評論
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America faces a “catastrophic” teacher shortage, according to the Washington Post; schools “across the US” are facing shortages, declared a Fox News banner; it’s “like dog-eat-dog” when scrambling to hire teachers, claimed the Wall Street Journal.
據《華盛頓郵報》報道，美國正面臨嚴重的教師短缺問題；福克斯新聞的一條標語稱，美國各地的學校正面臨教師短缺；《華爾街日報》稱，在爭搶教師的時候“就像狗咬狗”一樣。
Some of the hysteria might stem from teacher surveys.
這樣的一些亂象可能是源于一份教師調查
74% of educators were dissatisfied with their jobs in June, according to a survey by the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers’ union.
該調查顯示了一個更普遍的問題：根據美國第二大教師聯盟美國教師聯合會的一項調查，在6月份，74%的教師對自己的工作不滿意。
In February, a survey by the National Education Association, America’s largest labour union, estimated that 55% of teachers were considering leaving.
2月份，美國最大的工會全國教育協會的一項調查估計，55%的教師正在考慮離職。
But there is a difference between intending to leave and actually doing so.
但打算離開和實際去做是有區別的。
Nor national consensus on how to define a teacher shortage.
對于如何定義教師短缺，目前還沒有全國性的共識。
A school may have enough teachers for each pupil, but is it experiencing a teacher shortage if it cannot find one for a new music course?
一所學校可能給每個學生都配有足夠的教師數量，但如果新的音樂課找不到教師，這算作教師短缺嗎？
If an administrator is teaching one class, is that a shortage or is the administrator simply doing her job?
如果管理員在任教，這算教師短缺，還是說這是管理員分內的事？
Is a district in trouble if it is unable to staff 3% of its positions? How about 1%?
如果一個學區有3%的崗位沒有人做，那么這里是否算陷入了短缺？如果是1%呢？
The narrative of shortage is politically expedient for education activists on both sides.
對于兩黨的教育活動人士來說，短缺的說法在政治上都是權宜之計。
Democrats, whose supporters favour spending more on public schools than Republicans, point to massive teaching shortages as proof that public schools are underfunded.
與共和黨相比，民主黨的支持者更傾向于在公立學校投入更多資金，他們指出，大規模的教師短缺是公立學校資金不足的證據。
“The problem is that we don’t invest in our workforce,” says Cecily Myart-Cruz, the president of United Teachers Los Angeles, a labour union.
“問題是我們沒有對我們的勞動力進行投資，”洛杉磯聯合教師工會主席塞西莉·米亞特-克魯茲說。
“You have the most educated workforce in the nation.
你們擁有全國受教育程度最高的勞動力。
Educators have the most advanced degree, but they cannot have a liveable wage.”
教育工作者擁有最高的學歷，但他們的工資卻無法維持生活。”
This week, teachers in Columbus, Ohio, went on strike for better working conditions.
本周，俄亥俄州哥倫布市的教師舉行罷工，要求改善工作條件。
School workers in Philadelphia may strike next week.
費城的學校工作人員下周可能罷工。
But conservatives use the nationwide narrative for their own purposes, too.
但保守派也會利用這種全國性的敘事來達到自己的目的。
Their point to the supposed shortage is proof that the entire state-school system is failing.
他們指出，所謂的短缺是整個公立學校系統正在走向失敗的證據。
They push for lowering teaching-certification standards and removing teachers’ unions.
他們推動降低教師資格認證標準，取消教師工會。
And they say privatisation provides an answer.
他們說，私有化提供了一個答案。
“We need to stop throwing good money after bad and rethink K-12 education,” says Keri Ingraham and Christos Makridis of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think-tank, in a commentary for the Washington Times.
保守派智庫曼哈頓研究所的克里·英格拉漢姆和克里斯托斯·馬克里迪斯在為《華盛頓時報》撰寫的一篇評論文章中表示：“我們需要停止在糟糕的事情上砸錢，重新思考K-12教育。”
“With the teacher shortage crisis at hand, there is a timely opportunity to adjust the system.”
“隨著教師短缺危機的來臨，這是一個及時調整制度的機會。”
In truth, the schools that are currently struggling to hire teachers are the usual suspects.
事實上，那些目前招不到老師的都是一些司空見慣的學校了。
Nationwide, public schools are doing quite well: most pupils will have a teacher, and overall family satisfaction with their child’s school will probably stay high this year as in past years.
在全國范圍內，公立學校的表現相當不錯：大多數學生將有老師，家庭對孩子學校的總體滿意度今年可能會像往年一樣保持高水平。
The problems remain where the problems tend to exist -- in the underfunded schools serving the neediest pupils.
有問題的還是老地方--為最貧困的學生服務，且資金不足的學校。
