Uncategorized | Mar 14, 2011
Why Great Teachers Quit (book review)
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Why Great Teachers Quit (book review)
By Angela Watson
Teacher attrition is a topic that’s constantly on my mind. The primary reason I maintain my website and write books is because I’m passionate about helping teachers overcome energy-draining setbacks and actually enjoy the profession. So, when I read this post, I was immediately intrigued by the book’s title and asked the representatives at Corwin Press for two copies: one for me and one for a blog reader. I rarely do that because there’s no guarantee the book will be any good, and I don’t want to give away something I wouldn’t recommend. However, I could tell from the online reviews that this book was going to be a worthwhile read…and I wasn’t disappointed.
Why Great Teachers Quit And How We Might Stop the Exodus is written by Katy Farber, a classroom teacher currently grappling with this subject on a daily basis. She interviewed dozens of teachers and includes their experiences as she explains the various issues faced in the classroom. I found it simultaneously comforting and distressing to know that teachers all across the country are dealing with the same problems. In nearly every quote from classroom teachers (and there are hundreds), I found myself nodding along and thinking, Yes! Thank you! Yes! That’s it, exactly! The problems described in this book will undoubtedly ring true.
Farber organizes the book into eight primary reasons why great teachers quit:
- Standardized Testing (including effects on students and the school climate)
- Working Conditions in Today’s Schools (i.e. violence and small problems that add up, like not being able to use the bathroom)
- Ever-Higher Expectations (including useless professional development on new mandates)
- Bureaucracy (committees, closed budgets, and scheduling constraints)
- Respect and Compensation (the martyr system and paying for supplies)
- Parents (unrealistic demands and no limits)
- Administrators (the pressure cooker of principalship)
- School Boards (uses and abuses of power)
There was one reason I expected to see and did not: there is no section on students. As much as I’d like to assert that children are the reason why we teach, they’re also frequently the reason why we quit. Is Farber pretending that “it’s all about the kids” and that our little darlings are never a source of stress? Nope. Instead, she accurately assesses the root problem: teachers quit over their powerlessness to place students in an appropriate academic setting and enforce appropriate consequences. These problems fall under the categories of Respect and Compensation and Working Conditions (as well as Parents, to an extent.) The underlying assumption is that it’s NOT the students, it’s the system that has given teachers too little power to meet the needs of the students and maintain order in the learning environment.
After explaining each overarching reason why teachers quit, Farber includes Recommendations for Teacher Leaders and Administrators (practical, proven suggestions), Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers (advice from teachers to teachers), Success Stories and/or a Silver Lining (which keep the problems from seeming hopeless) and Additional Resources you can read online and in print to address the issues of that section.
I wish this was required reading for school board members and legislators…parents would benefit, too. Often educators complain that no one really knows what’s it’s really like to be a teacher, and this book does an excellent job summarizing the main challenges of the job and the type of solutions that are needed. Katy Farber has written a powerful resource for everyone who cares about education. It’s my hope, as well as hers, that this book will make a difference in teacher retention and help great teachers maintain their efficacy and enthusiasm.
WIN A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK! Simply leave a comment to this post that briefly shares your experience: why do you think great teachers quit, and/or what can be done to encourage them to stay in the classroom? On Sunday, March 20th, I’ll choose a comment randomly to win a free copy of the book, courtesy of Corwin Press.
3/20/11 Edited to add: CONTEST CLOSED.
Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
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Very interesting discussion, especially since the community I live in has been hit very hard by the budgetary outlook and a “hate all teachers” mentality has become prevalent. Unfortunately my colleagues and I dread the question “What do you do?” The second the word “teacher” is used we are speeched on how selfish we are to have taxes pay for our health insurance. The district I work in also requested a pay freeze for all teachers. The union declined and this has nothing to do with me, it was not even put to a vote, so now the community is up in even more arms. On top of that parents are questing our every move. One of my students even came in this week and said she could not do homework anymore or she would get a spanking. When I asked her why she said it was because her Dad thinks her teacher is stupid to make her practice her math each night (of course other concerns were involved with this family and the school did take action.) Now…. has the idea stuck me to quit. Yes! This year has been the most difficult teaching year of my life. My prayer is that the Lord will give me the strength to endure so that I can confidently say that this too shall pass and there is hope. Unfortunately in the position I am in now, it is difficult to see.
Hi, Erica. I hope that the current anti-teacher sentiment subsides over time, and I have a feeling it will. It seems inevitable that another group of people will serve as a scapegoat, and hopefully we can begin to rebuild the reputation of our profession. Hang in there for these last few months of the school year, and keep your hope in the Lord. If He has called you to your position, then He will sustain you in it! Be encouraged. 🙂
As a classroom teacher for 22 years I have seen the cycle of teaching styles come and go. The trend of adding more skills and not giving enough time for the students to master any of them, is enough to make any teacher feel like they are a failure as a teacher. The other thing that I have noticed as an Elementary teacher is that we are not giving students any time to play. My students are getting 10 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at lunch and that is it for the day. I feel that this is one of the reasons why we have so many discipline problems in the classroom. (which takes away from teaching time to handle discipline)!
