Bureaucrats keep piling on more
requirements of educators with barely a
nod of appreciation. Fewer occupations
have undergone more changes than
those in public education. Three critical
issues often cited by our educators for
leaving our profession are school culture,
student discipline, and teacher salaries.
Addressing improvements in these areas
continues to be the focus of our advocacy
efforts at the state legislature.
The National School Climate Center notes
that “empirical research has shown that
when school members feel safe, valued,
cared for, engaged, and respected,
learning measurably increases, and staff
satisfaction and retention are enhanced.”
Bad school culture is a barrier to student
learning and quality teaching.
Business leaders have long recognized
the connection between employee
working conditions and productivity.
Establishing positive working conditions
for school staff improves the learning
conditions for students. Quality instruction
cannot be provided if staff morale is low,
the staff does not feel supported by
school administration and/or the staff
turnover is high. Teacher recruitment
and retention is a critical role in any
school or district. Factors such as
teacher-administrator relationships,
collegiality, job expectations, and
participation in decision-making
are among the most important
reasons whether or not teachers
choose to stay at their school or
in the profession.
Lack of student discipline,
inadequate
administrative
support, and lack of respect
are all frequently cited
reasons as to why teachers
leave the profession -
almost as much as salary
and working conditions.
We continue to place
children with serious and
chronic behavior issues
into regular classrooms,
where the teacher is
already
overwhelmed
with
other
students
who also have behavior
problems. Instruction time