Teaching & Learning

Colleges of education continue to churn out elementary education majors even though many recent graduates won't be able to find jobs, says the 1996 report on teacher supply and demand issued by the American Association for Employment in Education.

At the same time, the report documents the crisis that public schools face in trying to hire speech pathologists and teachers to work with students who are multiply handicapped, physically impaired, or suffering from behavior disorders, said John W. Schaerer, the president of the employment group, formerly known as the Association for School, College, and University Staffing.

"Like the old Soviet factory which turned out horse-drawn plows as the country begged for tractors, American colleges and universities seem somehow unable or unwilling to prepare men and women for the teaching jobs public schools are desperate to fill," said Mr. Schaerer, the director of personnel services for...