Two In One Week

Last week we saw two American teachers die at the hands of their students.  One teacher was shot at point blank range on school property and another was stabbed in a school bathroom.  Of course the biggest question to come out of these two things is "Why?".

For the past few years there has been a national discussion going on here in the US regarding our education system and its problems.  We have become a nation obsessed with test scores as well as our standing compared to that of other industrialized nations throughout the world.  Within this discussion the job of teachers is often questioned.  Most people tend to have the opinion that teachers have an "easy" job, and many also believe that because teachers don't really work a full year, they don't deserve the pay or the benefits they get.

According to the web site for the National Education Association (NEA), the national turnover rate for teachers is 17%.  In urban school districts that number is 20%.  One third of all new teachers leave after three years, and 46% of new teachers are completely gone after five.  In an earlier post, I quoted a New York Times op-ed piece that spoke about mediocre talent in the teaching profession.  When you see the stats above it's no wonder that this is a prevailing opinion (and one which I agree with).

Why do the good ones leave?

Well first off, contrary to popular belief, teachers actually put in long hours.  A 2012 report  (http://www.scholastic.com/primarysources/download.asp) by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that teachers work 10 hour days.  Now, I am not saying that this is special or abnormal.  There are many jobs that involve 50 + hour work weeks, but the big difference is many of these jobs have overtime pay and/or a higher annual salary or bonus.  The NEA says that the average annual salary for an American teacher is just over $56,000.00 dollars.  That's pay for someone working a 50 + hour week who has at a minimum a Bachelors degree and in many cases a Masters.  Add in the now daily threat of violence or even the possibility of death.  Does that seem like the type of pay that is going to attract top tier talent?

I know from experience a new hurdle to overcome - in addition to violence, death and other in-school difficulties - is parents.  Parents are sending disrespectful and/or entitled children into classrooms who feel that they are either smarter or better than their teachers.  They see themselves as above the process. Many students today are bi-products of the endemic cynical view on teachers that is held by their parents.

These are all problems that need to be discussed and/or addressed in the national education discussion.