How long would it take you to quit if someone on your job spit on you? Or you worked 53 hours a week, but still didn’t make enough money to pay your rent.
What would you do if verbal and physical violence were an everyday thing. Or you were given more work to do because a bunch of your coworkers just quit? Or every time you got off, your boss expected you to stay behind and do extra work – for free?
If you’re a teacher in America, these are daily realities, which explains why more than 300,000 public school teachers and other education-related staff left their jobs between February 2020 and May 2022, according to the Wall Street Journal.
That’s 3% of the teaching workforce.
And it’s not just in America.
In the UK, record numbers of teachers are quitting.
44,000 UK Teachers Left State Schools
According to the Department of Education, more than 44,000 teachers left state schools in 2021-22. That’s nearly 9% of the teaching workforce.
The complaints are all the same.
Teachers say they’re sick of poor pay, poor benefits, being overworked burned out with heavy workloads. They’re scared of school shootings and are sick and tired of the violence from students – and their parents.
The emotional toll is wreaking havoc on their mental health. So, they’re quitting.
The Top Reason Teachers Quit
Let’s start with the top reason teachers quit their job – compensation.
For people who are responsible for educating the world, teachers are grossly underpaid.
According to ZipRecruiter, in the United States, the average hourly pay for a waiter is $15.80 an hour; retail sales worker get $17.08 an hour and a teacher, $22.40 an hour.
But, unlike teachers – waiters and retail workers aren’t required to have undergraduate degrees or certification.
In teaching, higher education doesn’t translate to higher salaries either.
Many with bachelor’s and master’s degrees are earning less than some retail workers, forcing them to take on second and third jobs outside the classroom.
Some work as servers, others in fast food. And some even sell plasma.
Teachers are so underpaid, some can’t afford to see the doctor
In 2018, Time magazine published a cover story detailing just how teachers came to be so underpaid in America.
“I have a master’s degree, 16 years of experience, work two extra jobs and donate blood plasma to pay the bills. I’m a teacher in America,” the cover said.
Another headline read, “I have 20 years of experience, but I can’t afford to fix my car, see a doctor for headaches or save for my child’s future. I’m a teacher in America.”
And the final cover, “My child and I share a bed in a small apartment, I spend $1,000 on supplies and I’ve been laid off three times due to budget cuts. I’m a teacher in America.”
Average salaries vary from state to state, but according to World Population Review, Mississippi has the lowest teacher salary at $47,162 and New York the highest at $92.222.
Starting salaries tend to be much lower and far below most states’ livable wage.
Some Fast Food Restaurants Pay More Than Teaching
This archived Reddit post, uploaded in 2022 echoes those sentiments.
“I thought I was making a reasonable salary as a teacher, but I just took a job as a fast food restaurant manager, and it pays significantly more than teaching,” the post said.
Society sees teachers as nothing more than do-gooders. The goal for entering the profession may have been altruistic, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have desires for a good life or to be able to afford a family or travel.
We show workers how much we value them by how we compensate them. If they aren’t adequately compensated or valued, they’re going to start looking for environments that do value them.
The crappy pay is just one of the reasons teachers are quitting in droves.
Many teachers quit due to the disrespect they encounter on the job.
Teachers Quit Because They Are Overworked
According to a survey by the RAND Corporation, teachers work an estimated 53 hours a week – seven more hours than the average working adult.
Most of them are overworked due to staff shortages – many of their colleagues have quit or have put in their resignation letters, so they’re about to quit. That means, those remaining teachers are going to be expected to pick up the slack.
Many teachers are also expected to do free labour like tutoring, coaching, afterschool sessions.
According to that same survey, 25% of their work is uncompensated.
Teachers say the stress is compounded by ridiculously high expectations from administrators and the lack of boundaries when they are off.
They say it is not uncommon for administrators or principals to contact them when they’re off or constantly message them in the evening in group chats.
Teachers are expected to work school fairs and other extracurricular activities. If they don’t they are reprimanded, treated poorly or overlooked for promotions.
I spoke to four teachers, three of whom say they plan on quitting in the next six months. The fourth said she would give it one more year.
“I’m leaving. I hate being a teacher now. I used to love it. They don’t pay anything. Like, for the work I’m doing and the work my fellow teachers are doing, it doesn’t make sense,” said one high school teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she is still in the school system.
“I had to stop doing my side job because every day, my principal was throwing new afterschool responsibilities on me. She and I had it out because they didn’t want to pay me. They finally agreed to pay and guess what it was – $200 for three months’ worth of work. I could have earned that in a day on my side job.”
Violence In The Classrooms Is Leading to the Exodus
From school shootings to violent students, the classroom and the school at large have become warzones.
Teachers have been assaulted not only by their students, but in some cases, their parents or guardians. It’s an absolute nightmare in the classroom.
As at February 16, 2024, there were 12 school shootings in the US. Three were on college campuses and nine were on K-12 school grounds. Seven people were killed and at least 19 injured.
According to US News, in 2023, there were 346 school shooting incidents across the US – meaning the US averaged nearly one incident every day.
Texas saw the highest number of casualties among the states with 21 victims in 2023, followed by Maryland with 20 and California with 18.
As it relates to assaults on teachers, threats and bad behavior are part of the classroom landscape.
A survey from the American Psychological Association found that 14% of teachers report being physically attacked by students.
That violence includes: punching, shoving, hair pulling, having items thrown at them, being spat at or on, to name a few.
Some schools take gentle approaches to these bullies, giving them in-school suspensions or some other slap on the wrist. Sometimes teachers have to continue instructing the very person who just assaulted them.
