By Justin Tucker
I need to be honest with you about something that has been sitting heavy on my chest.
I hold two Master’s degrees. I served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. I’ve spent years as a School Counselor and Post-Secondary Advisor. I hold Google’s AI Professional certification. I currently teach as an Adjunct Professor.
On paper, I am exactly what school systems say they need. And yet, I cannot secure a full-time role in education.
The Hiring Process Isn’t Designed to Find the Best People
Education hiring systems are slow by design, insular by habit, and risk-averse in ways that screen out capable candidates. There is a particular kind of gatekeeping around cultural fit that keeps unconventional but highly qualified professionals out.
The Cost Isn’t Mine Alone to Bear
When systems fail to place their most prepared educators in front of students, the students lose. We talk about the achievement gap constantly, then allow bureaucratic inertia to push out the very people who could change the trajectory.
So I Did What I’ve Always Done
I founded JustINSPIRE. One of my mentees was just awarded a full scholarship to Columbia University. The impact I couldn’t be paid to have inside the system, I’m having outside of it.
What Needs to Change
Systems must match their stated values. The students of 2026 need educators who understand AI, who have navigated adversity, and who can speak to them about the real world because they’ve lived in it.
