Teachers’ well-being is not bouncing back
We have a problem with our teachers. They are not doing so well. Our principals are also suffering. And, (should I say as always?), teachers and principals of color are having a harder time.
Now there are always people who say that teachers are a bunch of crybabies. Firstly, let them stand in front of 30 students for just one hour! But aside from that, The Rand corporation surveyed 2,300 teachers and 1,500 principals and then compared their answers to a representative sample of American workers. Because we know that everyone is having a hard time since the beginning of COVID. This way they could find out if teachers are, in fact, in worse shape. Or, like the naysayers say, they are crybabies.
For anyone who knows a teacher, you probably know they are not crybabies, they work extremely hard, they are very dedicated to their students and they are probably burnt out.
Just a few figures. 35% of working adults report frequent job-related stress, that is 73% for teachers and 85% for principals. 44% of adults report burnout but 59% of teachers are feeling burnt out.12% of adults report they are not coping well, that figure is double for teachers.
And if you are wondering what the main source of the stress is, it is supporting student learning. Teachers are not complaining mostly about working conditions, most of the stress comes from helping our children to learn. They want to do better and they are burnt out!
We need to support our teachers! Our school districts have to help them with coaching and other mental health support.
If you know a teacher who is struggling, have them get in touch with me for coaching or find another coach. But we cannot lose a good teacher. They are too precious.
©2022 by Shaya Kass, PhD
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This newsletter is published by Dr. Shaya Kass and is meant for informational purposes only.
Photo by Taylor Wilcox on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/4nKOEAQaTgA
The article discussed in this newsletter is: Steiner, E D., Doan, S., Woo, A., Gittens, A.D., Lawrence, R.A., Berdie, L., Wolfe, R.L., Greer, L., and Schwartz, H.L. (2022) Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools: Findings from the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RR-A1108-4. As of June 18, 2022: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-4.html