Reply to Received an email that DS teacher quit Friday.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a good conversation about what is expected of teachers.

We have people expecting teachers, despite low pay and contract employment, to stay in a job until the end of the year and only look for new employment during a 2 month window of time in the year. Is that an expectation you set for yourself?

The pandemic showed us that people don't consider teachers to be professionals. Instead, they consider them doormats. They second-guess everything teachers do and say, and the governor has created tip sheets so that people can tattle on them. They blame them for the pandemic, and blame them for making policy decisions that are way above their pay grade (virtual learning) They consider teachers to be glorified babysitters who should martyr themselves, their own health, and the health of their families (they are parents, too) so that other parents can go to work or work out at the gym.

If you are going to treat teachers this way, expect them to leave. And if they do, you have no one to blame but yourselves. Do not set expectations of them that equal those of doctors, as someone in this thread has.

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Here's the thing. I'm an attorney who works in state government. My annual pay is lower that a teacher with the same years of experience, and I don't get all of the breaks that teachers get during the school year. My professional responsibilities to my clients do not change based on how much money I make. I'm either a professional or I'm not. I might have months of leave, but I am not free to use it at times when it would injury my clients. None of this is to say that some teachers don't have good reasons for absences or quitting, but that doesn't mean some don't take advantage or that their inability to fulfill their job duties doesn't have a detrimental impact on students. Which is it? Are teachers professionals who deserve to be paid much more? Or are they workers whose only obligation is to fulfill the terms of their contracts as best they can, taking every hour of leave available to them, leaving mid-year if necessary, while at the same time working in a system that punishes kids for their late work and missed assignments in order to teach students about the "real world"?
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+1. Amen.  Most of us would face repercussions if we quit without finishing the work our client expected.  Kids are the client of the teacher. Quitting 6 weeks before the end of the year with no substitute in place is unprofessional and uncaring.  [/quote]

You can insist this all you want, but the reality is 1 teaching position is going unfilled for every 2 offers while there are tons of unemployed and underemployed lawyers.  You don't know her situation and you are not her employer nor are the children.  Society has relied on teachers' professionalism for a long time without adequate support and they are rebelling and no one wants to fill their shoes.  So unless all you lawyers want to hop on the fantabulous professional glory train that is being a teacher (alternative licensing would let you do this quickly!) you're just going to let your griping push more and more people out of the profession--ones who have been caring and professional all along, and ones who are not.

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Because posts on DCUM complaining about teachers who quit in May are the reason for the teacher shortage locally and nationwide...[/quote]

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