Have you notice the shortage of teachers in your school?

[Anonymous]

There is a national teacher shortage. Educators were already feeling burdened by the expectation that beyond teaching content, they have been expected to be social workers. Then along comes a pandemic, rising school shootings, racial upheaval, political polarization. And their friends are all working from home and that looks really appealing.

So yes. Veteran teachers area burned out and quitting. The number of college students who are majoring in education or say that they'll pursue a career in education? Those numbers fell off a cliff in recent years.

Treat your children's teachers well. Pay them. Discipline your children and teach them to show respect. It's a really hard job and it's paid poorly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a national teacher shortage. Educators were already feeling burdened by the expectation that beyond teaching content, they have been expected to be social workers. Then along comes a pandemic, rising school shootings, racial upheaval, political polarization. And their friends are all working from home and that looks really appealing.

So yes. Veteran teachers area burned out and quitting. The number of college students who are majoring in education or say that they'll pursue a career in education? Those numbers fell off a cliff in recent years.

Treat your children's teachers well. Pay them. Discipline your children and teach them to show respect. It's a really hard job and it's paid poorly.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school is this about

There is a school that if it’s mentioned the thread will be blocked or deleted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school is this about

There is a school that if it’s mentioned the thread will be blocked or deleted.

Just stop. OP has already said this isn’t about Maret. You need to stop forcing it into the conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school is this about

There is a school that if it’s mentioned the thread will be blocked or deleted.

Just stop. OP has already said this isn’t about Maret. You need to stop forcing it into the conversation.

I never said it was Maret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a national teacher shortage. Educators were already feeling burdened by the expectation that beyond teaching content, they have been expected to be social workers. Then along comes a pandemic, rising school shootings, racial upheaval, political polarization. And their friends are all working from home and that looks really appealing.

So yes. Veteran teachers area burned out and quitting. The number of college students who are majoring in education or say that they'll pursue a career in education? Those numbers fell off a cliff in recent years.

Treat your children's teachers well. Pay them. Discipline your children and teach them to show respect. It's a really hard job and it's paid poorly.

+1

Adding another plus one. We're in a K-8 Catholic school and every time a teacher leaves, feels like the replacement is way less skilled. They have a hard time filling positions because they are so underpaid, it's ridiculous. The bonus of working at a Catholic schools, other than religious commitment, used to be discipline policies--classroom management should be easier than in public because they get to choose who attends. But I think since COVID that's no longer true. Even the veteran teachers seems flummoxed by kids' inability to focus and stay on task. And there seems to be more kids with learning differences than ever. It's too much for the teachers to manage without more staff, which isn't coming.

[Anonymous]

We are having the same issue at our K-8 with teachers leaving mid year.

Are teachers hired as at will employees where they could resign anytime?

Shouldn't they have contracts for each school year? I understand family and health emergencies happen but the changes have been way too frequent at our school this year.

[Anonymous]

The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having the same issue at our K-8 with teachers leaving mid year.

Are teachers hired as at will employees where they could resign anytime?

Shouldn't they have contracts for each school year? I understand family and health emergencies happen but the changes have been way too frequent at our school this year.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

Teachers also leave mid due to……

Military / government spouse transfer
Medical issue with self
Medical issue with family member
Need to relocate due to job loss in family
Need to relocate for spouse job and commute is to far for low pay
Got a position at another school that child attends, will attend
Need a higher paying position due to spouse job loss
Have children at home struggling and need to stay at home for a period of time

Seriously it could be so many things

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having the same issue at our K-8 with teachers leaving mid year.

Are teachers hired as at will employees where they could resign anytime?

Shouldn't they have contracts for each school year? I understand family and health emergencies happen but the changes have been way too frequent at our school this year.

Yes, teachers sign contracts. Yes, they can still leave mid-year.

No, you cannot force a teacher to teach at your school. They are not your indentured servants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having the same issue at our K-8 with teachers leaving mid year.

Are teachers hired as at will employees where they could resign anytime?

Shouldn't they have contracts for each school year? I understand family and health emergencies happen but the changes have been way too frequent at our school this year.

"At-will" typically refers to employees working at the will of their employer, who can terminate at-will employees at anytime. We outlawed slavery a long time ago, so no employee is required to work for a particular employer, regardless of whether or not they have an employment contract. There may be penalties associated with an employee leaving before their contractual term - like an obligation to repay bonuses or forfeiture of other things - but an employment contract can't prohibit a teacher from leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

Any of our teachers who joined since 2020 seem to be in it for the lifestyle, not the career. Post-Covid, our school brought in a lot of teachers who are American but had been teaching abroad at international schools (they returned due to long COVID shutdowns or legitimate worries about getting stuck in certain countries) to backfill retirements.

Originally I was excited because I thought they might teach with more rigor and could bring different perspectives to our pretty homogenous community. Unfortunately, I can now see that we got stuck with a bunch of people who pursued international school roles as a way to prolong travel in their 20s or because they aren’t suited to more intense jobs. Our school also gives teachers tons of independence to make the curriculum their own, which is not great for teachers used to working off a very specific, standard curriculum.

My child has spent most of the past two years bringing home teachers pay teachers nonsense worksheets and watching videos. They are not staying at their school for another year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new batch of teachers are really mediocre. They complain about the workload, teach with videos and computer quizzes, and are not really knowledgeable. The more experienced teachers are way better.

Any of our teachers who joined since 2020 seem to be in it for the lifestyle, not the career. Post-Covid, our school brought in a lot of teachers who are American but had been teaching abroad at international schools (they returned due to long COVID shutdowns or legitimate worries about getting stuck in certain countries) to backfill retirements.

Originally I was excited because I thought they might teach with more rigor and could bring different perspectives to our pretty homogenous community. Unfortunately, I can now see that we got stuck with a bunch of people who pursued international school roles as a way to prolong travel in their 20s or because they aren’t suited to more intense jobs. Our school also gives teachers tons of independence to make the curriculum their own, which is not great for teachers used to working off a very specific, standard curriculum.

My child has spent most of the past two years bringing home teachers pay teachers nonsense worksheets and watching videos. They are not staying at their school for another year.

Until you start paying the true cost of your kid’s education, you’ll get what you pay for. Actually, I’m sure you’re currently getting much more than you pay for. Yeah, I’m sure they’re in it for “the lifestyle” of getting paid near-poverty wages to work in insecure at-will environments with no protection against bad bosses, ever-changing workloads, and angry parents who have no appreciation for what goes into educating their children. Here’s an idea: get rid of idiotic administrators, “brand communicators,” “associate directors,” “division coordinators,” etc…, push teacher salaries up 100 percent, invest in their long-term development and appreciate that they get 6-8 weeks off in the summer to make up for their insane workload during the year. Ask any teacher, they’ll tell you that they get to school at 7:00 am, don’t even have time to scarf down a banana during the day, are made to attend pointless meetings that distract from grading and planning, have to go home only to do said grading and planning there, take care of their own families, and often lose sleep at night thinking about their students’ challenges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are having the same issue at our K-8 with teachers leaving mid year.

Are teachers hired as at will employees where they could resign anytime?

Shouldn't they have contracts for each school year? I understand family and health emergencies happen but the changes have been way too frequent at our school this year.

I’ve been a teacher and more recently worked in a public school. We had several teachers who barely made it through the year. One left mid year and I think she had to take medical leave to do it. Behaviors are out of control. Covid, screens at home, screens at school, lack of parenting, poor nutrition, all of it contributes.