New Mexico National Guard members this week started volunteering as substitute teachers amid teacher shortages in the state. Fifty Guard personnel have received teaching licenses, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Public Education Department told The Epoch Times in an email. They were among the 108 who applied for substitute teacher applications after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, on Jan. 19 urged Guard members to get licenses to work as substitute teachers or child care workers. Grisham noted that many child care facilities have temporarily closed, while some schools have stopped teaching in-person classes in recent weeks after staff members tested positive for COVID-19 or were identified as close contacts, forcing them to isolate for five days. Since winter break, 60 school districts and charter schools have shut down in-person learning and 75 child care facilities have partially or completely closed due to staffing shortages. New Mexico …