The Enduring Teacher Shortage Myth

By Larry Sand
06/24/2022
“Many teachers have left the profession and gone into other work of various kinds because they could make more money. Frequently the best teachers are the ones who have left the profession because they have been able to command exceptional salaries elsewhere.” (H/T Tom Gantert.) The above quote is taken from the front page of the...

TAGS: teacher shortage, teachers union

Teacher union mandates lead to teacher shortages

By Larry Sand
09/03/2019
The unions treatment of teachers as interchangeable parts does great damage to the education process. In my post last week, I gave ample proof that the claim of a nationwide teacher shortage is bogus. For example, in California, where the  teachers unions insist that teachers are “leaving the profession in unprecedented numbers,” there is no widespread...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, merit pay, teacher shortage, teachers union

The Teacher-Shortage Myth

By Larry Sand
09/14/2017
There is no dearth of teachers; in fact, we may have too many. A nationwide shortage of teachers threatens quality education, according to the education establishment and its advocates in the media. But as with the population bomb, Y2K, and the devils of Loudon, the reality of the supposed crisis is quite different from its representation. A look...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Benjamin Scafidi, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teacher shortage, teachers union

Minnesota’s Toxic Twins

By Larry Sand
07/26/2016
Randi Weingarten and Hillary Clinton embrace, as parents sue to modify rigid, anti-child union work rules. The yearly American Federation of Teachers wingding was a doozie this year. The 100th anniversary of the union and the presence of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton made for an especially noxious four days in Minnesota – a forced...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Campbell Brown, Chris Stewart, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, seniority, teacher shortage, teachers union, tenure

Teacher Shortage Claim Is Still Short on Data

By Larry Sand
05/17/2016
No matter how many times it’s repeated, the national teacher shortage story is a canard. In the months since I last wrote about the alleged teacher shortage crisis, I had hoped the hysteria would abate. But alas, it hasn’t; if anything, it has increased, with the teachers unions at the forefront of the bogus story....

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Coulson, California Teachers Association, Cato Institute, EdSource, Education Next, John Fensterwald, Kate Walsh, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teacher shortage, teachers union

The National Teacher (Union Member) Shortage

By Larry Sand
09/01/2015
NEA/AFT and their friends in the media try to make hay of teacher shortage myth. For years, teachers unions have been moaning that nearly half of all new educators leave the profession within the first five years. They and others have repeated the claim so many times that it has taken on the mantle of...

TAGS: ALEC, American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Coulson, Cato Institute, Indiana State Teachers Association, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Education Association, New York Times, Randi Weingarten, teacher shortage, teachers union

Small Class-Size Balloon Punctured Again

By Larry Sand
10/17/2012
It’s time to “just say no” to the small class-size pushers and eliminate seniority as a staffing mechanism. Small class size means less work for teachers. Parents seem to think that their child will be better educated in a room with fewer classmates. Unions love fewer kids in a class because it equates to a...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Eric Hanushek, Jay Greene, last in first out, Mike Antonucci, seniority, small class size, teacher shortage