Teachers must be able to help all students increase conceptual understanding and analytical ability. Yet every fall, administrators struggle to provide a qualified teacher for every classroom. It is an increasingly difficult task even an impossible task in some districts. Administrators often resort to hiring anyone that they can. Teachers are often hired at the last minute, as bureaucratic hiring procedures create roadblocks for qualified candidates.
Many legislators see nothing wrong with hiring anyone with a bachelor s degree.
These policymakers still have the view of teaching as a simple, rote activity that anyone can do no special preparation required. 12.5 percent had no license, and 14.9 percent were hired on temporary, provisional, or emergency licenses. Nearly one-fourth of all secondary teachers do not have a college major or minor in their main teaching field. This is true for more than 30 percent of mathematics teachers. The least well-prepared teachers work with the most needy students.