Across the nation, hundreds of schools are facing the common serious problem of teacher shortages. The alarmingly low number of teachers in the United States creates debate over whether or not students are receiving a quality education. “'It's a crisis,' says Bill McDiarmed, dean of the School of Education at the University of North Carolina. 'I don't know who's going to teach kids in the future'” (DeNisco 1). Oklahoma has myriad teacher shortage areas, which may be part of the reason Oklahoma is ranked 48th in education nationally (Robson 1). Deficient areas in the first state include a wide variety of subjects for the 2015-16 school year alone, including, but not limited to: art, elementary education, foreign language, mathematics, music, physical education/health, science, social studies, and special education (Clement 125). Why do educators participate in early termination? How does the lack of teachers affect the quality of education? What is Oklahoma doing to recruit and replace vacant positions? If Oklahoma doesn't solve its teacher shortage soon, education in the youngest state will continue to spiral toward failure. This analysis of Oklahoma's teacher shortage will evaluate the reasons why teachers resign, the effect of their absence, and the various ways in which they attempt to fill their positions. First, there are several reasons why teachers resign. A huge factor contributing to this problem is pay. Oklahoma teachers receive extremely low salaries. In a study conducted by Tulsa World, it is evident that Oklahoma educators, compared to neighboring states, not only start at a lower salary, but continue to receive a lower average salary even with five years of experience, data shows of Tulsa Public Schools (TPS), Coffeyville,......middle of paper......find states for a higher salary. Their absence creates many problems, which mainly affect the quality of education in the previous state. As Oklahoma attempts to fill and replenish the positions, it fails, largely because teachers in Oklahoma do not have a realistic salary. They try to solve this problem unsuccessfully through the use of emergency certification. Holdenville Superintendent Randy Davenport comments, "I really fear that we are just at the beginning of the teacher shortage crisis, and this is going to require more than a short-term solution... We are a long way from the end of this crisis."'” (Watson 8). Davenport makes an excellent point. Oklahoma simply needs to fix this problem by raising educator salaries. If Oklahomans want to improve on being 48th in education, they will have to begin to understand and recognize the true value of quality teachers.