One of the most striking findings in 91直播鈥檚 The State of Teaching project is the disconnect between educators and school administrators in their perception of teachers鈥� morale. In recent years, the challenges that teachers face in the classroom have been supercharged by the pandemic, remote learning, a rising tide of youth mental health concerns, and pay that doesn鈥檛 keep up with costs. This has led to a workforce of educators who say they feel overwhelmed, overworked, and not heard.
As part of the project, EdWeek asked the teachers reporters profiled to express what they believed needed to change in their job to improve morale. In response to that article, many more teachers stepped up to the microphone to make their voices heard. Here鈥檚 a collection of the most prevalent points that teachers had to add to the discussion.
More support needed
鈥淟iterally just parents caring... We are an extension of learning that happens in the home. Work with your kids, spend time with them. Read to them. Discipline them.鈥�
鈥淪upport me when a student is stopping me from teaching ... Empower me with consequences for holding students accountable.鈥�
鈥淢ore support for students鈥� (and teachers鈥�) social-emotional needs & higher pay.鈥�
鈥淢oney that鈥檚 worth the hours.鈥�
鈥楥an we bring it back to the basics?鈥�
鈥淣o more teacher lunch duty! It is the worst 50 minutes of my week. If given the choice, I would clean the student toilets over lunch duty.鈥�
鈥淐an I just teach? That is a big enough job all on its own ... I do believe that we need to build positive relationships with students but when exactly did it become not enough to TEACH the standards?鈥�
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
鈥淥ne day I鈥檇 like to be treated like a professional.鈥�
鈥淗ave our backs, and treat us as the professionals we are. Don鈥檛 forget where you came from and what you expected from your administrators before you became one.鈥�
鈥淭reat us like the professionals we are! Pay us for the hard work we do. Why is this such a difficult concept being politicized?鈥�
鈥淚f teachers were treated like professionals with degrees and certifications instead of being scrutinized like an underqualified teenaged babysitter, that would help. They want us to do all this work, but don鈥檛 treat us like we are capable or competent.鈥�
鈥淟et us do our job because we know how to.鈥�
鈥淭o have administrators that don鈥檛 think they are more important than teachers and treat them as subordinates, not team members.鈥�
鈥淥ne word fixes everything鈥擱ESPECT. When we say we need something, respect us and believe it. Respect that we know our [expletive] enough to abolish state testing, which proves NOTHING. Respect that we can teach our classes without being micromanaged. And respect our hard work by paying us appropriately.鈥�
Sometimes 鈥榣ess is more鈥�
鈥淪maller class sizes, it makes the management of students easier, even when troubled ones are there.鈥�
鈥淪maller class sizes.鈥�
鈥淪maller classes, more pay, less [expletive].
鈥淪maller classes.鈥�
鈥楴ew rules, please鈥�
鈥淲e will never be able to outcompete the smart phone for entertainment so either have the guts to ban them in school or get over the fact that kids will be distracted by them.鈥�
鈥淚 have a novel idea. Give immediate consequences for poor behavior!鈥�
鈥淚 would like more than one bathroom break a day.鈥�
鈥淥ne day I would like to evaluate the superintendent, and school administration, like we used to many years ago, or for them to take the TECAT test [for administrators].鈥�
鈥業 have a list ...鈥�
鈥淕ive us back the power to hold students accountable for their own:
1. Bad behavior
2. Not completing homework/classwork
3. Poor grades鈥�
鈥�1. Leave us alone and let us work
2. Stop with the 鈥榞otcha鈥� evaluations.
3. Support us when we need to remove disruptive students.
4. Keep our planning period for, well, planning.
5. STOP COMPARING US TO OTHER TEACHERS!!鈥�
There have been some bright spots
鈥淚 can honestly say that my district does ALL of this really well 鈥� I feel very supported as an educator 鈥� and have for 23 years so far!!鈥�
鈥淚 feel well supported financially, but agree with all the other points!鈥�
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