By The Center for Michigan - March 12, 2007
Michigan universities continue to graduate large numbers of new teachers -- an estimated 7,000 will be certified this year -- but three-fourths won't land jobs here because there aren't enough teaching positions to go around.
That hastens the brain drain of young professionals who abandon Michigan to find jobs elsewhere, and it's a burden to taxpayers who help pay for college degrees that benefit other states, some say.
"It's just sad that after you've been in school for so long and work so hard, you have to go someplace else to do what you want to do," said Katrina Newnum, 29, a 2005 Grand Valley State University graduate who hoped to teach in state.
"I never thought that I would be moving all the way to North Carolina to be teaching."
2 Comments
I think that it is wrong for Michigan Universities to accept the enrollment of students into the school of education when we know there are no jobs in the state.
Why should Michigan tax payers continue to pay for the education of teachers who will go to other states to teach?
Are education majors still the cash cow for universities?
Pat,
You pose an outstanding question and a better comment. Imagine the army of discouraged, certified but unemployed teachers that schools push out each year. These folks then have student loans, 3 or 4 years of time with a dismal return on their investment compared to others and the stigma associated of not realizing the fruits of their work. Apply your same logic to hundreds of government programs and people will realize that the goverment is a complete failure because it cannot adapt (quickly or otherwise) to change like a free market can. No private school offering teaching certificates would be viable in Michigan yet a government school survives on the backs of productive people (aka taxpayers). Besides providing minimal measures of public safety and protection of private property, can anyone think of a government program that has ever worked? i.e. provided a greater good compared to the costs????
The legal system??? Ask a litigant.
The healthcare system?? Ask a patient??? Our road system? Ask an Oakland County resident who traveled on Orchard Lake in the past 8 weeks.
Our school system? Ask people who pay property taxes and private school tuition in an effort to avoid it.
For a great read, "Why Government Doesn't Work" by Harry Browne.
Darren Lossia
Post a Comment