Stressed out, burned out and dropping out: Why U.S. teachers are leaving the classroom

We have to think about making salary competitive so that it’s comparable to other professions, but also make targeted policy decisions and incentives for hard-to-staff schools and subjects.

Teaching is a noble profession but also extremely difficult, it requires a lot of support and it is rarely recognized as it should. Not everybody can do it well. Low salaries, long hours, scarce materials, impossible goals, etc. will only make it more and more difficult to get people that could give quality education leave the field just to be able to survive. To solve this excessive turnover problem it is going to be necessary to invest time, effort and a lot of money.

Many are refusing to comply with government vaccine mandates.

Although the 'pandemic is over', the mandates in some districts, persist.

Also, the curriculum being presented by teachers' unions, is not agreed upon by many teachers.

Critical race theory, along with perverse sexual material, unsuitable for elementary to middle schoolers, is also part of curriculum.

Many teachers do not want to participate in this, as it is inappropriate, and has little to do with the subjects they have spent years in preparation to teach.

Many are overburdened with the influx of illegals into the country, due to the open borders.

This is creating unnecessary stress, to an already difficult job.

After 2 plus years of staying home and teaching only remotely,

being able to teach in a classroom under normal conditions, would be welcomed...

But conditions are not normal, in this current climate.

Critical race theory, along with perverse sexual material, unsuitable for elementary to middle schoolers, is also part of curriculum.

Absolutely false.

plasticmonkeyToday  01:02 pm JST

Critical race theory, along with perverse sexual material, unsuitable for elementary to middle schoolers, is also part of curriculum.

Absolutely false.

Propagandic crap. And most sex ed and drug ed in America is just pitiful and outdated. As for 'CRT', most of our history books are full of it. Christopher Columbus didn't 'discover' anything, and he did nothing good or beneficial. It's time to can the lies. The past few years have shown that the old teaching ways are worthless. Turn the tables and burn the fables.

@blue in green

vaccines, masks, CRT, Sexually explicit children's books AAAAND illegal immigration.

All in one post. Bravo.

Blue in Gren

I have a feeling that the news outlet that you have picked up that load from didn't mention:

Low pay.

Lack of respect from parents or students.

A spate of in class shootings.

Lack of teaching resources.

Alternative (better ) opportunities cropping up.

Teaching not being what was imagined.

Dealing with children who have not been vaccinated.

Being forced/obliged to teach to religous bias (Creationism added to the curriculum)

Are there still those checks at the school’s entrance, searching for knives, weapons and drugs in the school bags? Well, if yes, I would say , it doesn’t make sense to risk own life as a teacher there and it also doesn’t make sense to expect that one could teach such little criminal beasts anything.

garymalmgrem

Dealing with unvaccinated children is one of the main issues for quitting?

Seems like a bit of a ridiculous claim. Are you unable to deal with unvaccinated adults? Personally makes no difference to me.

thepersoniamnowToday 07:48 pm JST

Dealing with unvaccinated children is one of the main issues for quitting?

Seems like a bit of a ridiculous claim. Are you unable to deal with unvaccinated adults? Personally makes no difference to me.

Dealing with unvaccinated children is **not "one of the main issues for quitting" and I didn't indicate that is was.**

I have no problem dealing with unvaccinated people (here in Japan) now that my wife's elderly father has passed away. Before that, I felt a deep responsibility NOT to be a vector.

Any teacher (in the States or otherwise) who comes into contact with multiple children every day runs the risk of bringing the virus back to their family.

I am aware that the vaccine does not PREVENT infection (so let's not go there) but teachers are at the front line of the vax vs antivax discussion (?) and it is just one more issue (along with some of the others that I mentioned) that they have to deal with.

And dealing with these mounting issues is a contributing factor to the fact that teachers are leaving the profession, which is what the article is about and what I was seriously commenting on.

You and I can calmly discuss this and other issues like adults, but for many teachers there are Karens (or the male equivalent) on both sides of this and many other issues (sports, academic achievement, school fees) and They are in the centre. Not an enjoyable place to be.

gary

Lack of respect from parents or students.

Lack of respect from administrators and state legislatures as well.

But ask yourself how many times have you read the tired old line, or maybe even repeated it yourself, those who can, do and those who can't, teach. That lie needs to be buried too.

Many are refusing to comply with government vaccine mandates.

Although the 'pandemic is over', the mandates in some districts, persist.

Also, the curriculum being presented by teachers' unions, is not agreed upon by many teachers.

Critical race theory, along with perverse sexual material, unsuitable for elementary to middle schoolers, is also part of curriculum.

Many teachers do not want to participate in this, as it is inappropriate, and has little to do with the subjects they have spent years in preparation to teach.

Many are overburdened with the influx of illegals into the country, due to the open borders.

This is creating unnecessary stress, to an already difficult job.

After 2 plus years of staying home and teaching only remotely,

being able to teach in a classroom under normal conditions, would be welcomed...

But conditions are not normal, in this current climate.

These are absurd, and unevidenced claims, probably picked up from a current event focused fact-lite right-wing entertainment television network, or obscure parts of Reddit.

Teachers are badly paid - for example, the average teacher makes $49,000 in Florida. Unsurprisingly the same state where the insane governor Mike DeSantis is trying to undermine schools by telling them what they can teach and what books they have to remove from the library, as well as encouraging halfwit parents or local busybodies to make their lives a misery by getting elected to school boards.

Unsurprisingly you jumped on to "critical race theory" - (for example that the legacy of slavery still has some impact on society today). Of course the American right hate it, even though few can actually articulate what it is, but they are told by Tucker Carlson (incorrectly) that it is being taught in schools and is making their children atheist Marxist black lives matter supporters, or something.

The thing about unsuitable sexual material is also absurd, but plays into the QAnon aligned idea that liberals are all secretly pedophiles. What the right wants to do with schools is restrict access to information on either race or sexuality that threatens their narrow Christo-fascist outlook. And teachers, who are mostly liberal leaning, caring, and understanding of the educational needs of their students, hate this poison and want out of the profession, or risk getting prosecuted by DeSantis' "Don't say gay" bill.

It's not surprising that American teachers are quitting, when the right-wing media has demonized the profession. Add that to the fact a large number of parents expect the teachers to also parent their kid, while a different large number of parents expect the teacher to never parent their kid.

If you disrespect the profession, the teachers will quit. And who is going to teach your children then? You end up with an uneducated populace, and that does not make for a healthy populace.

Right wingers are hellbent on taking America down.

It's not surprising that American teachers are quitting, when the right-wing media has demonized the profession. Add that to the fact a large number of parents expect the teachers to also parent their kid, while a different large number of parents expect the teacher to never parent their kid.

Same in the UK. The Daily Mail ran quite the campaign against teachers throughout the pandemic