by Glenda Lappan, NCTM President 1998-2000
NCTM News Bulletin, October 1999

We need teachers. Two million of them by 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. With pressure for reducing class size, we could need even more. More than half these new teachers will be first-time teachers.

Initially, the news doesn't bode well for mathematics, since mathematics is an area of special need in the teacher numbers game. In some regions, qualified mathematics teachers are in such short supply that some states and districts are offering incentives--ranging from paying moving expenses to providing signing bonuses. In other areas, people without mathematics education backgrounds are teaching mathematics.

Recruitment and retention initiatives abound. But we must not lose our focus. We simply will not achieve excellence unless and until we have a high-quality mathematics program in every classroom, for every child. This requires a well-qualified, highly motivated, effective teacher of mathematics at every helm.

An important aspect of providing a high-quality education for every child is making sure that our teaching force more accurately mirrors the diversity of our our society. Interacting with teachers of diverse ethnicities, races, and backgrounds helps boost the mathematics achievement of students from those backgrounds, and it improves their perception of mathematics. Research indicates that, in general, as the proportion of minority teachers falls, minority students' perception of the importance of academic achievement also declines.* The race and background of their teachers also shape students' ideas of authority and power and justice and fairness--ideas that will influence their future citizenship. We need qualified mathematics teachers from different ethnic backgrounds to provide positive and culturally sensitive role models for diverse student bodies--and to show students that academic, particularly mathematical, endeavors can be successfully accomplished by all.

Unfortunately, the data currently show a disparity between the diversity of our student body and the diversity of our teaching force. More than 30 percent of all students in our schools are members of racial or ethnic minority groups. However, only slightly more than 12 percent of our teachers are members of such groups. In urban areas, more than 50 percent of central city school students are from minority groups and about 25 percent of their teachers are minorities. Clearly we need a recruitment and retention effort to increase the numbers of mathematics teachers from underrepresented groups.

Some efforts in recent years are meeting varying levels of success both in overall recruitment and in diversifying the teaching pool. Some programs focus on early retirees or those who are changing careers. For instance, in about half the states, the Pathways to Teaching Careers Program, sponsored by the DeWitt Wallace–Reader's Digest Fund, trains and certifies paraprofessionals as well as uncertified and substitute teachers to fill needs in urban and rural schools. Many of these teachers are elementary school teachers with mathematics responsibilities.

Another program, the Troops to Teachers project, focuses on retired military personnel. The five-year-old program has placement-assistance offices in 20 states. Although this program is not specifically a minority program, the teachers who come out of it represent a much greater diversity than is typically found in the U.S. teaching force. Not surprisingly, 90 percent of the Troops to Teachers recruits are male, compared to the national average of 26 percent.

Other programs establish partnerships between schools and institutions of higher education to encourage and nurture early interest in teaching careers. For instance, Summer Camp Opportunity for Potential Educators, sponsored by Clark Atlanta University, serves minority high school students interested in mathematics and science teaching.

Another program that might spark interest in mathematics teaching is America Counts. Beginning this year, that program will provide Federal Work-Study funds for college students to tutor elementary and middle school students in mathematics. This investment should result in many students who would not have considered teaching as a career realizing the excitement of helping others learn.

Just as important as recruitment is retention. In Educational Leadership (February 1998), Joan Montgomery Halford called teaching "the profession that eats its young." We must change that. How? It can be as simple as sharing what keeps us veterans in the profession in the first place. Surely it is the satisfaction of seeing a child learn right in front of our eyes. And it is seeing the amazing results of our efforts as our students turn into leaders in their professions. I'm proud that my own daughter is now a high school mathematics teacher. And just last month, as I visited my hometown of 35 years ago, I was greeted with enthusiasm by the probate judge--a former high school algebra student of mine.

Many of us stay in teaching because we want to make a difference in our communities. We need to share our passion with our newest colleagues and commit to helping them survive those critical first years. Our support might make the difference in whether a new teacher experiences the joy of teaching or struggles through in lonely isolation.

Turning around the mathematics teacher shortfall really can and does start with us. We can be advocates for teaching as a profession. We must tell interested students why teaching is a great profession and take some time to share what we have learned about kids and teaching with our new colleagues. Together, let's turn Halford's comment into "Teaching: the profession that nurtures its young."

Special thanks to NCTM's Committee for a Comprehensive Mathematics Education of Every Child for their assistance with this column.

• From "The 'Urgent Need' for Minority Teachers," by Peter Loehr, Education Week, 5 October 1998, p. 32.