Teacher Shortage Eases With Economy

PHILADELPHIA (AP)

- The nationwide teacher shortage that once had school districts scrambling to find enough instructors to fill classrooms has eased significantly as the economy has cooled, according to groups that track education employment.

The American Association for Employment in Education said preliminary results of its annual survey of hiring patterns indicate that demand for teachers has fallen for the second straight year and is at its lowest level since 1998.

The group's executive director, B.J. Bryant, said the soft economy has meant more people willing to work for a teacher's pay, and fewer jobs to go around. Instructors in a few subjects do remain tough to find most notably math, bilingual education and all areas of science and special education, Bryant said.

"Last year we measured 10 or 12 fields as having a considerable shortage," Bryant said. "This year there are three." -

It's kind of a myth that there's a teacher shortage. There are only shortages of teachers in certain areas -- math and science mostly, because they can make a whole lot more money outside of education. There's a surplus of many other kinds of teachers, especially in social science.

There's also a shortage of teachers in the inner city, because jobs there pay so little for such a comparatively high level of danger and stress.