Do you think that teacher's have a high burnout rate?

My sister in law taught English in Detroit and did just fine.She has alot of patience with kids.It all depends on the person,I suppose:)

Those who can do, those that can’t teach. Plus teachers get all summer off. What could be an easier gig?

Not really, no. I suspect that teaching suffers from the same thing all public sector jobs do. That people who cant cut it in the real (private) world end up here.

The teachers that I know get at least 10 weeks of vacation each year. They love it. I would too.

Teachers burn out because of decisions the school administrators make and not the students as much.

I imagine they will be in Florida soon.
They just passed a bill here saying teachers will be paid according to how well their students do.
Teachers are leaving Florida in droves i hear.

Any teacher who pluralizes the word as “teacher’s” (or who regularly and without correction taught students who did) would burn out very, very quickly.

@CyanoticWasp My bad. I am dealing with allergies here and am about to rip my head off.

Thanks for pointing that out. ~

@jjmah my bad. Sorry to hear that; it’s a pain, I know.

I just read that in the mid 90’s, 19% of teachers left after their first year. I think many people get into teaching with the idealized view that it’s just hanging with kids and getting summers off. They don’t realize how difficult the parents, the hours (their day doesn’t end at 3:15) the politics, the wide range of exceptionalities, the bureaucracy, etc they will be dealing with are.

@Adirondackwannabe Give it a shot before being so rudely judgmental and ignorant.

@JackiePaper
Very, very true. This school system is fucked already. I was hoping to be able to homeschool my son anyway (rather than have him spend 7 hours a day in an institution that does nothing more than drill a standardised test), but if it gets any worse, I’m not going to have a choice! There won’t be any teachers left!

@Likeradar I wasn’t serious. I know teaching is extremely tough. I do like tweaking teachers for the summer thing. They always take exception to any comments about the summer months off.

This——> ~ is a tilde and denotes sarcasm on Fluther. Using it will make you not seem like an asshole. :)

I was going for the asshole angle to stir up a little discussion on here. It was dead for awhile.

Many take other jobs for the summer , even ndesirable ones.

I think in some parts of NYC, yes. And in some parts, no. I know a lot of teachers who left private schools because they were sick of the overly entitled kids and parents, and who left public schools because of the misbehaving students and uncaring parents.

I do know some super-loyal teachers, though, working in districts in parts of town I still haven’t set foot in and they are dedicated and not yet burnt out. That amazes me.

I think I once read that most new teachers leave within 3–5 years.

My wife deals with so much shit during her day. Most of her problems come from having to deal with ineffective administrators and ridiculous district, state and federal laws. It’s not the actual teaching that’s the problem.

@tinyfaery I teach in WA, and I feel the same way as your wife. Dealing with the district and the administration is the absolute WORST part of the profession. It takes the wind out of your sails when all you hear is “You can’t do that.” For once, I would like to have one of the higher ups say, “Wow, great idea, what can we do to support you?”

I think new teachers burn out because they come in thinking everyone involved is here for the same reasons they are; to educate. Unfortunately, school districts are run like corporations—it’s all about the bottom line.
If I could open my own school and do my own thing, it would be the best job in the world.

@Supergirl

Y’know, I think this is why I’m a stay-at-home mom.

I can’t go into the medical profession, because it’s all about keeping people medicated instead of making sick people healthy.

I can’t go into teaching because it’s all about staying under budget, not raising the people we want running the country in ten years

I can’t own a bakery, because it’s all about dealing with taxes and payroll and employee relations, and other bullshit, instead of baking and selling really yummy pastries.

I needed to have been born about 300 years before bureaucracy was invented.

Yes, especially in the early grades.

Yes, with the low pay and the large classes, with little or no support from the parents, having to fight for a new contract every year, government interference or worse indifference, it is a very stressful job. There is a huge turnover, and many who are qualified to teach are choosing other careers instead.

Being a teacher is stressful work so yes they do get burnt out. Especially during these hard economic times when teens are rebeling adults. Teaching is one of the most under appreciated profession in the united states.

@Seek_Kolinahr I hope you don’t mind me asking…. but are you concerned that home schooling your kid might damage his/hers social development. Please don’t think I’m having a go, this is just a concern I’ve had with the concept of home schooling since I first heard about it.

@JeffVader

Of course, we all know that kids can become socially dysfunctional even when attending public school and an active church as well (points at self), so assuring my son’s social development is a major concern of mine.

He’s just about 20 months old now. He’s already heavily involved in playgroups, and we frequently spend time in kid-friendly establishments (the Museum of Science and Industry has toddler-directed activity programs, for example). As he gets older, I will augment his home-schooling with group music lessons (Piano, guitar, whatever he wants), as well as any other extracurricular he might desire (we’re secretly hoping he’ll take up Little League Baseball).

@Seek_Kolinahr Heh, sorry I didnt realise he was just a toddler…. but it sounds like you’re doing brilliantly, he’s a lucky kid!

@Seek_Kolinahr get him a Fluther account as soon as he can reach the keyboard. He’ll still be socially dysfunctional (Fluther will see to that!), but at least he’ll have good typing skillz.

@CyanoticWasp ’/
v
mfxikjmxll hgbk ijbhglo, ijhbci

((That’s all I could get him to type. He really prefers the mouse.))

Yes, very high. It’s tough to deal with students for decades.

@Seek_Kolinahr make sure he gets those GA points, now.

I’m a TA not a teacher but I can witness daily the kinds of things that could be burning alot the teachers out. I can’t tell you how many feel good programs have been started and abandoned in just the 5 years I have worked at my school. I haven’t jumped on any of the bandwagons. Big money spent on consultants and workshops and implementation and then a year later they abandon it all for something else that sounded good. I’ve been standing around suggesting that they implement something already shown to have long term documented efficacy but no…can’t do that…it doesn’t sound like something a motivational speaker would say. hahahaha.
And don’t get me started on paperwork. Geez Louise. Same as mental health…people drowing in paperwork….and at my school committees. I don’t sign up for those either.
Unlike the teacher in our room I have the luxury of saving all my energy for the students.