Politicians turn blind eye to U.S. teacher shortage: USA Today

NEW YORK, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Today, nearly 300,000 fewer people are working in K-12 schools across the United States than before the pandemic, a fact that the government and its officials have turned a blind eye to, report USA Today on Monday.

"It's nearly impossible to turn on the television without hearing the words 'educator shortage'," said the report. "It's a concern that educators, parents and advocates have raised for years, and two years of a global pandemic has exacerbated the problem."

There is no shortage of highly qualified professionals who want to serve students in public schools, said the report, noting that, unfortunately, educators are being driven to "leave their dream profession because of a lack of respect, low pay and next-to-impossible working conditions."

"We must act now to implement long-term solutions to attract and retain diverse and qualified educators," insisted the author of the article Becky Pringle, an Opinion contributor.

However, to the educators' disappointment, "instead of working to solve problems with the resources available to them, many of our political leaders are opting for partisan games and demonization tactics designed to score headlines on cable television and further divide our polarized country," added Pringle.