American public schools chew up teachers and spit them out

American Thinker ^ | November 7, 2014 | Bruce Deitrick Price

[BruceDeitrickPrice]

[a/k/a: "The War on Teachers"]

The stats leave no doubt. There is huge dissatisfaction among teachers. The turnover rate is very high. We need to answer the obvious question, why don’t principals and administrators take better care of their teachers?

The most recent MetLife Survey revealed: “Teacher Dissatisfaction At An All-Time High.” The NEA Today website continues: “Teacher job satisfaction has plummeted to its lowest level in 25 years, from 62 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2012 –- a total of 23 points…More than one-half of teachers report feeling under great stress several days per week, as opposed to one-third in 1985.”

Forbes.com reported: “High Teacher Turnover Rates are a Big Problem for America’s Public Schools….46% of all new teachers in the United States leave the profession within five years…Teachers cite lack of planning time, workload, and lack of influence over school policy among other reasons for their decision to leave…”

Edutopia sums up the situation this way: “Every year, U.S. schools hire more than 200,000 new teachers for that first day of class. By the time summer rolls around, at least 22,000 have quit.”

Interestingly, less than 20% of teachers cite salary as their primary complaint. About 70% say the big problem is workplace conditions.

This Edutopia story, written by a failed teacher, concludes: “Many of these reasons are just euphemisms for one of the profession's hardest realities: Teaching can exact a considerable emotional toll. I don't know of any other professionals who have to break up fistfights, as I did…. New teachers, however naive and idealistic, often know before they enter the profession that the salaries are paltry, the class sizes large, and the supplies scant. What they don't know is how little support from parents, school administrators, and colleagues they can expect...

[ballplayer]

Case in point as we speak my daughter a 12 year veteran teacher in an inner city school is going through an ordeal,she is pregnant due on the 23rd of December,a scared student approached her saying he knew something but was afraid to tell her and would she not tell who told her,she took him aside and he told her another student in her class threatened to stab her and kill her baby,this is a 12 year old with a history of attacks against teachers.She went to the principal,school superintendent,they would not suspend the student,they put him in the classroom next door,her union and the lawyer for the union are trying to help so far to no avail,another teacher came forward to explain this same student had thrown scissors at her and she had put in a report on it when the records were looked for all records on this student were gone.
Her blood pressure is up and the doctor has told her to stay home.

[Theodore R.]

The American people seem more often than not to side with all manner of troublemakers; they have collective “Stockholm syndrome”.

[Daffynition]

.....and in many states work in a closed shop environment, pay for their additional edu credits [mandated by law] out of pocket, spend their own money [non-re-embursed] for classroom supplies.

Gracious. Your seething hatred of ps teachers is palatable. Have a nice day....go kick your dog.

[waverna]

On Long Island, my sons 5th grade teacher earned $107k per year.. The special ed teacher in the same classroom earned $117k. (They are public employees and the salaries are public record and posted online)
The idea of the poor underpaid overworked teacher is a teachers union myth, at least around here. ( And we still have to send in cases of tissues and wipes every couple of months)

[struggle]

I started at 28K in Mississippi as a 1st year HS teacher. Now, with a master’s (an MA in Eng., not a MAT) and 10 years exp. in a SC HS, I’m almost to 45K.

[BruceDeitrickPrice]

For what it’s worth: The first time I saw news about Tony Abbott, I was very impressed. I thought, Can we trade Obama for this guy?

[Gene Eric]

My seething hatred? Go kick my dog?

Sounds like something a belligerent union thug would say. Are you on the right forum?

[trisham]

Some things can’t be fixed, because they never were right from the beginning.

[Daffynition]

Pure unadulterated Gruberish. HAHAHA! Funny that!

Have a lovely evening troll.

[Gene Eric]

Troll?

You accused me of having “seething hatred” for teachers, and suggested I “kick my dog”... and now you’re calling me a troll.

You’ve made an impersonal issue personal without making any effort to find out how I view the individual educator. You jumped to conclusions, and were quite nasty about it. I’m not impressed with your reasoning.