Two ways to help help keep SC teachers

From a qualified, certified, secondary-education social studies-trained teacher who couldn’t enter the profession due to financial and family priorities.

First interview: very well qualified, high grade point average, and well-liked as a student teacher ... how does $4,000 per annum sound?

Second interview: well qualified, diverse undergraduate courses, and, oh, a veteran! How does $4,400 sound?

Graduate school assistantships for masters’ degree/PhD: $5,500 and up.

Which fork in the road does one take? Yes, away from teaching and into a new, equally rewarding, profession.

That story unfolded in Central Pennsylvania in the mid-1960s. New York was raiding, repeatedly, Pennsylvania state colleges for their best.

Stu Rodman, basically, is on the right track in his recent op-ed, “A business proposal to solve S.C. teacher shortage problem.” However, I would place “home-based” motivation/participation/interest as the No. 1 priority. Secondly, don’t raise salaries for just any teachers, but ones particularly skilled in varied methodology, student motivation skills and student-focused teaching as opposed to old lectures.