[ti:Facing Shortage of Teachers, US States Ease Requirements] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Some schools in the southern United States [00:03.04]are dealing with severe teacher shortages. [00:07.32]Many of these schools are turning to teaching candidates [00:10.96]without teaching certificates or official training. [00:15.44]In 2019, Alabama legislators passed laws [00:20.04]easing teacher requirements [00:22.32]and permitting emergency certificates. [00:26.20]The Associated Press reports [00:28.40]that teachers without certificates [00:30.64]often work at low-income [00:33.28]and majority-Black school systems. [00:37.32]Some schools in Texas eased official certification requirements [00:42.16]for about one in five new teachers last school year. [00:47.56]In Oklahoma, an "adjunct" program permits schools [00:52.16]to employ teachers who do not have teacher training [00:55.56]if they meet the local school's qualifications. [00:59.84]And in Florida, former military members [01:03.20]without a four-year university degree [01:06.24]can teach for up to five years using temporary certificates. [01:11.96]School systems decide if they will accept uncertified candidates, [01:16.84]have crowded classes or employ part-time teachers. [01:22.04]Maxie Johnson is a member of the board [01:25.08]overseeing the Dallas Independent School District. [01:29.64]He said, "I've seen what happens [01:32.44]when you don't have teachers in the classroom. [01:35.32]I've seen the struggle." [01:37.88]He made the statement shortly before the school board [01:40.80]approved expanding the use of uncertified teachers. [01:45.52]He said that he would rather have someone [01:47.72]that a principal approved for a teaching position. [01:51.88]The Southern Regional Education Board [01:54.36]is a nonprofit education group. [01:58.12]It researched information [02:00.08]from the years 2019 and 2020 from 11 states. [02:05.96]The group found that about four percent of teachers [02:09.08]were uncertified or teaching with an emergency certificate. [02:14.60]In addition, 10 percent were teaching out of field. [02:18.48]That means they are teaching a different age group [02:21.16]or subject than they are certified to teach. [02:25.20]The group predicts that as many as 16 million students in the area [02:30.00]might be taught by an unprepared or inexperienced teacher by 2030. [02:36.56]The group's Megan Boren said, [02:39.12]"The shortages are getting worse [02:41.12]and morale is continuing to fall for teachers." [02:45.52]Many states have eased teaching requirements [02:48.56]since the COVID-19 pandemic. [02:51.76]Nearly all states have emergency or temporary licenses [02:55.96]that permit a person who has not met requirements [02:59.12]for certification to teach. [03:02.08]Shannon Holston is the policy chief [03:04.64]for the nonprofit National Council on Teacher Quality. [03:09.68]She said such candidates only temporarily deal with the shortage. [03:14.40]Holston said those teachers usually [03:17.00]do not stay as long as other teachers. [03:20.84]In a 2016 study, the U.S. Department of Education [03:25.32]said 1.7 percent of all teachers [03:28.44]did not have full certification. [03:32.00]The department noted that number was almost [03:34.72]three percent for schools with many minority students [03:38.44]or students learning English. [03:41.84]The use of teachers without full certification [03:44.68]is not evenly spread across fields and subjects. [03:49.20]Rural Bullock County, for example, [03:51.72]had no certified math teachers last year in its middle school. [03:57.32]Nearly 80 percent of its students are Black, [04:00.20]20 percent are Hispanic, [04:02.40]and 70 percent of all students are poor. [04:06.76]Christopher Blair is the area's former schools superintendent. [04:12.04]He said he had a difficult time employing teachers. [04:15.68]Poor areas cannot pay teachers [04:18.20]as much as wealthier neighboring areas. [04:21.80]The cities of Birmingham and Montgomery are also in Alabama. [04:27.12]Each city had three middle schools [04:29.60]where more than 20 percent of teachers [04:31.88]had emergency certifications. [04:35.44]Birmingham schools spokesperson Sherrel Stewart [04:39.16]said officials seek good candidates for emergency certifications [04:43.88]and then give them the support they need. [04:47.48]She said, "...that pool of candidates in education schools [04:51.20]has drastically reduced [04:53.24]but the demand for high-quality educators is still there." [04:58.12]I'm Gregory Stachel. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM