♪ >> good evening, i'm jeff bennett. tonight on pbs news weekend. dater exodus. two former teachers of the year explain why so many are quitting the profession they love. >> unfortunately children are the ones who pay the price but it's hard because as teachersers we have to take care of ourselves. >> and a plan to build a rocket launch site in michigan is fueling concerns. plus, a look at the f.d.a's decision to allow over the counter sales of hearing aids. all that and more on tonight's pbs news weekend. ♪

>> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wirelesservice that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of plans. visit consumercellular .. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. jeff: good evening. it's great to be with you. and we start tonight in ukraine where there is international concern surrounding europe's largest nuclear power plant. the plant, which is under russian control, has seen artillery shelling nearby, prompting fears of a milwaukee already catastrophe. russian president put on friday said he would allow international in thors into the plant but he would not say how soon. a drone was shot down at the headquarters of its black sea athlete in crimea this morning. no deaths have been reported. in the somali cal of mogadishu, armed islamic militants stormed automobile -- a upscale hotel in a tomorrow -- terror attack that began late las night.

bullets filled into the hayat hotel. at least 20 or dead and an unknown number of gunmen are believed to be hold-up atop the hotel. the islamic extremist group, al-shabab, when that is -- has ties with coiled claimed responsibility for the attack. the public service commission regular late public utilities across the state. the high court left the door open for another appeal but the move was a rare example of the conservative court siding with voters. and a federal judge has ruled that south carolina senator lindsey graham must appear before a special grand jury next week in atlanta. he had sought to avoid testifying in a probe whether former perspective trump ill gall tried to overturn bi

biden's election results. he said his calls to officials after the 2020 election were legislative activity but it says in court filings that graham's actions appear interconnected with trump. and still to come, in michigan, the dakota detective over developing a proposed rocket launch site and the f.d.a's new rule allowinghe sale of over the counter hearing aids. >> this is pbs news weekend from weta studios in washington. home of the pbs newshour we can -- weeknights on pbs. jeff: as many students held back to the classroom, many are urning to to understaffed schools. the national center for education statistics says 44% of public schools will report teaching advantagecyings at the start of this year and more than half from resigtions. the nation appears to be

reckoning with annex does of educators. joining us are two standout teachers. lee allen taught math, coached wrestling and was teacher of the year in georgia's largest school district and corcia was the fist small albany to be named minnesota teacher of the year. great to talk with you. you have said y did not leave the profession entirely willingly. what was the breaking point is this >> continually being devalued and not feeling like i could teach the truth and it was also justhe idea that we, as a profession, didn't land here by any choice. we didn't mysteriously come about this teacher shortage. there has been a continuous deval weighs of typers and defunding of education for decades. jeff: lee, does any of that

resonate with you? what specific ways did covid, remote learning, the isolation change your ability to team? >> yeah, i think you definitionly -- deferent li saw the isolation in those formative teenage years form a lot of negative mental health on students. and afterwards, schools wanted to keep up appearances and make it look like things were just as good as 2019. but they're not. we don't reflect reality and you're seeing teachers throwing up their hands and saying i'm done. jeff: there are people who say it's a pay and respect shortage. what do you make of that? >> i agree with that. i think about how there's a salary shortage, there are incompetent wages for the work that we do and i also feel there's this expectation that we do free labor without any

foresight or thought about the families we have and the other roles we carry besides teaching. there's also a lot of blaming students for them not showing up the way they should and i think the idea that covid has really illuminated a lot of the systemic failure we've been facing as brought me more and more to conclude that we need to do better by our students, in flash our students of color. jeff: would you have left the profession if you had the resoces you say you need? >> absolutely. if i had the resources to meet the needs of my students and not feel the burden that all of their needs fell on my shoulders, including food and housing and other resources, i would still be teaching. it's something i've done for a third of my life and i don't take it lightly. jeff: you spoke about this in

our conversation, that there was an emotional toll to the work that was required of you. as a somali woman, as a muslim woman, that was emotional labor there that wasn't required of your colleagues. how did that manifest for you? >> we call that the invisible tax. it's the tax that i pay for showing up as myself unapologetically, teaching black history, teaching the truths about our american history and also uplifting all of my scholars, particularly bill black and brown and indigenous scholars to see their ful potential. a lot of that work and revolutionary. rare, not common in the school house and to do that work requires y to give a large part of yourself. jeff: it sounds like being a teacher was the work you were called to do. did you experience any guilt in stepping away? >> significant guilt. i was the only somali teacher

rat my school. we have a large somali poplation in many of the schools i've served. so i knew tha taking away that ability for me to be a role model or a connector or leeson to not just by students but my community would be a huge loss but i have found joy in protecting myself and valuing who i am and choosing myself at the end of the day. jeff: lee, a lot of people focus on the pay part of this and that's certainly important but it sounds like in talking to both of you that it's more than just the salary. >> definitely. i think people should knowhe rep caution of what's happening. -- repercussions of what's happening. we have a shrinking pipeline of students finishing and going to college. and a lot of the peoplthat are staying, if they're in a bad situation are just trying to hang on until they can get to retirement and they're not going

toe as effective as teachers. so you're losing the highest part of your talent pool. unfortunately children are the ones who pay the price but as teachers we have to take care of ourselves and we still have individual lives and feelings and we have meantal health to worry about as well so if things don't get better, i really do worry about the future. jeff: it's really valuable to have the perspectives of two former teachers of the year. thanks so much to you both. >> thank you, jeff. >> thank you. ♪ jeff: typically when you think of rocket lawrence, you think of came canaveral or the kennedy space center. now a group in michigan is attempting to build a new launch site alongside lake sphere orr but many michigan locals are fighting to keep the plan from

taking off. special correspondent megan thompson reports. >> after more than three decades as a trial attorney in chicago, denny ferraro looked forward to a quiet retirement. he moved to michigan's upper peninsula, an area he'd visited as a child. >> and i could never forget the beauty of the landscape or the fresh water. >> then three years after he bought his retreat on lake superior, he received some unwelcome news. >> you sue -- see that beautiful program tori of land with the beautiful sand? that's where it's going to be built. >> that is a space port for launching small and medium-sized rockets. >> we are looking forward to this exciting time to bring michigan into the space state status. >> in this video from the "detroit freepress," the project was announced in july 2020 by gm

brown. the group he represents also wants to build a horizontal air site where an aircraft carrying a pay lloyd takes off from a runway and a command cter in other participates of the state. the launch pad in the u.p. would be used to launch so-called l low-orbit is the into space. >> anyone who has a satellite is already using low earth orbit. >> james says the 5,000 satellites bristled everything from g.p.s. to broad band internet net to images of earth. >> they run from what's going on in the oceans, through agriculture. they're already helping the military enormously. >> he says other things that sound like science fiction now could be reality soon. things like space tourism and hypersonic flight. >> it would be going from d.c. to shiedny in an -- sidny in tan

hour. >> as the technology takes off, so does the interest in building more launch sites. on top of the two sites owned by elon musk and others many are being considered. somewhere between 15 and 20 more communities, james said. >> it will look like a vibrant, robust space industry contributing to hundreds of jocks. >> the michigan space agency received $2 million from the state to study and form its plans, which it said would create 650 new jocks and potentially put millions into michigan's economy. >> it could have a significant impact. >> christopher lane leads the partnership. one of the area's mainly

academic -- economic groups >> at this point we're supportive of it as long as it plays out and the community decides that's what is helpful. >> that decision is largely not decided. it's home to wild live like bears and eagles and highly popular trials and beaches and sits on the shores of lake interior. >> it's the cleanest of the great lakes. it's the wildest of the great lakes. it's all these superlatives. it's already to capture in words. >> karl lundqvist leads the superior watershed parership, one of several groups opposing the project because of environmental concerns. >> first and foremost is water quality, protecting lake superior. habitat impacts, light pollution, noise pollution, quity of life. all these issues.

>> he points out that local and international groups have been working for decades to protect lake sphere orr from development and climate change. >> now these outside developers come in and want to plop a rocket launch right outside of our community. from a climate standpoint it's appalling. >> another concern? safety. according to the f.a.a. around 11% of all lawrence result in a mishatch. that means potential road closures and even evacuations. >> t launch here makes no sense. >> denny also doesn't think a space port here would be a boon to an economy. he got his hands on a taxpayer funded report by the i.q.m. research institute that previously hadn't been released to the public. it estimated the space projects combined would give annual income equivalent to two