Hi, Holly. I would love to see more time for play. When I taught in Florida, we were very fortunate to have 30 minutes of physical activity mandated into the school day. I always used that as a recess time and let my kids run and play freely, but there were some schools that required the time to be extremely structured, to the point where all the fun and freedom was taken out of it. I agree that more free time (especially outdoors) would do wonders for many of the behavior problems we encounter!
It really is sad to read all these posts. I was hoping somewhere there would still be places that allow teachers to really teach. I teach in Texas. It is my 5th year and I really don’t like it. The stress is incredible. You rarely see a teacher walking down the hall with a smile on his/her face. I teach all 4th grade math (75 students). I have barely an hour and 5 minutes to teach. Take away the time dealing with my spec ed students (for whom I have little support. In fact I was told they really didn’t require classroom support.) and I don’t have much time to teach the skills needed. My kids are coming to me with absolutely no math facts skills. So in addition to teaching required skills, I also need to teach the facts. It seems that almost daily admin comes up with another sheet of paper to fill out. Now we have daily documentation on all our 504 and spec ed students that will be checked daily. As all good teachers I modify and accomadate all my students. I never have five minutes in the classroom to do this, so it means that I do it at night when I am exhausted from the day.
We are also facing the pressure of the new rigorous STAAR test. No easing in to the very difficult problems. Just jump in and make the kids and teachers feel like failures.
The worst part of all of this is my sadness at what has become of our education system and how we are failing our kids! I love to teach, I want to keep teaching, I want to feel the joy of teaching again!
My principals, parents of my students, and my students all told me I was a great teacher. But I quit. When I was forced to teach to the test instead of teaching to the needs of the children, it was the last straw. Too much concern over test scores, not enough concern about how children learn and what is best for them developmentally, denying primary students recess, unreasonable, unrealistic expectations for students whose brains are still forming and developing, parents who blame teachers instead of making their child accountable, principles who are unsupportive, all these led to frustrations that I no longer could tolerate. So I quit. I now have time for myself. I not longer work 10 – 12 hours each weekday and 5-7 hours each day on the weekend preparing lessons , lesson plans, correcting papers, and justifying every single decision I make in the classroom to administrators and parents.
I really feel sorry for today’s children who feel all this pressure too. The joy is gone out of education. If I had stayed in the classroom I was in danger of becoming the kind of teacher I hate and would have hated having when I was a kid. The joy is gone for both the student and the teacher. It is a sad day for public education.
Hi, Florence! I feel the same way many times. It is very difficult to keep the joy in teaching and learning these days. I can especially relate to your statement about how we have unrealistic expectations for kids who are still growing. We need to have the freedom to let them progress at their own individual rates.
Wow! I so needed this. I have been teaching for nine years and feel like a complete failure. I taught 3rd grade for 7 years and requested a move to 2nd grade this year. I just could not face “the test” one more year. I seriously thought this would re-spark my desire to teach. It hasn’t. The time restraints, the demands, the condemnation from parents/students is overwhelming. I am amazed at what comes out of my students’ mouths. I know it comes from home and breaks my heart that any parent would think I didn’t love their child or would do my best for them. Then, I have to sit back and look at myself. Did I do all I could? Some days yes, some days no. It is just too much. I start each day at 4:45 a.m. Not so I have time to go to the gym before school, but so I have time to make breakfast, 4 lunches, shower, get dressed and be at school in time to “calm down” and be ready for my students. I sit maybe 30 minutes/day. I get to go to the restroom maybe twice a day (that’s a good day) and only if I leave my class alone with a “listener”. At 3:00 my school dismisses most students. However, we are required to tutor any students failing or placed in Tier 2 or 3. So another 45 minutes of teaching and no I am not given the materials, I have to “find” whatever I can to help them. Very frustrating! After tutoring I work until 6:00 in my classroom. Go home, cook supper, help my own kids with their homework, get my daughter in bed and finally sit down for the day. BUT, I sit down with a mound of papers, books, etc….to go through before the next day. When I need help I am required to fill out three papers and ask for an appointment with an RtI committee. An observation must be done before I am allowed to attend the committee meeting. So basically, my opinion, my expertise counts for nothing. However, I am required to receive 30 hours of continuing education every year on my own time and my own money. So, I count for nothing. The sentiment of all of my fellow teachers. We mean nothing to parents, administration, and sometimes our students. Heart wrenching! I love my students and yes I want to be the teacher they remember forever and always love. I am finding that harder and harder to achieve each year. I do not want to become the “one that is there for summer vacation”. (And yes there are some but rare, contrary to popular belief.)
Teachers feel worthless. Teachers feel betrayed. Teachers feel ridiculed. Teachers feel abused. Teachers feel, well we just don’t feel any more. It is too painful.