\n<\/p>\n
Teaching is demanding work: long hours, low pay, and a profession increasingly shaped by the politicization of public education. Teachers also have to contend with worsening student behavior, the pressure to achieve better student outcomes, and limited autonomy in how they teach.<\/p>\n
While teachers want smaller class sizes, funding for teacher training, hiring more paraprofessionals or counselors, and support for students with disabilities and different learning needs are under pressure. The list of stressors pushing teachers out of the profession is long.<\/p>\n
But what makes them stay? In responses to a question Education Week posed on social media last month about what makes teachers stay in their jobs, teachers stated that their main reason for staying was their students and their love for teaching. Many described a sense of efficacy\u2014feeling their work leads to better student outcomes\u2014as central to their decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve worked in low-income, Title I schools my entire career, and I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way,\u201d said Joshua P., one respondent to the query. \u201cI absolutely love making a positive impact on my kids\u2019 lives. I don\u2019t only teach my content, but I teach hard work, dedication, perseverance, success, etc. I love hearing success stories when they contact me years later. It\u2019s the best feeling knowing I\u2019m making a difference in our society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Educators also pointed to supportive school environments\u2014including their relationships with colleagues and respect from administrators\u2014as key reasons. Other teachers have more practical reasons for staying\u2014some are too close to retirement to leave now, some stay for the pension, and some teachers simply don\u2019t have the energy or time to start a new career.<\/p>\n
Here are some responses that capture some of the reasons why teachers choose to stay in their jobs.<\/p>\n
Every time I have quit I have found my way back to the classroom, it\u2019s my life calling apparently.<\/p>\n
I have supportive admin who I philosophically agree with, amazing coworkers who are helpful, kind, and love kids, and I feel effective (thanks to quality math, science, and reading curricula). The system is working in our little microcosm. If any of those three variables change, I’m out. <\/p>\n
I finally found a school where teachers are valued and respected.<\/p>\n
Brooke L.<\/span><\/p>\n I get to tell history stories all day. I am in a rural school that has behavior under control. They also leave me alone to teach.<\/p>\n Sarah P.<\/span><\/p>\n I like my job\u2014I enjoy working with kids. Beats the hell out of working with adults.<\/p>\n J.M.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s actually still fun for me, I have almost three months off each year, and I\u2019ll enjoy a decent retirement before age 60. Even crumbling professions have an upside!<\/p>\n Steve Y.<\/span><\/p>\n Loans are forgiven, I love teaching every day and have 5 years left until retirement and I\u2019m already sad that I only have 5 more classes to meet. My greatest gift presently is teaching reading. I love when my students realize \u2018I can read!\u2019<\/p>\n Jacque J.<\/span><\/p>\n Teenagers are interesting and funny, and I\u2019ve enjoyed working with them. I\u2019m also pleased to be contributing to my community through my career field. I often wish I earned a better salary\u2014financially, life can be tough\u2014but as I near retirement, I look back knowing it\u2019s been the right choice for me.<\/p>\n Mary B.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s a vocation. And good colleagues make it work. It fills my cup long term even if it drains my cup daily.<\/p>\n Louise R.<\/span><\/p>\n I wanted a meaningful life. I wanted an outlet for my creativity. I wanted to even the playing field for students of color. And I like working with teenagers.<\/p>\n Laurie H.<\/span><\/p>\n I need my retirement!<\/p>\n Danielle K.<\/span><\/p>\n Pension. That is it. If it weren\u2019t for the pensions, there wouldn\u2019t be nearly enough teachers.<\/p>\n Wendy R.<\/span><\/p>\n No alternative options. I need fulfillment and love the subject I teach, but there isn\u2019t much efficacy on the part of students these days. And the level of coddling of students by the system and their parents is unbearable. I hate perpetuating such levels of dysfunction! I am authentically worried for the future.<\/p>\n Jamie A.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m essentially trapped. I can\u2019t go off and get another degree, and I don\u2019t live in an area where I can market any of my other skills.<\/p>\n Justin B.<\/span><\/p>\n I am only staying to get my health care at 25 years and it is only 2 years away for me, then I am out!<\/p>\n Michelle S.<\/span><\/p>\n I stayed in the profession for 27 years. Mainly for the joy the kids brought me by their smiles and being kids! The joy left when the district decided to tell me \u201cWhat to teach, when and how to teach\u201d the curriculum all for test scores. And district politics and bureaucracy drove me away, and covid influenced my decision too.<\/p>\n Kim H.<\/span><\/p>\n I left after 20 years. My only regret was not leaving earlier. It\u2019s taken almost 3 years to recover mentally.<\/p>\n Dawn J.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Teaching is demanding work: long hours, low pay, and a profession increasingly shaped by the politicization of public education. Teachers also have to contend with worsening student behavior, the pressure to achieve better student outcomes, and limited autonomy in how they teach. While teachers want smaller class sizes, funding for teacher training, hiring more paraprofessionals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[9647,613,3602,436],"class_list":{"0":"post-48461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-havent","9":"tag-heres","10":"tag-quit","11":"tag-teachers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}It\u2019s about purpose and students<\/h2>\n
Retirement and pension have a strong pull, but some lack options<\/h2>\n
Some teachers didn\u2019t stick with it<\/h2>\n