Is there an excess of teachers in Alaska?

I can understand why rural schools would need H1Bs. They would probably need to pay a premium to attract teachers from out of state, not to mention Alaska. And rural schools are the least able to actually do that.

Maybe if the current admin really wants to keep the $100k fee, they can extend an olive branch by either waiving the fee or helping to fund American teachers to move to fill those jobs.

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Starman_Jones 44 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

My sister was a schoolteacher in Alaska. They pay a premium, but it’s still not a life that most Americans are cut out for, including me. That means the schools have to choose between giving these kids subpar teachers who are happy to live up there, or miserable teachers who are only doing it for the money. Or, we can hire foreign teachers who are qualified AND are happy to teach up there.

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throwaway85825 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

There's as many teachers in Alaska as they're willing to pay for.

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nsagent 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Having lived in bumblefuck Alaska for a year, I can honestly say that they do in fact pay more, but it's also super expensive to live in rural Alaska.

Likely a bigger issue is that very few people want to live in a town of 3000 people or less that isn't connected to the interstate road system. Money can only do so much to fix that.

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throwaway85825 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Some people live in a pressurized bubble for a month for saturation diving. If the price is right you can get someone to do almost anything.

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fc417fc802 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That is true but I think the salient observation here is that it's only realistic to pay so much for education. So either you can't have children in such a town, or you're forced to homeschool, or (I guess what's being suggested is) you import someone willing to work an undesirable job if it gets them into the country.

I think there's an important difference between importing labor to undercut qualified americans in a populated area versus importing labor to do a job that the vast majority of qualified americans will have no interest in at any reasonable pay rate.

	▲	8note an hour ago \| parent [-]
		you could also export the children, or the whole family, to a place that can support teachers

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allarm 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It doesn't matter how much money you have if you can't spend it.

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throwaway85825 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That applies to a ton of people in the military. People are capable of delayed gratification.

	▲	thisisit 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		What is the federal budget for military vs education? Which one increases and which one decreases most of the time?
	▲	redserk 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Repeating trite platitudes only makes your argument sound weak and tired.

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RobotToaster an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Does Amazon not deliver to Alaska?

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s1artibartfast 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yes, there is supply and demand. However, that doesnt mean a government cant restrict supply.

	▲	dani__german an hour ago \| parent [-]
		It precisely and explicitly demands that the government restrict supply of foreign labor, as that increases the fair market value of American wage earners. It increases the opportunities for young Americans to trade their labor for a start in life, to support their families, and to make our nation stronger. Importing foreign labor makes it more difficult to justify hiring Americans, and undermines the nation's long term success for short term gains. It is effectively an Anti-investment.