Written by via federalobserver.com
…over half wouldn’t tell a young person to do what they do!
Not unlike the famed tree of Shel Silverstein’s divisive children’s book, teachers don’t have much left to give. Operating in a infamously demanding and poorly paid sector, many educators have reached a breaking point over the last couple of years as they navigate an increasingly broadening workload.
It all means that current teachers have become like a foreboding side character in a horror movie, telling bright-eyed, bushy-tailed graduates to run away from the crumbling house (or education system) while they can. More than half (52%) of educators tell Pew Research Center that “they would not advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher,” according to a survey of more than 2,500 educators conducted in the fall of 2023.
“I feel like the profession of teaching is no longer a profession; it’s something people do after college for a couple of years to figure out what they really want to do,” Lisa Wolfe, a former educator who quit due to the way schools are run, told Fortune in December. As new teachers are met with poor conditions and wages, they quit, “so we lose all that talent, and our students lose.,”
Indeed, most teachers report that their job is frequently stressful (77%) and overwhelming (68%). In actuality, it’s the tenured teachers who have been pushed to the edge, as Pew finds that newer teachers are more likely to report that their work is enjoyable.
Part of what’s likely happening is that teachers who have been around for some time realize that things used to be better. Many educators report that the nation’s infrastructure is rapidly slipping, as 82% report that the state of public K–12 “has gotten worse in the past five years.” Of those who report worsening conditions, educators report that the major stressors to their job are the political climate (60%), rippling influences of the pandemic (57%), and a lack of funding (46%).