Teacher appreciation week kicks off today, but it comes at a time when many teachers are leaving the profession. According to a survey by the national education association, more than half of teachers are looking to quit. So why are teachers quitting at an alarming rate and what can be done to retain more teachers? Renee Bailey, learning loss teacher at Trenton Public School District, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.


Opening Bell

Majority of U.S. teachers looking to quit profession 

well joining us now with more is Renee Bayley learning lost teacher at Trenton Public School District, thank you so much for joining us and also for being a teacher, especially during this pandemic. Want to start off by saying that you are appreciated. But going into this, you know, half of teachers are looking to quit. It's a huge issue. Have you or any of your colleagues really thought about quitting over, not just the past year or two, but really even before this pandemic? Um quite honestly, yes, a lot of people that I've talked to um some that I even worked with have discussed feelings of burnout um especially over the last two years, but as you mentioned, even before that, um the job just comes with so much added stress. Um and teachers do seem to be undervalued, underpaid and the work load seems to be getting a lot heavier. So there has definitely been talk of leaving the profession, unfortunately, many feel like they can't leave because they're so locked in. What else is there to do at this point? Yeah, you mentioned kind of the added stress that's been added to the job. How has teaching been more difficult during covid? Um for one thing, the students are coming in, um several years below grade level due to some of the lack in education with us going virtual, some students didn't have the ability to log in through no fault of their own. Um so it is a little bit more stressful to try to bring those students up to level and fill in those gaps that they might be missing while at the same time trying to teach the grade level content that we're still required to teach. And then I'm also noticing that a lot of students are coming in with so much trauma based around the pandemic loss of loved ones, maybe home life, that's been difficult for them. And now we, as the teachers have to try to fill those emotional needs for the students while also dealing with our own trauma. And recently we've seen teachers staging walkouts and strikes over covid protocols in schools and these staffing shortages. How would you like to see school districts better accommodate teachers as the pandemic does continue to fade, but also be a factor for education. Um, I think school districts can offer support to the teachers. A lot of teachers that I've talked to feel like they're not supported by their districts. They feel like they're doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Um, and the district is putting on more requirements, but not really putting protocols in place to support those requirements. So I think giving the teachers more support, um, maybe even hiring more personnel to be able to fill in some of the gaps, as you mentioned, there are staffing shortages, their substitute shortages, um, just across the board. So teachers feel like they're doing more, but getting less. So just that support might be very beneficial. Yeah, support is huge, especially because you talk about burnout, right? That was one of the first things that you said, and it's almost like this vicious cycle because in addition to the things that would lead to burnout on a regular year before this pandemic. Now with the shortage, if you're still employed in a school, it's almost like you have to make up for that loss. Uh if you're if you're seeing shortages in your school. So what do you think about this current teacher shortage? Educator shortage and what exactly does it mean for the future of education for us here in the U. S. These next generations? Um It is a big issue in schools. I'm seeing teachers are being asked to fill in for other classes when teachers are out. So in addition to their own workload, they're taking on other the workload of other teachers that might not be, there are vacancies that need to be filled and aren't. Um So it is a lot of added stress. Um Unfortunately I'm still hearing talk of teachers wanting to leave the profession, so the outlook doesn't seem that great from where we're standing right now. So, um I would encourage anybody that's interested in the teaching profession um to really do their research, look into it. It is a great profession to be in. It does come with stress, but the rewards are great. So, you know, don't lose hope, Hopefully if we can get some new teachers to come in with a um Invigorated spirit. Maybe some that aren't so burnt out, then maybe we can see uh an influx of um teachers, maybe not being so burnt out and not being so stressed. Yeah, exactly. And what are some of the jobs that you're seeing teachers pivot to right now? Um a lot of people that I know are actually not necessarily interested in leaving education as a whole, I'm noticing that a lot of my colleagues in particular are going back to school um so that they can further their education so that they can move beyond the classroom, so people are looking to move into administrative positions or social work positions, um guidance counselor positions, just things outside of the classroom itself, but not necessarily leaving the teaching profession. However, I have also seen the flip where people are leaving the teaching profession and moving into corporate America um and things like that, so it's kind of like a, I don't know what I would call it, but there's the vast variety you can say, yeah, of what people are trying to do, people really are just trying to find the best possible fit for them with not necessarily the least amount of stress, but an amount of stress that will allow them to go home and rest their head at night. Yeah, and it is comforting to hear that there are some educators out there who are still very committed and just want to further their education, but by no means should we have to have teachers leave the workforce in order to have a living wage and be able to have a path to retirement. So I'm wondering for you, how much do you think this has to do with salary? Because we're also seeing, you know, states across the country that are looking to raise the pay for teachers, How much do you think that is a part of this formula? Um I think it plays a big part because I think that teachers feel like they are more work is being added to their plate, but not a whole lot of pay is being added to their pockets, you could say. Um So as the workload increases, the expectation would be that, you know, the compensation would be in line with the workload, but it seems like the workload is increasing, the pay is increasing very minimally, if at all. Um So people are feeling like they have to go and seek employment elsewhere just so that they can maintain a living wage. I know teachers that have uh two and three other jobs besides the uh teaching job that they hold. So it really is a struggle. Renee Bayley learning Lost teacher at Trenton Public School District, thank you so much for sharing your perspective, especially as we hope to appreciate our teachers, not only this week, not only this month, but just generally, thank you so much