A report entitled "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" released by a bipartisan study group made up of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine concluded that "...the scientific and technical building blocks of our economic leadership are eroding...We fear the abruptness with which a lead in science and technology can be lost..." never to be regained. America needs math and science teachers, and many of the ones in classrooms today are unqualified. The report recommends incentives for recruiting math and science teachers and strengthening the math and science skills of other teachers.
How about hiring the math and science teachers we already have?
There are many teachers, including math and science teachers, who have been shut out of schools by ridiculous penny-wise, pound-foolish hiring policies. Teachers who return to america after years of teaching in Department of Defense Dependent Schools, or who move to a new district for whatever reason, are apparently over-qualified. Schools regularly pass over proven experienced teachers in favor of new graduates for a salary savings of approximately $5000/year. Meanwhile, in order to satisfy NCLB mandates, these same schools claim to be hiring the best teachers available. How many teachers have experienced this kind of discrimination? How many people have a friend, or have heard of someone who has had this experience?