The education crisis isn't a lack of qualified people, but a lack of jobs with adequate compensation, respect, and support to retain them. It's a problem of professional unsustainability driven by systemic issues, not a scarcity of talent.
"Teacher burnout" incorrectly frames the issue as an individual's failure to cope. The term is a convenient fiction that distracts from the real problem: school systems that create impossible working conditions through inadequate support and unmanageable workloads.
Many schools prioritize general skills over specific historical knowledge. This approach, exemplified by Illinois' sparse history standards, leaves students without the foundational understanding necessary to be informed citizens, even in well-funded schools.
Laws prohibiting "divisive concepts" and increasing parental oversight create a climate of fear. To protect their jobs, teachers avoid controversial topics, leading them to intentionally "keep it vague, default to bland"—in short, to teach poorly.
The most effective path to civic education may not be more civics classes, but "classical schools" that immerse students in foundational texts. This rigorous approach cultivates thoughtful, rational minds—a more fundamental goal than simply teaching civics.
The teaching profession has become a "catch-all" for broader societal failures. Educators are now burdened with non-teaching duties like counseling, discipline, and feeding food-insecure students, making their primary role as educators unsustainable.