Hi, I’m Randy Seriguchi Jr., and I've been working in teacher recruitment for the past eight years in the US. And here, in the richest nation in the history of the world, we're in the midst of a historic teacher shortage. In a place where money can solve most problems, I've been thinking about how we respond to this economic emergency, and three questions come to mind.
How much is too much to invest in teachers? How much is too little to invest in teachers? And what should any new investment in teachers actually cover?
More additional context to remember, this teacher shortage is about more than teachers. Millions of students nationwide are impacted by having an under-qualified or substitute teacher guiding a full year of school.
So there's a big difference between a teacher shortage and let's say, a fast-food worker shortage. McDonald's may be missing a couple of cashiers up front, but burgers will still get flipped and sold. When teachers are missing from schools, however, children usually aren't learning up to standards. So as a result, the US is scoring 26 out of 81 nations on an international math exam, amongst other disappointing educational outcomes.
And on the cusp of artificial intelligence becoming the fourth industrial revolution, we have a long way to go to ensure that we are adequately prepared to participate in the next economic boom. So what can we do about this?
Well, we know that one major factor in improving student outcomes is the effectiveness of the teacher in front of the classroom. So in the wake of a national teacher shortage, we have to explore new ways to recruit and retain teachers to join our schools long enough to actually become good at one of the most difficult professions in the world.
So this is a two-headed monster of a problem. On one hand, we have to engineer historic interest to inspire new people to pursue teaching. And on the other, we have to find ways to economically anchor new and existing teachers to stay for at least three to five years, enough time to sufficiently increase one's effectiveness as a teacher.
So, to attack this teacher shortage, we can take a page out of the military's playbook and provide basic allowances to make teaching more attractive to new talent. Some version of a teacher G.I. Bill could help us reset the value we place on educating our children.
How do I know something like this could work? Well, two reasons. The US has done this before and San Francisco is doing this now. After the end of World War II, the US government was nervous that millions of veterans would have trouble readjusting to normal civilian life. As a result, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, more commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was passed into law and created an unprecedented investment in American public service.
Here's what that looked like. Education supports in the form of annual tuition contributions and monthly living stipends. Workforce support in the form of unemployment benefits and job search guidance. Financial support via loan guarantees, which backed veterans’ borrowing and increased access to credit to buy homes and start businesses. And wellness support. More medical care, including the construction of new hospitals nationwide.
From 1944 to 1956, the G.I. Bill gave out 14.5 billion dollars in education and training supports to veterans who needed to work. Today, this equals about 253 billion dollars. Could you imagine Democrats and Republicans voting together on this in 2024? Me either.
(Laughter)
So what was once called the best investment the US government has ever made, resulted in over eight million people continuing their education and millions of new home loans granted. We invested in education, financial and wellness supports for veterans because of the value we place on their public service to us as a nation as a whole.
The battles abroad to defend our children are just as important as the battles we face at home. They may be different types of terrain, but both involve the same Americans serving the same America. They may be different types of professions, but both deserve a shot at the same American dream.
Our teachers are true patriots. Protecting, enhancing, developing the lives of American children every day. And after the pandemic changed how we view schools and work, it's time for us to take a chance to invest in our teachers as the service men and women that they are. If we truly want to elevate this profession to inspire new, diverse talent to join us, we have to improve both the personal and professional experiences associated with teaching.
And in the Bay Area, we had success doing this with Urban Ed Academy. After the wave of labor strikes across this country in 2023, we found ourselves revisiting the questions we had in 2018, when we started a campaign to place one Black male teacher in every elementary school in San Francisco. Those questions were, how much is too much to invest in Black male teachers? How much is too little to invest in Black male teachers? And what should any new investment in Black male teachers actually cover?
Well, we were not the federal government, so we had to find creative ways to resource our approach. And we found that we could meet teachers' basic needs with more than money. Comfortable housing, higher education costs and holistic wellness provisions, for example, are possible without crazy spending — especially if we do it together as a village and lower the cost burden for everyone involved.
Our unprecedented investment in Black male teachers was made as a collective community investment. And inspired by the G.I. Bill, we sought to inclusively invest in education, workforce development, financial and wellness supports for our fellows. Here's what that looked like for us in our work.
To provide cost-free credentialing and graduate school tuition, we partnered with school districts, the state of California and other local partners to wipe away tens of thousands of dollars needed to upskill our fellows into higher-quality classroom management. This was an essential building block in igniting interest in a field where so many are leaving and only 1.3 percent of teachers are Black men.
To ensure that our Black male fellows had a real shot of matriculating through teacher credentialing pathways and had guaranteed job placements, we partnered with institutions of higher education, teacher residency programs, and school principals to build in more personalized fit assessments for Black men. More overall patience in the hiring process, and to give second chances to men who usually don't receive a first.
To offer the financial and wellness provisions I mentioned, we partnered directly with Black property owners to provide subsidized housing, Black mental health professionals to provide free therapy and financial institutions to support our investment in each fellow as a whole person.
Now most of us have heard that it is difficult for a child to learn on an empty stomach. Well, how difficult is it to teach 20 to 25 of those children if you're struggling to make ends meet yourself? Especially living under the low-income threshold in San Francisco, where the cost of living is through the roof, literally.
I know some of you may be thinking, "Well, Randy, why just Black males? Why not all teachers?" Well ... I know that bringing conversations about race and identity into education may be controversial and political, but it is necessary. I learned this lesson from the great Angela Glover Blackwell and her analysis of the curb cut effect.
Curb cuts were originally designed to meet the accessibility needs of wheelchair users and other members of the differently-abled community. If you look across the country today at street intersections, you'll see everybody using those curb cuts. Seniors wheeling groceries, parents walking small children, vendors pushing merchandise, etc. But I can imagine, back then someone may have challenged universal curb cuts with something like, "Why prioritize one community and cut all curbs? This is the way curbs have always been."
(Laughter)
Well, somebody, ...
(Laughter)
We know that when we create and design solutions based on the needs of the most vulnerable, everybody benefits. And so I believe that in this country, if we can build a system that treats Black male teachers well, then we're building a system that treats all teachers well.
(Applause)
Most of you have also heard of the African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child." The saying speaks to the need for us as an entire community to come together to support the successful, positive development of children. And when I look at how some of our children are doing today, I get a little mad at all the villages.
We're doing a terrible job as a unit with these children, you know what I'm talking about. But we can change that together if we extend that village mentality of support to our teachers, because they are the first line of defense in our campaign for student success. The first line. And these patriots need more from us.
So how much is too much to invest in teachers? Well in the richest nation in the history of the world, I know we can afford it together.
Thank you.
(Applause and cheers)
