Hollywood has created its share of movies about teachers. And in most of those films, the teaching profession is seen as a noble, almost heroic, position in society. Teachers can be heroic, but it's never the same as in the movies.
Now it seems that there are fewer people who want to become teachers, which is leading to a teacher shortage. According to the Learning Policy Institute, an independent, non-partisan group, it's estimated that there could be a teacher shortage of more than 100,000 teachers nationwide.
On Thursday's Sundial, we spoke to a panel of high school teachers from around the four counties in our listening area: Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe. We started by asking them about the reasons they got into teaching.
We also discussed issues like testing, overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages. They then shared their frustrations and challenges and even gave advice to our callers on how to go forward in the profession.
The conversation continued on Facebook after the program.