Running Out of Water

I am pretty sure this past weekend, 60 minutes said if we don’t do something soon, in 5 years an area in Utah will run out of water. I am not sure why I keep hearing that statistic in my head. Is it because lately I have enjoyed 96 ounces of water daily, thanks to my new found love of a Brita water pitcher- I am a slightly reformed water out of the refrigerator door drinker due to a recent visit to my best friend’s home and my rediscovery of the water picther. Or… could it be that the world is “now short staffed” and we should be kind to those who showed up? It seems like we are running out of everything. Medication, baby formula, feminine hygiene products, and it appears we are headed to not having ample water supplies. If you are reading this, you were fortunate to survive the great 2020 Toilet Paper shortage that began just as our world entered pandemic days.

I think though the bigger question is, what has the world come to with regard to our “shortages”? There are staffing shortages everywhere, just about everywhere you go- you see “We are hiring” signs. Although I realize I am quite close to the educator shortage crisis, even if I wasn’t… I still say we need to pause and really reflect on how this particular shortage will impact our country and our economy. There literally is no one to teach our future. States across the country are addressing the shortages in creative and innovative ways- because there literally are no teachers. The shortage of teachers specifically will have a devastating and lasting impact on our community. The trauma our students experienced due to the isolation they experienced during the pandemic, mean our students need more not less.

Not enough teachers, no bus drivers and record number of retirements in education translate to devastating impact on school systems across the country. We need to find ways to address our educator shortages and while we are at it, do whatever we need to do to save our water.