If you're a teacher out there and you haven't run for the hills yet, THANK YOU. It has been rough of late, and there is an awful lot of green-looking grass out there on the other side of the fence.
Making things even harder, the folks who ARE jumping the fence are the ones being publicized and celebrated. It should be YOU being celebrated for hanging in there!
So really, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for sticking with us through this mess.
Much of this teacher shortage is beyond our control, yet it will affect us more than anyone other than the students. It has been hard, and it is about to get harder.
That said, I think there are some ways that we, ourselves, can do to help curb the number of teachers fleeing the classroom and to make sure YOU don't feel like joining them. No, it shouldn't be our responsibility. But - as always - it is.
We already do it all.
Why not this, too?
Of the seven most commonly listed reasons for teachers leaving, I think we, ourselves, can have a positive impact on three of them - recognition, support, and voice. Much of my advice, as you'll see, is about speaking up and protecting your own energy so that you have the spirit and will to enjoy your work and continue doing it. A bit of it also deals with supporting each other.
So here they are - five ways teachers themselves can help curb the teacher shortage by impacting recognition, support, and voice.
1. Be very public about the good things happening in your class and school
Everything the outside world is hearing about us is negative - we are tired, miserable, and we want to quit. Everything they’re hearing about our work is negative, too. We're teaching the wrong things the wrong ways and getting the wrong results. That's all they know.
Because that's all anybody tells them.
For years now, all we’ve shared is the negative, and look how indulging in the negative has made us feel. And look at how it has made the world feel about us - in the worst cases, we’re reviled, and in the best cases, we’re pitied.
It is time for us to take back the story being told about classrooms and schools. We need to start being very, very public about the good things happening in our classes and schools. We are creative, professional people who do incredibly important work. Let’s share and celebrate that with our communities, our friends, and our social media networks. Let them know what great work you do and let them know who your students are.
I want my work to be viewed as innovative, important, and meaningful - so I tell people that it is. I show people that it is. And I truly believe that it is. I think that what my students learn and the experience they have with me matters every day, and that helps me want to show up and bring my very best to them day in and day out. Is it hard? You know full well that it is. But the success that comes with it is more rewarding than anything I see friends of mine experiencing in other professions. So I share that success. Look what we did today. Look what my work did for the world today. Look at the joy I got to experience that nobody in Cubicle Land got to experience. Look how much my work matters. That's all you'll see on my Facebook and Instagram feeds.
It keeps ME going, for sure. I hope that it makes other teachers want to keep going, too. And with any luck, maybe I’ll even motivate a few folks to come join us.
Let’s take back the story being told about us. Most of your friends and social media network go to work everyday with no hope that the work they do will change lives or shape the future. Let’s show them what we get to do and how much we care about it.
2. Stop reading, watching, and sharing the “I quit” and “I hate this” messages
This is a corollary to #1. In addition to being very public about the great work we’re doing, we’ve got to stop reading, watching, and, most of all, sharing the cascade of “I quit” and “I hate this” videos, editorials, and social media posts that make their way around. They don’t change anything. They don’t make anything better. They don’t even make us feel any better. They’re an attempt to drag you down along with them.
Don't let them be the story.
Making things even harder, the folks who ARE jumping the fence are the ones being publicized and celebrated. It should be YOU being celebrated for hanging in there!
So really, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for sticking with us through this mess.
Much of this teacher shortage is beyond our control, yet it will affect us more than anyone other than the students. It has been hard, and it is about to get harder.
That said, I think there are some ways that we, ourselves, can do to help curb the number of teachers fleeing the classroom and to make sure YOU don't feel like joining them. No, it shouldn't be our responsibility. But - as always - it is.
We already do it all.
Why not this, too?
Of the seven most commonly listed reasons for teachers leaving, I think we, ourselves, can have a positive impact on three of them - recognition, support, and voice. Much of my advice, as you'll see, is about speaking up and protecting your own energy so that you have the spirit and will to enjoy your work and continue doing it. A bit of it also deals with supporting each other.
So here they are - five ways teachers themselves can help curb the teacher shortage by impacting recognition, support, and voice.
1. Be very public about the good things happening in your class and school
Everything the outside world is hearing about us is negative - we are tired, miserable, and we want to quit. Everything they’re hearing about our work is negative, too. We're teaching the wrong things the wrong ways and getting the wrong results. That's all they know.
Because that's all anybody tells them.
For years now, all we’ve shared is the negative, and look how indulging in the negative has made us feel. And look at how it has made the world feel about us - in the worst cases, we’re reviled, and in the best cases, we’re pitied.
It is time for us to take back the story being told about classrooms and schools. We need to start being very, very public about the good things happening in our classes and schools. We are creative, professional people who do incredibly important work. Let’s share and celebrate that with our communities, our friends, and our social media networks. Let them know what great work you do and let them know who your students are.
