They graduate wanting to change lives and the world. What happens in the first few years of teaching? Why do teachers go into other fields?
Why Not Ask?
Teachers know why they leave. Why not ask them? They will tell you. New graduates have enthusiasm and want to help students as much as they can. They want to perform miracles. What is the factor that forces them to leave the profession they spent 4-5 years studying?
California
18,000 teachers quit the profession each year in California. 18,000. The National Center for Educational Statistics did a study to find out why. Why do so many leave and what can California do about it?
The teachers in the survey that did not quit said they stayed because
they were supported by administration
they were supported by staff
Those that were leaving stated they were leaving because they were dissatisfied with the pay or conditions.
Conditions
What conditions are they talking about?
More and more children are coming without family support.
Teachers are required to do more and more in a limited period of time.
Teachers are expected to be experts in all fields.
Too little planning time.
Too much paperwork.
Unreliable assistance from the district.
Rarely have a day off.
Lack of support.
Teachers work weekends without pay.
Teachers spend summer vacations taking college classes or preparing for the next school year.
Students always need more time and attention.
The study, A Possible Dream: Retaining California Teachers So All Students Can Learn, gave six recommendations.
School administrators should continuously assess teaching conditions.
California should increase education funding to at least adequate levels.
Introduce administrative policies that support teachers' instructional needs.
Principals should focus on "high-quality teaching and learning conditions."
The state should establish standards for teaching and learning conditions.
Administrators should address specific challenges in retaining special education teachers.
California is not the only state having problems retaining teachers. New York City has provided teacher housing to attract teachers to the city.
Iowa
Iowa has a declining population in smaller, rural areas. There is already an existing teacher shortage in key areas:
math
science
foreign language
special education
The state of Iowa recently passed the "Teacher Quality" law. Salaries have been raised to bring Iowa up to the 25th position in the nation. However, Iowa has forgotten that while they are phasing in this plan over two years, other states are raising teacher salaries, as well. It remains to be seen if this small increase in salary will be enough to keep teachers in Iowa or in the profession.
Education in Crises
Education, as a whole, is in crises. Other professions are earning much more annually and the gap between teaching and the private sector is growing. Many visionaries like Thomas Frey, see a different future for education.
Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
The copyright of the article Teachers Are Quitting in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish Teachers Are Quitting in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
well the reason why teachers quit is that the salary increase is too low
200-500 in most districts per year. Starting pay is great. But, if you work
10 years as a teacher you will not be making much more than what you
started with. 10 years in business profession with the same starting pay
you will at least 3% raise every year. Also, teaching is more dangerous
than it has been in the past. So too all school districts even though the
starting pay is good you still have to compete with the business world and
medical.
Oct 23, 2008 10:26 AM
Guest
:
well the reason why teachers quit is that the salary increase is too low
200-500 in most districts per year. Starting pay is great. But, if you work
10 years as a teacher you will not be making much more than what you
started with. 10 years in business profession with the same starting pay
you will at least 3% raise every year. Also, teaching is more dangerous
than it has been in the past. So too all school districts even though the
starting pay is good you still have to compete with the business world and
medical.
Dec 18, 2008 7:38 PM
Guest
:
I'm a second-year teacher with a Master's degree who teaches for the
premiere school district in the state of Colorado, and I can't wait to go
back to grad school so I can get out of education. The pay is too low, I
barely get a day off, I work countless unpaid hours, there is little
support from administration and family, students are unruly as ever, and
I'm public enemy No. 1 for administrators, parents, and students alike. The
list goes on and on. Parents need to stop being their child's best friend
and start making them accountable.
Mar 10, 2009 8:13 PM
Guest
:
You forgot the pay. 37,500 for 7 years of hard work in Texas.
Mar 30, 2009 8:55 AM
Adam Steed :
My mother has been a life-long educator in Texas and more recently part of
a pilot program in our home town's ISD that pairs experienced teachers with
first- and second-years. The program is a few years old now and the local
retention rate jumped from 50 per cent to 98 per cent. Ours is a mid-sized
market. I've heard it doesn't work as well in the larger markets, but what
they've found is that, while pay is important, having someone to go to who
has been there and gone through it is invaluable to new teachers.
Apr 2, 2009 6:35 AM
Guest
:
In CT there is little support from administration, and the pay is horrible.
Special Ed teachers have three times the paper work than their regular ed
counterparts. Children comes to us with little parent support, and are
often violent with severe cognitive issues. The job frankly is immpossible.
My friends in the field of Sp. Ed. have left within 3-5 years because of
job burnout. I personally have been assaulted twice on the job, once
requiring a visit to the emergency room. I stayed in the job for 28 years,
before burnout forced me to leave. I still work in a high school, as an ISS
"moniter" for severly little pay. I enjoyed reading your
pages.
Jun 30, 2009 10:00 AM
Guest
:
Well, it's no surprise that good teachers are leaving the profession
because they cannot make ends meet with the 200-500 pay increase that they
SOMETIMES get. That's even hit or miss there - there have been a lot of
times where I have not received a pay increase at all - even when the
economy is doing well. I just got my master's degree and that added
another 500 to my salary, which is insulting. I am planning on leaving the
profession in the next year and working with a company where I can make
more money.
Money aside, there are also issues with
disrespectful students and parents. A lot of times parents are running
these schools and it causes a lot of stress for the teachers because they
do not understand the needs of the school and just want their needs met.
The state is another issue - they are constantly attacking schools and
taking away important staff and money.
Safety is another issue.
Some schools are very unsafe and there are violent students and parents who
are controlling these schools due to weak administrations who do not step
in to help teachers. There were times where I came across either a parent
or a student who threatened to harm me physically or even tried to come at
me because they didn't like a grade or nothing I did to help their child
satisfied them. These violent issues are never addressed and brushed under
the carpet while the teachers are encouraged to never speak about them.
Finally, teaching is a very thankless job. Teachers face harsh
criticism everyday and are not appreciated by the media or state and
government officials. I think most people, like myself, get into this
profession understanding this but after several years of dealing with it,
we realize that it is just not worth it - especially if you want to have a
family and live a comfortable life.
If people are really
serious about keeping teachers in this profession for the long haul then
they need to address all of these issues - these are the reasons why
schools lose good teachers.
