To ensure that schools enjoy a steady supply of competent and committed teachers, federal, state, and local policymakers should look to the extensive research literature in this area, focusing on five strategies in particular: strengthening teacher preparation, improving hiring practices, increasing compensation, providing support for new…

Half of all teachers might be moonlighting, working at a part-time job in addition to their main job as teachers, and that has consequences for their teaching jobs. Moonlighting interferes with their daily instruction and with their ability to collaborate with other educators. Moonlighting also can contribute to a less positive attitude about…

The numbers are in, and they are not rosy. According to the "Schools and Staffing Survey," 64,954 public schools reported vacancies during the 2003-04 school year. Even more alarming is the fact that projections suggest teacher attrition rates will continue to soar, while student enrollments climb, well into the 21st century. American schools have…

Whining about not being treated as professionals buys teachers little respect. Teaching is hard work, but confers some plush benefits, while discouraging voluntary self-improvement efforts. The notion that pay should be commensurate with work is a noble delusion. Nannies and mothers are also underpaid. (MLH)

A former English teacher who lectures part-time at several colleges (with miserable pay and no benefits, seniority, or security) was determined to free herself from teaching. In recovery, she has plunged into lucrative business writing and editing, has weaned herself from faculty meetings and "excessive" caring, and is now a high-paid corporate…