Many wonder why teachers burn out after four or five years of teaching, but it's not that simple. Many people would say the pay is low for someone with a BA or masters degree , but that is not the whole problem.
1. Teachers with a degree should get more respect. We are treated like crap and have a ton of education.
2. To many darn meetings. Let us teach and prepare for lessons. Especially new teachers.
3. Professional development in most cases is awful, boring and done just to say they have had a training.
4. Kids are out of control, sometimes because teachers are poorly planned because of lack of experience and time to plan. Kids are also out of control because there is no plan for out of control kids. Suspension does not work and you are stuck with trouble makers everyday. Teachers are stuck with terrors in the classroom.
5. Teachers can make more money working somewhere else year round. Why take the stress?
6. Leadership at the top is bad and little help. You will be lucky to have one good administrator as they are burnt out as well but they are stuck in their career.
7. Teachers in Middle and high school get little parental support. Some elementary schools are bad as well.
8. Many new teachers get volentold to attend meetings, sponsor clubs, and sponsor committees burning themselves out.
9. Some teachers think every paper a kid does has to be graded with extreme care and they burn out fast. Kids just throw their papers away and could care less. Parents rarely see kids work.
10. Some teachers over plan when a simpler lesson would be just as effective. Hours of planning for a 60 minute lesson every day will ware you down. Especially when the students do not even care to pay attention to it.
If you paid teachers more they would be more willing to stay and deal with it, but many will continue to burn out. Many seasoned teachers have learned to deal with these issues, and it takes a special kind of teacher to really love their profession. Teaching is not easy. What do you think?
