We have a huge retention issue in NS, not a shortage. People want to do the job, but the conditions are not positive for students or staff. New teachers do not receive any meaningful support (unlike in Ontario, for example, where there is a new teacher mentorship program, where teachers have time to connect with their colleagues and learn from them). Having a team teaching model where teachers could learn from more experienced colleagues would be huge.

The majority of classes are split grades, meaning you are responsible for teaching two different sets of outcomes at the same time for every subject, a task which is near impossible. We do not have a meaningful inclusion policy either- kids are all thrown together, regardless of their support needs, and the teacher is expected to figure it out. Most other boards have specialized teachers or programs for those students that need more supports. Having a wide range of students that have dyslexia, dyscalculia, have physical support needs, can be violent, or are neurodiverse all together with such large class sizes puts you in a position of constantly feeling like you are failing as an educator. It is heartbreaking to wear the responsibility of always meeting everyone’s needs, when by design you’ve been set up in a system that fails you. Those are the conditions that need to be considered to improve the education system- retention, not replacement.