Why school teachers are quitting in droves

Some time ago, I saw an advertisement from a regional school district here in North Idaho that was looking for teachers. For context, this position was located in a small and remote – and I mean Alaskan-bush-style remote – town. The town was willing to consider anyone with a bachelor’s degree. An actual teaching certificate was not required immediately – the new teacher could work on obtaining it over the next couple of years of teaching (at the cost of the district). In short, they were desperate for teachers.

I went through a mental exercise of, “Could I teach there?” and concluded the answer was “No.” Not because of the school’s location, but because … well, it’s a school. I came to that conclusion because a teacher is much more than someone who imparts knowledge to students. A teacher is also a social worker, a counselor, a parole officer, a diplomat, a nanny and a drill sergeant. I am not any of those things, nor do I have any desire to be.

Additionally, teachers are required to implement fads in the classroom with which they may or may not agree. I recently saw an article entitled “The end of ‘restorative discipline’? Parents, teachers are fed up,” which discussed one of those fads.

“It appears parents and educators in the nation’s public school systems are starting to realize the degree of charlatanry associated with so-called ‘restorative discipline’ practices,” the article states. “As well-meaning as [this program] may be, there’s rarely enough follow-through or upkeep with the program. As more requirements are thrown at teachers, the less time they have to utilize the program’s approaches.”

Restorative discipline is “founded on the belief that all children can behave appropriately with intervention,” and “encourages empathetic responses to misbehavior that reinforce better behaviors,” according to this report.

Unable or unwilling to let this idea go, district officials suggest a task force to “retrain” teachers on restorative discipline practices, which include “viewing class disruptions through a trauma-informed lens, encouraging them to empathize with a student and their background when they misbehave.”

But one school board member was “weary of continuing to put training and responsibilities on teachers to deal with student behavior issues that stem from factors beyond their control.”

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Tell me … do teachers actually TEACH anymore, or have their positions been redefined as social worker and psychological counselor? While a teacher is attempting to impart “intervention” for one student’s disruptive behavior, what’s happening with the other students in the class?

Above all, it appears restorative discipline practices don’t take into account human nature. “I’ve seen [restorative discipline] firsthand and it does NOT work,” wrote one weary instructor. “Kids learn to take advantage of it real quick. It was the norm at my last job, and I got out as fast as I got in. Last principal at my current job did it during the pandemic and teacher morale dropped … new principal came this school year with a red column no-nonsense attitude, and issues have dropped big time.”

That’s right: Good ol’ fashioned discipline often does the trick on misbehaving students. But if teachers aren’t allowed to use these tried-and-true methods, the disruptive students’ behavior will only get worse, and – this is critical, so pay attention here – teachers burn out faster.

The original article notes, “The report comes around the same time as a survey in which teachers said student misbehavior ‘continue[s] to plague schools’ and incidents have ‘grown more serious’ – which is ‘a key stressor and central reason’ for teachers getting out of the profession.”

No wonder school districts are desperate for teachers.

Teaching is, and always has been, a noble profession. We’ve all had instructors in our past who made a difference in our lives. The best teachers still strive to make that difference for their students – but evidently, restorative discipline is not the way to go about doing it. I can only imagine the intense frustration these teachers must feel when they can’t impose or restore order in the classroom.

Teaching is tough enough. So why are so many teachers having their hands tied by edu-fads that are proven failures, thus making classroom environments far more difficult and disruptive? Are why do these edu-fads continue despite their dismal track records?

In fact, one of the critical factors creating teacher burnout is a lack of discipline in the classroom (due, in part, to such things as restorative discipline). A staggering 88% of teachers involved with the American Federation of Teachers said in mid-June that “poor student discipline and a lack of support for dealing with disruptive students” is a “very serious” (70%) or “fairly serious” (18%) problem.

Teacher burnout and shortages are leading to lower teaching standards. Aspiring public school teachers in New Jersey are no longer required to pass the state’s basic skills exam in order to be certified, for example.

Then there is the danger of dealing with students who know no boundaries (possibly due to a lack of discipline, parental or otherwise). Recently, two high school girls were charged with lying to police after they attempted to frame a male teacher they claimed was sending inappropriate messages to a student. I can’t imagine this teacher is eager to return to the classroom after this debacle. Another one bites the dust.

Classroom discipline is just one of endless factors plaguing the public school system (factors which, incidentally, are far less likely to be an issue in private schools). In short, teaching has become an uphill battle that appeals to fewer and fewer people as a career option, and which takes teachers out of the classroom from sheer burnout and frustration. After all, would YOU want to be a teacher?

For those of you in the teaching profession, what are your thoughts? Is it a field you would recommend?