learning gap. This causes stress and burnout for many teachers while only making an average of $35,000 per year in the city of Denton. In addition to the low pay, most teachers pay for many classroom items out of their own pockets.
Lowering the standards for teachers also shows a lack of respect for those who do put in the effort to receive proper education and truly give their students the best opportunities they can. Rather than lowering the standards to become a teacher, (districts) should increase funding for schools to allow for increased pay and sufficient classroom resources.
Amber Tripp,
Denton
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