Texas Teacher Shortage?

They're crying out for teachers in the Lone Star State:

Each day, students of different races, genders, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds enter the nation's classrooms. Unfortunately, for some, these factors may work against them - especially in urban areas.

According to TCU's [Texas Christian University] Center for Urban Education, urban schools - those schools with low socioeconomic and/or predominantly minority students - have the most critical shortages of qualified teachers and, therefore, the most openings for college graduates.

The center is designed to help meet this need by training future teachers to help them succeed in urban schools.

"Urban communities are in the state of making sure that all children are successful," said Jennifer Brooks, director of TCU's Center for Urban Education. "We must work and make sure they have teachers who are qualified and have experiences to make them successful."

A study by The Education Trust, an advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., found that in the nation's high-poverty schools, 34 percent of secondary classes in core academic subjects are assigned to teachers who lack a college minor in the subject.

You should consider reading the whole thing.

In a society where one's social status is directly related to one's take-home pay, maybe our best and brightest college graduates will choose to serve in the classroom when and if they can earn half-way decent wages for themselves and their family.