Curious as to why the President called out just a few specific areas of need in education?

[Godhumor]

The following is the official report from the DOE on teacher shortage areas by state. You will notice that specialist and "sciences" utterly dominates the list for the vast majority of the states (Some simply listed ever core subject as a need) for 2010-2011. Conspicuously underrepresented are general elementary ed teacher, social studies/civics (What I used to teach) and other "liberal arts" areas.

The fact is, Obama's "Sputnik" moment is an apt one--nation-wide we need so-called "hard skills" teachers.

Edit: Suppose linking the list would help http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf

[DrDan]

1. link?

[Godhumor]

2. Oops, yeah, that would probably help

Edited into the OP.

[DrDan]

3. unfortunately - having a shortage does not imply teachers will be hired

[Godhumor]

4. But it speaks a lot more to, if there is hiring, what the majority of hiring will be

Basically, as hard of a climate as it is for teachers right now--and it is very hard--new or out of work teachers in areas like social studies and general elementary education, as a whole, are going to struggle a lot more than, say, a science teacher.