> Adding more teachers basically means you’re pulling from the bottom of the barrel,

Ask the good teachers what would make the job more attractive to them.

I can make wild guesses...

* Better pay. (Seems 100% obvious to a techbro forum.)

* Better administrations.

* Better career flexibility.

* No colleagues of the crappy variety.

* Less curricula mandated by politicians.

* Students taught well in prerequisite classes.

* Families helped with difficulties that translate to behavior problems.

* Covid sensitivity (e.g., no forbidding mask use in a classroom of germ factories during a pandemic).

...but you really have to ask the good teachers, not guess.

I would quit my job in an instant to become a high school teacher if the pay was better. But more than I want to teach, I want to be able to support my family. I save most of what I make in my tech job, and I'll look at becoming a teacher 20 years from now after the kids are on their own.

> I'll look at becoming a teacher 20 years from now after the kids are on their own.

If you're leaning towards being a teacher, wouldn't it benefit your kids more to teach them now, while they're still young?

I’m not the GP, but them becoming a teacher isn’t likely to have any particular effect on their own kids, right?

It’s best for their own kids if mom/dad makes good money and can pay for things like private school or tutoring.

Same. Unfortunately, I don't have four years to get a teaching degree, let alone a master's degree, let alone $50,000 to pay for one.

> Unfortunately, I don't have four years to get a teaching degree, let alone a master's degree, let alone $50,000 to pay for one.

Depending on what your undergrad is (preferably STEM), there are plenty of districts that will hire you, let you teach on a provisional license with a crash course, and pay for you to get your teaching qualification.

See this article for some examples:

https://edsource.org/2022/what-you-need-to-know-to-become-a-...

In CA, the term of art to look for is “intern” or “internship”.

    if the pay was better

What is it in your school district? What level do you need?

I was a teacher for a while and the main fustration we had was class size. Large classes (maybe more than 20 pupils but 15 was really nice size) were really hard to control and engage whereas smaller classes were always a pleasure.