The culture wars are pushing some teachers to leave the classroom

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel I have seen the exit of many teachers from the classroom the last couple years, most through retirement even though many really didn't want to retire yet. They just didn't want to deal with the crap any longer. Right now, there is a severe shortage of math teachers in this area. Because of this our class sizes are exploding. Administration knows I can retire any day I want. I was asked a few weeks back if I was planning on leaving either at the end of the semester in December or the end of the year. I'm not, however, if my wife's health gets much worse, I will need to in order to take care of her, and she comes first. If something isn't done about fixing education, there won't be any teachers to teach our youth. Many parents these days are advising their children not to go into education as a career. My opinion for what it is worth!

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Perhaps no other state has become more embroiled in the controversy than Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has spearheaded efforts to reshape the public school curriculum to reflect his conservative values. That includes the passage of the Parental Rights in Education bill and the governor's strategy of weighing in on local school board races. The bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by critics, prohibits teachers from discussing LGBTQ-related topics "in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."...

In our area school boards and teachers are becoming targets of threats and aggression.

Rich