[philsnow]

A "jobs program" can work for unskilled labor like the Civil Conservation Corps ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps ).

Being a teacher is like being a nurse: it really takes the right kind of person to do the job well. Having more bodies in classrooms isn't a solution by itself.

[wfhBrian]

There are plenty of capable people, but having to take a vow of poverty understandably prevents a lot of them from becoming educators.

[sdenton4]

There's enormous turnover is teaching due to too large class sizes and general bullshit; I imagine some combination of removing bullshit and raising pay will make it easy for many people with credentials to come back.

One can also take a longer view and give better incentives to get the teaching credentials in the first place. It's not at all impossible to grow the number of teachers ethically.