These days, in many countries fewer and fewer people want to become teachers,

particularly in secondary schools.

What are the reasons for this and how could the problem be solved?
1. Research:
 Problems  Solution
 Low salaries  solution: double the salary
 Students’ bad behaviour  solution: parents need to teach their children in a stricter
way to respect teachers
 Heavy workload  solution: provide educational staff with assistants
 Long working hours  solution: allocate teachers periods to relax; hire more teachers
 Teachers feel that their subjects are not important for some students  solution: allow
students to study their favourite subjects
2. Outline:
- Cause 1: Financial pressures  solution 1: increase teachers’ salary
- Cause 2: Heavy workload  solution 2: offer more benefits; hire teaching assistants
- Cause 3: Students’ disrespect  solution 3: demand support from parents
3. Essay:
Indubitably, teaching is deemed one of the most important professions because it
cultivates talents for the country. However, in recent years we have seen a gradual decline in the
number of secondary teachers. This essay will discuss the causes of this trend and suggest some
possible solutions to the problem.
First of all, the drop in the number of secondary school teachers has to do with the fact
that their salary is fairly low in relation to other jobs. Hence, this renders a career in teaching
much less attractive than, for example, that in medicine. It is an undeniable fact that many young
people have abandoned their dream of becoming a teacher for fear of not having enough money
to live on. Moreover, numerous teachers have to support a large family, and the meagre income
from teaching may lead them to consider a career change. Therefore, in order to attract more
people to teaching, the government simply need to increase teachers’ wages substantially.
Another reason for the decrease is the heavy workload that teachers have to cope with. In
fact, the majority of them has to perform numerous tasks on a daily basis. These not only entail
teaching but also marking students’ papers and preparing lessons. Therefore, teachers are likely
to be inundated with work all the time, which gives them almost no opportunity to unwind and
recharge their batteries. Granting them sabbatical leave and providing them with assistants may
help solve the problem.
Finally, students’ disrespect is also a major cause of fewer teachers of secondary
education. Today, it is not unusual to see students offend their teachers by both verbal abuse and
bad manners. Since this is likely to frustrate and demoralize teachers, it is necessary for schools
make a collaborative effort involving parents. Parents are those who can exert considerable
influence on children’s behaviour.
To encapsulate, the shortage of secondary teachers is without doubt a critical issue
because this may have an adverse impact on the country’s development. Therefore, it is urgent
that the government take steps to settle it. They should offer a big increase in teachers’s salaries,
give them leave, hire more assistants and cooperate with families in moral education.