Back in my junior high days, the principal got to know me really well… God, I even made my 7th-grade history teacher cry by rolling a marble or two down the aisle while she droned on and on. At the same time, during art class, Mr. H. liked to walk around his classroom, yardstick in hand, slamming it on the desk of any kid who displeased him, effectively keeping the likes of me in line…
That was then, this is now.
According to a recent EdWeek Research Center survey, 48% of responding teachers said that “student behavior is a lot worse compared to pre-pandemic times and just 18% are “very satisfied” with their jobs.
Just 18%.
As Rachael Moshman writes, “A survey from the American Psychological Association Classroom Violence Directed Against Teachers Task Force found that 44% of teachers report being physically attacked by students. More than half of the teachers surveyed experienced the destruction of personal property by students (computer, car, phone, jacket, home, etc.). A whopping 75% of teachers said they’d been verbally harassed by a student in some way during the past year. “
*** As educator Trachele S. explains, “Keeping disruptive students in the classroom prevents education from occurring. The discipline problems [of] today are extreme. Chair-throwing, banging furniture against the wall, attacking other students, attacking teachers, extreme continued screaming, refusing to leave the classroom when going to an activity and refusing to enter the classroom when returning … These are a few of the extreme behaviors teachers face today, and behavior charts are not the solution.”
Then there’s this:
*** A recent National Center for Education Statistics found that 75% of public school leaders said that student lack of focus or inattention had either a “moderate” or “severe” impact on learning, plus:
- 21% said students are academically unprepared for school, homework-wise and otherwise.
- 19% said students are disruptive.
- 18% said students are physically unprepared for school, as in lack of sleep and breakfast.
- 16% said students use cell phones and computers when not allowed.
Adding to the mix: the push to send not-ready special needs students into regular ed classrooms. As Nicholas Hobbs Chair and Professor of Special Education Emeritus Douglas Fuchs explains, “Some number of kids with disabilities can and should be in general-ed classrooms. It’s manifestly obvious that they’re doing reasonably well. They should stay there. But for a majority, they need intensive instruction, and we know how to provide intensive instruction. The evidence, I dare say, is overwhelming.”
No wonder, then, that a North Dakota middle school teacher says, “Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and disrespected. We deal with our most valuable part of society, children, and we’re treated as if that doesn’t matter.”
As a recent EdWeek Research Center survey found, 68% of teachers think the public views them negatively. A Pennsylvania elementary teacher put it this way, “I feel defeated and am tired of being hated by society.”
One result:
- According to a recent Pew Research Center national survey, 50% of elementary teachers don’t think young people should become educators.
- Just 16% of K-12 teachers in a recent Educators for Excellence survey said they’d recommend teaching to young people.
We should all take heed…
~ With thanks, Carol
