I have to admit I am a bit disappointed about the lack of conversation on my blog. Actually I have little knowledge about how these things work but I was hoping to start a conversation about a profession I, and many like me, believe is the most important in our nation today. Maybe it will catch on and maybe it won't. But God hates a coward who will not give it a try.

George W. Bush's first priority was supposedly for education reform. At least that is what he says. Few disagree that our system of education needs to be strengthened. But, an underlying and sometimes ignored issue concerns a large and rapidly increasing shortage of qualified, licensed teachers in the United States. This will affect every parent and every child. We are talking about your children and our children.

There are many reasons for this shortage. The number of K-12 students is increasing at a faster rate than the number of K-12 teachers. Unless a way can be found to retain a greater number of qualified teachers, this shortage will continue to exist. The baby-boom teachers (specifically, for our purposes, those teachers born between 1946-1952) are transferring to other careers or approaching retirement. As a group, they just began retiring in 1998, after 30 years of teaching. The real retirement wave will begin in June 2001, when the first baby-boom teachers reach 55 years of age. By 2010, the shortage will become an absolute crisis.

One reason for this crisis is that the public doesn't want 30 students in a class anymore. Class-size-reduction to 15 or 20 students per class is becoming more popular as the research (particularly the long-term Tennessee research) begins to show lifelong gains for students in smaller classes. Because of public sentiment, school districts are even moving towards lower class size in states and in grades where there is no requirement to do so. Finally women, who make up almost 3/4 of teachers, are finding that society is allowing them to make more money, work shorter hours, and gain more respect by working in other fields.

A primary reason why teachers are leaving their profession is that they are sick and tired of being blamed for a system they never created. The only thing teachers want to do is teach. You see, the ides of March are once again upon us. Teachers, across the country fear this date, because it marks the beginning of the many town meetings that discuss and decide next year's school budgets. In the face of changing economic conditions, these meetings are destined to be filled with anti-teacher sentiment that blames the profession for the demise of our educational system and for bleeding the local communities into bankruptcy. In fact, my profession is blamed for most of the ills of our society. In other words, it is a time when my profession is assassinated. All of us in education have been through too many of these meetings and have left depressed and discouraged wondering how teachers became the scapegoats for the failed social practices of the last twenty years.

Many of my colleagues are deciding to leave the profession. I am sad to state these teachers are not only the veterans. They also include many young men and women who chose the profession of teaching so that they can make a difference. That they could use their talents and expertise to mold young people's minds so their students can achieve success in their own lives. The anti-teacher politics of today simply did them in.

"What would it be like not to teach anymore?" A student writing a newspaper article for the school newspaper about the possibility of having many teachers leave asked me this question. This was a very difficult question for me. All I ever wanted to do was teach. I can't remember ever wanting to do anything else. With the chaos across our nation over how to finance education this has become a very relevant question.

I told this student that if I didn't teach my mind would probably grow old. I know for a fact that my students keep me young with their enthusiasm and spirit. Their will to become makes me yearn to help them in any way I am able. Because my students are so young they allow me to become a part of their futures. In fact, they allow me to see into all of our futures. If I could no longer listen to their ideas I would probably become devoid of my own ideas. If I could no longer listen to their dreams I would probable lose the capacity to dream.

If I didn't teach I would slow down. I find myself, even out of school, walking very fast. In the halls at school one has to move quickly or one is apt to be knocked down. But, without teaching I would have no place to go thus no need to move at any sustained velocity. I would have no one to see and thus no need to be seen.

If I didn't teach I wouldn't have the opportunity to say hello scores of times in one day. I wouldn't be able to answer numerous questions in one hour. I wouldn't hear my name called out too many times to count in each period of every day. But, worse of all, I wouldn't be able to observe scared young children evolve into mature young adults yearning to become a part of their own grown-up world.

If I didn't teach I would miss my colleagues. I would miss them because most are simply mirrors of me. We have good and tough times together. Some leave but hopefully most will stay trying to continue to do what they do best. Hoping to be able to make a difference in young people's lives.

If I didn't teach I would survive. There are many professions I could go into. But, I made a decision long ago that my life wouldn't be one of just survival. I promised myself that a dollar bill would not equate my life. I made a decision to teach. For me, life without teaching wouldn't be much of a life at all.

I use this article a lot when I talk with my colleagues about the possibility of leaving the profession. Sometimes it reminds them about how wonderful a profession teaching is. But, I am sorry to say that most of the time they still leave.

Jim Fabiano, a teacher and writer who lives in York, is a past recipient of the Maine Press Association’s award for Best Weekly Column. You can E-mail Jim at: jfabino@maine.rr.com.

Editor's Note: Jim Fabiano's blog, "A Dinosaur of Education", can be found at http://fabiano.magic-city-news.com.