I want my work to be viewed as innovative, important, and meaningful - so I tell people that it is. I show people that it is. And I truly believe that it is. I think that what my students learn and the experience they have with me matters every day, and that helps me want to show up and bring my very best to them day in and day out. Is it hard? You know full well that it is. But the success that comes with it is more rewarding than anything I see friends of mine experiencing in other professions. So I share that success. Look what we did today. Look what my work did for the world today. Look at the joy I got to experience that nobody in Cubicle Land got to experience. Look how much my work matters. That's all you'll see on my Facebook and Instagram feeds.
It keeps ME going, for sure. I hope that it makes other teachers want to keep going, too. And with any luck, maybe I’ll even motivate a few folks to come join us.
Let’s take back the story being told about us. Most of your friends and social media network go to work everyday with no hope that the work they do will change lives or shape the future. Let’s show them what we get to do and how much we care about it.
2. Stop reading, watching, and sharing the “I quit” and “I hate this” messages
This is a corollary to #1. In addition to being very public about the great work we’re doing, we’ve got to stop reading, watching, and, most of all, sharing the cascade of “I quit” and “I hate this” videos, editorials, and social media posts that make their way around. They don’t change anything. They don’t make anything better. They don’t even make us feel any better. They’re an attempt to drag you down along with them.
Don't let them be the story.
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3. Prioritize energizing activities in your classroom
The main way I want those of you reading this to end the teacher shortage is by not quitting yourself. My best tip for pulling this off is to make your classroom one that energizes you as often as possible. It is really, really hard to show up to work on the days we know stardardized testing or bland, boring activities are on the schedule. The creative, energizing, and engaging activities that we know make students’ experiences better also make our own experiences better. Don’t buy into the barriers to those experiences. Make your job one you want to show up to tomorrow. Do the fun stuff first. When you do, somebody you work with will notice, and they’ll follow your lead. And a couple of your students will take notice, too, and think “maybe I want to teach like this one day.” |
I rarely think about quitting on days like these.
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4. Tell people what you need It is amazing how much people will help us… when we ask. Over the years, I’ve asked for supplies, money, ideas, resources, planning time, time off, help in the classroom, help solving a problem, and just about everything else you can think of. And most of the time, somebody will help - colleagues, parents, administrators, my friends and family, whoever. But I’ve always had to ask. Feeling unsupported is typically one of the top 3-4 things we here drives people out of the profession. I get that, because MAN is feeling unsupported an awful feeling. However, at least for me personally, a lot of the time when I feel unsupported, its because nobody actually knows I need support. I haven’t asked. |
If they hadn't asked, I wouldn't have known to help.
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5. Don't Act In Ways That Burden Your Colleagues
This one isn't so warm and cuddly, so get ready.
As things are get harder, more discouraging, and more overwhelming, we're more likely to act in ways that shift our frustration and burdens onto other teachers. When we shirk responsibilities, let things go, or fail to show up all together, none of that burden goes away. It just becomes someone else's burden.
You have experienced this yourself, no doubt, so I don't need to say a ton about it. Extra work, extra classes, and extra responsibilities are one of the most cited reasons for quitting. Let's be sure not to add to that when we don't have to.
There you have it. Five ways for you as a teacher to single-handedly have a positive impact on the teacher shortage.
Is more needed than just this? Absolutely. Even as I read back over this, I'm the least confident in what I'm suggesting to you than I am for any other stakeholder group. I'm sure you've seen more of the teacher burnout reports than I have (I've only seen this one and this one) The bigger, systemic changes suggested in these are important and serious. But they're entirely outside of our control.
So this is what we're left with.
It shouldn't be our responsibility. But like everything else, it ends up that way.
This one isn't so warm and cuddly, so get ready.
As things are get harder, more discouraging, and more overwhelming, we're more likely to act in ways that shift our frustration and burdens onto other teachers. When we shirk responsibilities, let things go, or fail to show up all together, none of that burden goes away. It just becomes someone else's burden.
You have experienced this yourself, no doubt, so I don't need to say a ton about it. Extra work, extra classes, and extra responsibilities are one of the most cited reasons for quitting. Let's be sure not to add to that when we don't have to.
There you have it. Five ways for you as a teacher to single-handedly have a positive impact on the teacher shortage.
- Share the positive
- Don't indulge the negative
- Energize yourself
- Ask for what you need
- Don't burden your colleagues
Is more needed than just this? Absolutely. Even as I read back over this, I'm the least confident in what I'm suggesting to you than I am for any other stakeholder group. I'm sure you've seen more of the teacher burnout reports than I have (I've only seen this one and this one) The bigger, systemic changes suggested in these are important and serious. But they're entirely outside of our control.
So this is what we're left with.
It shouldn't be our responsibility. But like everything else, it ends up that way.
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