Research has been done that shows that half of teachers leave their positions by the end of the first five years teaching. (Teacher Attrition Rates, Why Teachers Quit) This is an alarming fact. While new teachers bring fresh ideas and up to date information into the classroom, experienced teachers bring better classroom management, deeper curriculum knowledge and greater understanding of how to teach, which translates into higher student test scores.
The main reasons teachers site for leaving their jobs include low pay, lack of administrative support and classroom management issues. While there are many others, these three seem to be at the top of the list for most people. Other reasons include the inability to motivate students to learn, bureaucracy, lack of preparation time and mounds of paperwork.
While some things are more difficult to change, such as pay rates and preparation time, other issues can be improved upon and should be improved upon quickly. The better the system in place for our teachers, the better the education our children will receive. This will translate into higher test scores, which will make the school district and the government happy.
The bottom line: The problem in the public school system today is not the teachers. The problem is not the students. The problem is not the curriculum or the amount of time spent on each subject or the type of testing. The problem is lack of pay, lack of administrative support and student discipline issues. The reasons teachers are leaving the field is the reason student test scores are low. Fix one and you will fix the other.
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I could not agree more!