They head to the private sector where they will be properly rewarded. Almost half of all new teachers leave the profession within five years. Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton, who replaced me as SGA chairman, made an excellent point during our discussions. He noted that for decades, because our society excluded women from working in most professions, we were able to take advantage of them and recruit them as teachers for relatively low wages. Those days are over.
Women can now enter almost any profession.
We need to determine what this job of teaching is worth to us as a society and then pay teachers what they're worth. It will, in essence, necessitate a cultural change. We must come to the realization that teaching our young people is among life's highest callings. In private business, if you don't pay people what they're worth, you won't get good employees. Eventually, that will drive you out of business.