There are 74 million children in the US, and all of them need to learn.

Who does that service? It's mostly America's teachers.

Today, I wrote a deep dive into the teacher workforce and if/how tech can address some of the problems.

Here's some info from the Bureau of Labor:

In the past decade, the supply/demand lines for hiring new teachers have crossed.

My theory? The Great Recession had an impact on people deciding to go into teaching (amongst other factors).

In order to address this problem, the education system needs to educate, hire, and retain teachers effectively.

There are forces working against this. Teacher pay, increasing expectations, reduction in benefits, school shootings, COVID, and more.

There are many non-tech, policy-related ways to address these problems.

Many people who are smarter than me in those areas can address those potential solutions.

My interest and experience is around elegant solutions that tech can provide for education. Here are some:

. @swingedu helps schools with substitute teacher pools, and is also now providing tutoring services. These two things combined can help reduce additional responsibilities placed on teachers

@PAPERlearning provides an on-demand educational support system to support Ts work

@Nimblek12 uses predictive tech to help districts hire and retain teachers that are a better fit for their district's needs

Companies like @edthena, @TORSHCO, and @InsightADVANCE are using video technology so teachers can get better support through feedback and evaluation

If you want read more of what I have to say about this, read the full Business of Learning Letter Insights Edition here: https://www.gerarddawson.com/teacher-workforce-and-hiring