The phrase, “Cash is King”, has long held true in more capacities than one. However, this phrase may soon be replaced by a similar phrase dubbing supply and demand as uncontested ruler of all things. “Supply and Demand” refers to a need for a commodity and the need’s relationship to the ongoing supply of it. Typically, supply and demand is most often thought of when buying or selling a physical good. This is not always the case though.

The Age-Old Concept: S & D

Vocational job positions are also quite susceptible to the true king, supply and demand. What line of work may be the best illustration of this? Early elementary, or early education teachers are today’s unfortunate, stand-out example.

The title of the USA Today article, “K-5 Teacher Overload: Too Many Trained, Not Enough Jobs”, says it all. So too do many of the statistics cited by news articles like this one:

– Last year, Illinois trained 10 teachers for every one real position made available.

– In 2010, New York trained more than double the expected needed teaching force for 2011.

– Cherry Hill, N.J elementary schools last year received an average of 400 to 600 applications for every one such teaching position made available.

This is supply and demand.

So what exactly is to blame for such a modern-day imbalance in the early education workforce? Like so many other institutional hiccups these days, a struggling economy is the root cause of the ailment. First, there is a large and growing population with an associated percentage striving for a limited number of teaching careers. The limited number of these careers is due to a number of present factors: state budget rollbacks, long-time teachers putting off retirement, non-tenured position eliminations. In addition, it has come to light that many colleges and universities do not actively look into or provide information as to the vocational supply and demand outlooks for teacher positions.

Futures

On the note of this popular non-disclosure of teacher job-outlooks, here is some helpful and current information. Math, science, and special education have been so-far immune to the supply and demand imbalance. This is largely thought to be due to the extra educational requirements for specializing in these disciplines.

Also, there are great regional disparities that can be capitalized upon. For example, according to a recent Bloomberg Businessweek news article, despite the overall overabundance of teachers to positions, California is one such state where the inverse is the case. States like California are cited to be greatly short of educators when future enrollment projections are tallied.

In conclusion, supply and demand proves its place yet again. If there is a morsel to be learned here, it is a great one for those who are pursuing their careers and choosing the educational paths necessary to do so. Look into the outlook futures of your intended career choice before finding out later when it’s too late. In doing so, whether you are pursuing a career in teaching or any other vocation, you have paid your just dues to the all-mighty ruler of all – supply and demand.

 

The 29th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher has released some harrowing news. All across the country, the satisfaction and job security experienced by teachers has taken a nosedive. In fact, the level of overall job satisfaction has dropped to the lowest point in over 25 years. The main cause? The economy and its effects on education in the nation.

Teachers are essentially being demoralized by a ruthless pursuit of inexpensive excellence. The federal government is pressing on teachers and schools to become better and more equipped, yet seems to be paradoxically offering less in terms of funding. Teachers often complain about the detrimental effects this quest has had on their teaching careers. Standardized tests are becoming the norm and are the only things being taught. The budgets being placed onto them seems to be forever shrinking in size and exponentially growing in concern.

The decline of teacher’s job satisfaction has been ongoing since 2008. Simultaneously, the stress levels felt by both teachers and principals has been steadily on the rise. The majority of the stress hinges around student success, much of which is seen to have declined in recent years due to a slew of social conditions. A large preponderance of teachers report that catering to a student’s individual learning requirements is extremely important to them. But with the implementation of standardized education and tests, it’s also extremely difficult for it to happen.

However, the important thing about this saddening news is keeping everything in perspective.

Recent polling from the Gallup well-being index indicates something that may be shockingly bewildering after learning about this information: in terms of professions with a high well-being (both social and emotional), teachers were only second to physicians. The reason? Although teachers have taken what appears to be a happiness nosedive, the most accurate metaphor is that they wallowed into the deep end.

Chin Up; It’s Not as Bad as it Sounds

According to a recent New York Times article, teachers are actually enjoying a high amount of happiness. In fact, when queried, they were more apt to answer that they had smiled or laughed in the previous day than any other profession. Furthermore, they also came out on top when asked whether or not they experienced joy the day before.

How can these two contradictory phenomena exist? Simple. They’re not contradictory. They’re interconnected.

The Gallup poll showed a sizable decrease in teacher satisfaction, but only in their degree of satisfaction. More teachers are identifying themselves as “somewhat satisfied” as opposed to “very satisfied.” The number of the latter decreased as the first increased, indicating an inverse trend. Yet, the number of teachers feeling satisfied overall is still remarkably high. Only 17 percent of teachers felt either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

But again, the article does cite that management in some form is the issue. Many teachers don’t feel like they’re being well managed in their faculties. But the important thing to take away from this all is that while there may be darkness in the news, there’s a definite silver lining in the numbers. Hopefully, as the issues in the educational system is resolved, the figures will return to the optimistic highs.