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We have many challenges facing our American way of life.
Our collective well-being.
Our productivity.
Our quality of life.
In our book, one of the more significant problems we face is a lack of qualified school teachers.
Here in Pennsylvania, the supply of new teachers has reached "a breaking point," says Tanya Garcia, deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Why?
The number of young adults going into the profession has plummeted.
Indeed, there has been a 66% drop in newly issued teacher certificates in Pennsylvania over the past decade.
The number of undergraduate education majors in Pennsylvania dropped by the same amount -- 66% -- over the same period.
Some schools are in survival mode.
Some schools keep kids in auditorium for "study time" during certain periods because of a lack of teachers.
Garcia recently told The Morning Call newspaper in Allentown that the state needs to dramatically change the way it attracts, prepares and retains educators.
One of the consequences is that the need for substitute teachers has greatly increased and the competition for substitutes has become fierce.
The lack of substitutes adds to stress on teachers because all classrooms need a teacher or a substitute, so when there are not enough subs, teachers have to fill in those gaps.
Both public school districts and public/private charter schools have responded by increasing teacher pay, increasing substitute pay, loosening requirements for substitutes, sign-up bonuses and development of mentoring programs.
It apparently isn't working and the pandemic only served to add more stress to an already demanding profession.
And this isn't a problem that only money will solve.
We call on Pennsylvania's leaders in industry, small business, education and public service to form a task force to study what's happening and to recommend solutions.
Ask most any school district and they'll tell you the current trends in education put our schools -- and our children -- at risk.