The Myth Lives On -Top 5 Reasons Teachers Quit

Although the myth that up to 50% of teachers quit within the first 5 years of teaching has been debunked, it does not mean that teachers are any happier. They still quit, 10% not coming back after the first year and increasing to 17% in the fifth year of teachers not returning after the summer. And the study that keeps fueling the myth? Well, that one went further: it concluded that roughly 40-50% of teachers didn’t return after the sixth year.

Survey: Top 5 Reasons Teachers Quit

A recent Facebook survey cited the following as the Top 5 Reasons teachers quit:

1. Challenging work conditions

• Educators are bombarded with paperwork, ridiculous curriculum, lack of time for preparation, lack of materials, long hours + working on weekends, unrealistic expectations, ineffective administrators, no support for discipline, time-consuming and frivolous meetings and rules and regulations that seem to change daily.

Yikes! Any one of the above can cause stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion!

2. Lack of support, lack of respect

• Micromanagement by administrators and parents — with little or no say as to whether a student, for example, passes a test, the course, or continues onto the next grade.
• The fact that you went to college for 4+ years and have at least a Bachelor’s degree (and often a Masters) doesn’t seem to weigh in — teachers aren’t treated as professionals —not by administrators, parents, or students. Instead, teachers are treated more like punching bags and faulty wheels; keep kicking them and eventually, they’ll give up fighting.

      3. Testing, testing, testing

• High-stakes testing, data collection, and the creation of a “punitive and abusive test-and-punish system” can be a recipe for disaster — when you’re required NOT to prepare your students for the real world by “teaching to the test,”, it takes a toll on the creativity teachers feel they should be able to offer their students and themselves.

4. Kid’s best interest is not priority

• Decisions made by administrators and parents are often made based on students who perform well. Students are stressed because of these great expectations and not allowed to fail.
• “Bubble” kids are often left out hanging. And even though the “lowest of the low” often receive help, the help is not adequate. Why? Because the teacher’s voice is not heard nor are they allowed to take a holistic approach to their teaching. Educating the whole child is no longer a priority with high stakes testing.

5. Family and work/life balance doesn’t exist

• When the environment you must work in is taped together with duct tape instead of real-world fixes, it seems impossible to even try to hold it together. When a school you work in isn’t one you’d send your kids to, many say it’s time to go.
• Teachers decide to channel their energy into their family and themselves — once again citing lack of support for family time: when you work 12-hour days plus weekends, how much family time can you amass?

Focus on New Teachers

Many districts have started to focus on new teachers. Which in itself is great. The Alliance for Excellent Education and the  National Center for Education Statistics feel that more on-the-job training and mentoring programs included within the first two years of teaching will keep the teachers in their profession.

According to AEE and NTC, the initiative, or “comprehensive induction,” includes “a high-quality, pre-screened mentor who is an experienced teacher, common planning time with other teachers, regular and rigorous training, and ongoing contact with school leaders, like principals and district officials.” All of this is fantastic when it actually happens. When it does, it can make a difference if it’s teacher friendly.

I Had a Mentor…of sorts

I had all this in some form or another. I had a “mentor” my first year, and although she was highly qualified as a teacher, she was not trained as a mentor. When in our session we (two others she was mentoring and I) received cute little, laminated quotes and saying as the “take-away” from each session. It certainly wasn’t what I’d call mentoring. Bless her heart, she wasn’t trained properly.

The “rigorous training” included yet another way to teach something, new curriculum the district decided to implement in the middle of the year, yet another PD that no one gleaned one actionable item from… and then – there was the paperwork. The paperwork in all this was amazing. Even as a Legal Clerk, did I not fill out and turn in as much paperwork as a new teacher!

Teachers are Tenacious

During my second year, I no longer had a mentor (changed schools) even though the school knew this was only my second year. It was one of the most stressful years of my life. I was so overworked that I had hardly any time for family. But because teachers are a tenacious bunch, I persevered, just hoping to make it till summer vacation. (My survival was also probably partly thanks to my “advanced” age. I was 40 when I received my teaching credentials.)

It took all of the time off during the summer to feel like I could return. On my third year now, I wowed to reduce stress by not working more than 10 hours a day, leaving school by 5 p.m.…and only working one day on the weekend — Saturdays were my day off.

Shortcuts and Time-Savers Galore

I devised all kinds of time-savers and planning shortcuts, copying two weeks of papers in one sitting, creating a plan for students and myself to be less stressed. And it did work, I did manage my stress better, and my time at school was at least a bit happier. One of the reasons was that my then principal hardly visited the classrooms — we teachers could essentially run them as we pleased — but that also included not giving us support either when disciplinary issues arose.

And yet, even with all the tips, tricks, and time-management, and stress-relief techniques I’d implements, after teaching for 10+ years — I resigned. Just quit with not much of a plan, thought I’d move back to Finland (where I’m originally from), and start a teaching career there, or…do something completely different. I tried the move. It didn’t work out. So, I opted for something different and have been writing ever since. I love it, yet often think of what could’ve been if I had continued as a teacher.

Stay — We Need You

Now, the reason I’ve written this blog post is not for you to quit and start something completely different. No, it’s so that you’ll stay a teacher , just like Jeremy Knoll did. The world needs you, your creativity, your knowledge, your influence. The students need you more than ever.

How can you avoid being a statistic — feel happier, more relaxed and energized? Take the 5 things Jeremy persevered with along with meditation to create the balance in your life you crave, and you may look at life — but more importantly, the teaching career you chose, in a different, brighter light. 😊

Feel Happier Today

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All done with the 5 Free Days? If you found the meditation helpful, imagine what 21 Days of Guided Meditation can do? Order now and Listen to Days 6-21 and continue to create calmness, happiness, and energy in your life.

Keep Reading the blog: How to Create Resilience

©2017-19 Taru Nieminen – The Happy Teacher Solution

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