Ben Owens
Oct 19, 2016
The article discusses the urgent need for updated organizational models in education to address the challenges of attracting and retaining new teachers, highlighting the importance of modernization, competitive wages, value recognition, leadership opportunities, and a culture of empowerment to drive innovation and creativity.
In this opinion piece, Ben Owens discusses the critical issue of teacher shortage across the U.S. school districts, revealing the challenges in attracting and retaining new teachers. It highlights factors contributing to the crisis, such as inconsistent administrative support, excessive paperwork, state testing pressures, and inadequate funding. The author emphasizes the need for updated organizational models in education to modernize the teaching profession and align it with the expectations of the Millennial generation and the gig economy. The initiatives mentioned in the article, including recommendations for alternative compensation models, efforts to elevate the teaching profession, and participation in an Innovation Lab to reimagine the teacher pipeline, collectively aim to address the chronic problem of teacher shortage.
Furthermore, the article advocates for a cultural shift within schools, emphasizing the importance of competitive wages, early valuation of teachers, ample leadership opportunities, and a culture of empowerment to foster innovation and creativity. It stresses the necessity for characteristics of successful organizations, such as competitiveness, recognition for contributions, and encouragement of innovation, to be embedded in every school in the country. The author's optimistic view suggests that embracing these successful organizational characteristics, departing from outdated models, and adopting proven strategies from both education and other sectors will attract and retain new teachers effectively, ultimately mitigating the national crisis of teacher shortage.