Many teachers have considered leaving education, union says

[Anonymous]

sad

https://mont.thesentinel.com/2019/10/17/many-teachers-have-considered-leaving-education-union-says/?fbclid=IwAR2cvMUZEGZipm0ocXsYjROvqduwb3rqoL2uyPWEPDWzaCx0JzrU4Av5Pgw

Many teachers have considered leaving education, union says

He and another member of the union recently visited three schools. They gathered all the educators into one room during pre-service and asked how many had considered leaving education during the summer. Wilson estimated that a majority, about 80%, of each of the three school’s educators raised their hands.

One million people left public education jobs in 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from the Department of Labor. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Jack Smith has said several times during the last few months that MCPS is affected by the difficulty of keeping teaching positions filled. The Oct. 10 meeting was held to address the turnover issue.

[Anonymous]

I just had this conversation with a few other teacher friends today. We all are examining our options and I had no clue the others felt that way too.

[Anonymous]

I'm not saying there isn't a lot truth to this, but the union also has a real incentive to play up dissatisfaction as they start the CBA negotiations.

[Anonymous]

Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying there isn't a lot truth to this, but the union also has a real incentive to play up dissatisfaction as they start the CBA negotiations.

The turnover at my kid’s ES over the past five years has been unbelievable. Teachers do not feel supported by administration and are fed up with the useless initiatives constantly being pushed by Central Office.

I think there is much truth to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

It's not necessarily leadership. I'm in a high school that is well-run, teachers have a reasonable amount of autonomy, my colleagues are good and reasonable to work with, kids are generally nice, but still I put in 60+ hours per week just to keep up with grading and planning and the never-ending miscellaneous stuff (chasing down absent students, college recs, IEP & 504 meetings, clubs, etc.) Each year seems less satisfying than the previous year, and it's hard to figure out why. Honestly, I think part of the blame lies with the iPhone generation. Kids are soooooo hooked to their phones, and it isn't just that they are distracted by them or addicted to them, but that they have no motivation to be passionate about real-world things. Kids have fewer and fewer general skills and creativity and seem mostly like they are going through the motions of school without actually being interested in learning anything. It's really kind of depressing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

It's not necessarily leadership. I'm in a high school that is well-run, teachers have a reasonable amount of autonomy, my colleagues are good and reasonable to work with, kids are generally nice, but still I put in 60+ hours per week just to keep up with grading and planning and the never-ending miscellaneous stuff (chasing down absent students, college recs, IEP & 504 meetings, clubs, etc.) Each year seems less satisfying than the previous year, and it's hard to figure out why. Honestly, I think part of the blame lies with the iPhone generation. Kids are soooooo hooked to their phones, and it isn't just that they are distracted by them or addicted to them, but that they have no motivation to be passionate about real-world things. Kids have fewer and fewer general skills and creativity and seem mostly like they are going through the motions of school without actually being interested in learning anything. It's really kind of depressing.

True enough.

I think the large class sizes don’t help either. The workload for teachers has increased year after year and it’s hard to get those rewarding moments.

Agree that the phones don’t help. There are several MSs piloting a program where every kid gets to take home a tablet. Surely that will help.

[Anonymous]

I'm 13 years in. I'm pretty committed for the near future, but the overall outlook isn't promising. Testing, conflicts of interest, people with no teaching experience or education making decisions/sharing their important opinions about education, lack of respect, vilification of teachers' unions... definitely doesnt feel worth it sometimes. My love for teaching children is great, but I'm not a martyr.

This "news" didnt surprise me at all. Of course MCEA had an agenda for sharing it, but it doesnt make it any less true.

[Anonymous]

Fall is my favorite season by far but October is absolute hell as a teacher. I was hired 7 years ago today and if I could quit, I would. I fell this way a lot of the year but every October is the height of me feeling this way. It’s not the kids. It’s the ridiculous expectations put on us. I just finished writing my SLO and I know I will not make my target. They keep making the target harder to reach so they don’t have to give us raises. They are broke and instead of admitting this, they keep changing everything so it makes it impossible to be considered highly effective. The curriculum is an awful mismatch between reality and what sounds good when being presented to a district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

It's not necessarily leadership. I'm in a high school that is well-run, teachers have a reasonable amount of autonomy, my colleagues are good and reasonable to work with, kids are generally nice, but still I put in 60+ hours per week just to keep up with grading and planning and the never-ending miscellaneous stuff (chasing down absent students, college recs, IEP & 504 meetings, clubs, etc.) Each year seems less satisfying than the previous year, and it's hard to figure out why. Honestly, I think part of the blame lies with the iPhone generation. Kids are soooooo hooked to their phones, and it isn't just that they are distracted by them or addicted to them, but that they have no motivation to be passionate about real-world things. Kids have fewer and fewer general skills and creativity and seem mostly like they are going through the motions of school without actually being interested in learning anything. It's really kind of depressing.

I posted about leadership.

I didn’t necessarily mean just direct leadership (like principals), but more of a general comment about the Superintendent and all the Central Office people who make horrible decisions and who have very little direct experience in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Many relatively new teachers in my building have been talking about finding new careers. I’ve never really experienced that with that group. They’re usually the ones who are idealistic and still drink the Koolaid. The veterans are counting down to when they can be gone. I’m kind of stuck, myself. I’m around 15 years in and have invested too much time to walk away, but at the same time my mental and physical health are severely impacted and I don’t know if it’s really worth it for me to stick around. If I didn’t need my health insurance it would be a much easier decision.

[Anonymous]

DH and I both teach. We love teaching and are fortunate to work in well-run schools with high morale. That said, due to health issues for DH and my own personal/family health issues we’re considering our options as well. We don’t make enough to save aggressively for 3-4 decades of ill health after retirement and the lack of flexibility right now is making even our current health care challenging.

[Anonymous]

I know, maybe this tactical announcement from the teachers union will result is raises for all and increased benies for all!!?! Via higher taxes of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know, maybe this tactical announcement from the teachers union will result is raises for all and increased benies for all!!?! Via higher taxes of course.

I’m not after raises or increased benefits. I’m after safe working conditions. I’m also after an agreement that’s worth more than the paper it’s printed on.

[Anonymous]

Most people dislike their job.