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Growing teacher shortage poses a looming crisis in the classroom


Last updated March 26, 2018

By Tina Underwood

Simple arithmetic reveals a troubling problem in South Carolina schools. In a Greenville Journal article, writer Cindy Landrum reports that teachers are leaving South Carolina public schools faster than the state’s teacher programs can produce new educators. Furman Politics and International Affairs alum Ben Saul ’13, a math interventionist at Tanglewood Middle School, has some ideas about how to retain teachers. Education professor Michael Svec says the problem of a declining number of teachers stems from high-stakes testing associated with No Child Left Behind. “[NCLB] has had a significant impact on the tone and environment in the classroom,” he said. “It’s really damaged the way teachers can interact with students …”

Ben Saul received an Ed.M. from Harvard University. He was named a 2012 Truman Scholar, one of the nation’s highest academic honors given to students who have excelled academically and are committed to careers in public service. 

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