decision arable -- additional fast food projects. >> i want t see this area preserved for whenever comes and lives here. it says protect lake spear your. >> he started a nonprofit called citizens for a clean and safe lake superior. thereto -- there's a billboard on the main highway. a local clege student started an online petition opposing the launch pad that's gathered signatures from over 25,000 people all over the world. the opposition could spell trouble in camden georgia, public outrange has been holding up a project there. to move forward in the u.p., the spaceport promoters will need to complete environmental and safety studies, get a license from the f.a.a. and gain the

approvalf the public township. darlene turner, the countyship supervisor says the association has yet to meet with the township and gave them no heads up about their plans. >> first time we heard it was when there was a note in the court. >> you think it will pass? >> my personal opinion is no. >> if that happens, turner says the spaceport backers can turn to the sports. the michigan manufactureerer's association declined our interview requests but via email, a spokesperson questioned the validity of the economic report and wrote, new and greater launch technologies, including electronic propulsion systems continue to be developed that willlessen environmental impact. but those won't say denny.

>> it's something we need to protect not only for our lifetime but for our generation and generations to come. >> from pow elle township, michigan. -- powell township, michigan. ♪ jeff: nearly 48 million americans have some level of hearing loss but because of the high cost of hearing aids, many who need them go without but that could soon change. this past week, the f.d.a cleared the way for hearing aids to be sold over the counter, a new rule that could expand access to hearing devices for unless. barbara kelly, executive director of the hearing loss association of america is with us. great to have you with us. >> thank you, jeff. >> as i understand, only about 30% of people who need hearing aids are getting them and the

biggest limitation has been cost so how significant is that move by the f.d.a? >> it's a huge move. in fact, 0% of people who could benefit from hearing aids don't get them. it's not only cost that stops people. another is the barrier to care. where do they go? it's a murky process and also, there's stigma. some people just don't want to take that step to treat their hearing loss because they associate it with older people so we are really excited about this new avenue or this new pathway opening up. adding to the traditional pathway to care. jeff: does this -- does this pathway apply to everybody where hearing loss? what groups would be most affected? >> that's tha great question. it specifically is for adults with self-per steveed mild to model rat hearing loss. jeff: i've heard people compare this to going to a cvs or wall

greens and buying a pair of reader glasses. is that aair comparison? >> i think it's a good analogy because before you couldn't get glasses in your mainly store and so hearing aids will also be available like the way readers are. however, it's really important to not make that comparison too literally because if you put only a pair of glasses they generally will correct your vision but when you put on hearing said -- aids, they don't necessarily correct your hearing. jeff: what are some other important questions that people should be asking if they're in the market for one of these overthe counter hearing aids? >> first of all, they should definitely read the box. we don't know what kind of products are going to be on the market now. we have an idea but it takes time to get used to a hearing aid. your brain has to adjust, your

audience tori system has to adjust so people should look about return policies and one of the things that our organization pushed for with the f.d.a were $45 return policies. the pham doesn't have this jurisdiction. it's left up to the states or the mastererers so if there is a return policy, the mufacturer has to put it only the box saying so. if they don't have a return policy, there won't be anything on the box so i think consumers should definitely look for 245 and if they -- that product doesn't work for them, they should try another and if need be, they they be walking down the path to see a hearing care provider. a hearing loss specialist. jennifer: i was surprised in learning that hearing loss can affect other aspects of loss. hearing loss means a greater chance of developing dementia.

give us a sense of the overall impact of hearing loss on one's alth. >> well, through hearing is how we connect with all our relationships. on the job, in our family life and when that starts to break down, it interrupt everything. we like to say there's no such thing as a small hearing loss but now we know that untreated hearing loss is associated with falls and falls are the number one reason that older people go to the eney room. with isolation. ifou start having a problem commune indicating because you can't hear and because you can't preppiest -- participate, you start to withdraw and we know during covid that isolation leads to depression and anxiety and there's also a link with thema so it's really important that people start considering hearing health as part of

erall health. jennifer: barbara, thanks again for your time. >> thank you, jeff, i appreciate it. ♪ jeff: and that is our program for tonight. i'm jeff bennett. for all of us here at pbs news weekend. thanks for spending part of your saturday with us >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by -- and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

♪

announcer: this program was made possible in part by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ tj: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome two superstar groups, charlie thomas' dazzlin' drifters and jay & the americans. ♪ only in america ♪ ♪ can a guy from anywhere ♪ ♪ go to sleep a pauper ♪ ♪ and wake up a millionaire ♪ ♪ only in america ♪ ♪ can a kid without a cent ♪