Even for a seasoned math teacher, jobs are scarce

Randy Muske
In spite of his 10 years of teaching experience and Master's degree in mathematics, Randy Muske couldn't find a job teaching math this year. One principal told Muske it would be too expensive to hire an experienced teacher like him.
MPR Photo/Curtis Gilbert

With politicians as different as Tim Pawlenty and Barack Obama pushing to improve math and science education, you might think teachers who specialize in those fields would have no problem finding work.

But that's not always the case.

Randy Muske lost his job as a high school math teacher earlier this year, when the south central Minnesota school district where he worked shut down. But even though he has a Master's Degree in mathematics and 10 years of teaching experience, he hasn't been able to find a new job.

Minnesota Public Radio News is profiling some of the more than 200,000 Minnesotans currently unemployed to see how the experience is affecting their lives.

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