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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I am tired of having the finger pointed at me when students don’t make progress. It’s always “what are you doing in the classroom?” “How are you differentiating your lessons?” “Try this…, try that…” Blah, blah, blah. I felt i was being slapped in the face when my district MANDATED that all teachers attend the LETRS training. It made me feel like the curriculum dept. in my district doesn’t think i know how to teach reading!!! These trainings aren’t really teaching me anything i don’t already know or do – and it’s a waste of thousands of dollars!!!!!! Why don’t we point the finger where it really needs to be pointed…but no….they don’t have the guts for that.
This topic may be old, but I thought I would add:
Today I was handed a rag and disinfectant spray. The head custodian says “they’ll email you about it later.” So I turn to one of my students (as I usually have to in order to find out what is going on in the school since administration decides we (the teachers) are useless and thus do not need to be in the loop) and the child tells me “it’s to clean up the puke because the custodians don’t have time.”
Check, please. This table is finished!
Hey! That happened to me recently too, except that the administrator sent some sort of crystal stuff to put on the throw up. I put it next to the throw up (which I covered with paper towels) and went on with my teaching. When the custodian came to clean up (2 hours later), it was still there, and I continued teaching. I REFUSE to do that kind of work….I may end up getting in trouble for not being where I’m supposed to be according to my lesson plans. :o)
It’s all so RIDICULOUS!
Tiffani, I hear you! I”m a first year teacher and also fed up. I did emergency teaching for 2 years, and really enjoyed it. I looked forward to my own class, but only wanted to work part time. I have alot of other things in my life that take up time. Part time relates to how much they pay you ONLY. The workload is ridiculous. I do so many different tests and spend time analysing data, but there’s no time to do anything with the data, plan interesting things.
I am at a “good” school but have a tough class. I’ve been hit and headbutted by a kid in my class. Endless time in meetings either with staff or parents of the special needs kids in my class (none of whom are entitled to an aide).
I see alot of staff who appear to accept that this ‘is just how it is’, but for me, I cannot accept it.
Teachers leave because of lack of support from administration when dealing with parents. A parent recently met with my principal without being told to meet with me first. Not only was it unprofessional for admin to allow the parent to go behind my back to meet with them, but I had no input and no way to defend myself. Then I was told the complaint was that I “care too much” about the students. Wait it gets better: my principal had me send an apology letter to the parent! When i expressed my outrage, i eas tild that “this was not a hill to die on”. This is my 10th year of teaching and I am blowing up the world wide web nightly as I apply for jobs outside of education. Sad story but even sadder because it is true.