TWW-Teachers

Demoralized Teachers Head For the Exit The Wired Word for the Week of September 8, 2024

In the News

An article published in August in The Wall Street Journal disclosed that increasing numbers of educators have been leaving the profession in recent years, causing alarm in many school districts across the country as administrators struggle to attract and retain staff.

"The health and the state of the teaching profession is at or near a 50-year low,” said Matthew Kraft, a Brown University professor of education and economics.

According to a survey of 1,479 K-12 educators conducted by Rand, a nonprofit think tank, in January-February of this year, teachers identified:

poor student behavior,

Colson Worldview: According to a recent article in The Atlantic, educators are stuck in a kind of sci-fi reality, between students using artificial intelligence to write their papers and artificial intelligence designed to catch students using artificial intelligence to write their papers. Every time a better tool allows teachers to sniff out cheating, a better tool comes along to evade it.

Perhaps more disturbing, teachers are in on the artificial cheating action. Why grade dozens of papers at a time when AI can do it for you? If it weren’t true, it would be unbelievable: papers written by bots, graded by bots. It’s like programming a video game to play itself and then claiming the win.

low compensation

and administrative work outside of teaching

as the top three sources adding work-related stress to their lives.

Other factors that contribute to teacher demoralization and exhaustion, respondents said, were unmanageable workloads, staff shortages, lack of support from school administrators, unreasonable expectations and problems stemming from interruptions to face-to-face instructional time during the pandemic.

In 2018, over 70% of teachers said the stress of the job was worth it, but only 42% of participants in the Rand poll earlier this year felt the same.

A recent Education Week poll showed that only 64% of public-school teachers said they were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their jobs. Researchers have learned that most teachers wouldn't recommend the profession to others.

Poor compensation for many of America's roughly 3.8 million teachers accounts for some of the dissatisfaction.

"It's not a lucrative profession," said Peter Galamaga, who has taught high-school English for 30 years in New Hampshire. His son, a recent college graduate, makes a higher salary in the medical devices industry than he does.

Author Alexandra Robbins said that 70% of educators have to work extra jobs in order to earn enough to be a teacher. In addition, Robbins said, 94% of teachers pay $500 every year, on average, to purchase classroom supplies.

In April 2023, journalist Christiane Amanpour identified these challenges in the field of education: "Staffing shortages, burnout, funding cuts and the debates over the curriculum ..., not to mention school shootings."

Robbins asserted, "There is no teacher shortage. There is no shortage of people who are wonderful, qualified, willing educators. There is a shortage of teaching jobs that adequately treat, compensate and respect skilled professionals such as they would want to be teachers in the first place. That's not a shortage of people, that's a shortage of support."

Jessica Faust, an elementary-school special-education teacher in Perrysburg, Ohio, said she has been demoralized by accusations that teachers are indoctrinating students with ideas a few find objectionable.

"The perception is now that teachers work against parents," said Faust. "And it's not the case. We truly want to be a team."

(There seems to be a push by school boards to alienate parents and teachers are caught in the cross-fire.)

Studies show that many educators cite feeling overworked, undervalued and underappreciated as reasons they consider quitting. They say "they are expected to give too much time and energy to their jobs at the expense of things outside of work that are meaningful to them."

Aimee Elmquist, a 9th-12th grade science teacher for seven years, said, "You get tired of not having a life at all."

"Experts say that teacher burnout is due to unmanageable workload, high stakes testing, pressure at work, not enough resources at work," Robbins stated. "But instead of actually fixing these issues, like any normal workplace you'd think would do, schools instead tell teachers to relax, do a better job of self-care ..., the burden is on the teachers to go pay for a massage or something to alleviate the stress ... caused by a job that's impossible to do. ... This is not the teacher's fault. ... school systems are the employers worst at providing necessary supports and resources to their employees."

"Now is the time that those of us who are educator allies need to stand up for teachers, speak up for them and show up to board meetings to lobby for what they need," Robbins concluded.

More on this story can be found at these links:

Teachers Are Burning Out on the Job: Student Behavior and Mediocre Pay Are Taking Their Toll. The Wall Street Journal Why Are Teachers Quitting? Amanpour and Company The Teachers: A Year Inside America's Most Vulnerable, Important Profession. Alexandra Robbins K-12 Teachers Are Quitting. What Would Make Them Stay? McKinsey & Company Why These 18 Oklahoma Teachers Are Quitting Their Jobs (Video 7:49). Vice News

Applying the News Story

Many school districts are facing hiring and retention challenges as more teachers are choosing not to continue working in the field of education, and as fewer college students are training to enter the profession. We consider what our faith teaches us about how to build a fair and just education system in which instructors and pupils can all thrive.

Becky:

Your response to all these points?

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope

Before we get to the scriptures, realize that there was no universal public school system during the times of the Bible.

So, this limits what the Bible can tell us about specific treatment of public school teachers.

According to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

Most teaching and learning in the biblical periods consisted of informal training and concentrated on the goal of passing along an approach to life centered on guidance for a moral and religious lifestyle.

Formal education was restricted to the elites of society (the rulers and their immediate workers) throughout most of the biblical period.

Literacy in the sense of reading and writing was normally linked to the ruling classes and their helpers due to the requirement for a more formal setting for such training.

On the other hand, the gradual acceptance of the OT as canon brought a greater need and reason for teaching, at least, an ability to read to a larger segment of the population, with the synagogues serving as settings for such training (likely during the time of the exile).

In general, however, the lower classes did not need literacy to fulfill their everyday obligations or had no free time for the required training in what would have been an unnecessary luxury among life’s primary demands. Due to this, informal learning is the major form of education referenced in the biblical text, with home and community settings serving as the vehicles for such training.

Three major types of learning are mentioned in the Bible with different emphases in each setting.

The first and most common setting was the home in which moral instruction, cultural patterns, historical events, and spiritual guidance were taught by parents to children on an informal level with extended family involved in the task many times as well.

A second type of learning related especially to the needs of the political elites for helpers such as scribes in keeping government records and promoting their image in the public domain.

In the OT context Ezra is the prime example of a religious emphasis on scribal training and activity. Ezra marks a turning point as a class of religious scribes emerges in order to copy the sacred texts and to read them to the people. Members of this scribal group often became interpreters of the text during the intertestamental and NT time periods.

The emergence of the synagogue gatherings provided further settings for offering training in at least minimal levels of reading literacy as required for reading the sacred text in the synagogue services. Also, spiritual instruction and moral guidance were taught to children through the synagogue organization during the week. For the NT period this is the likely source for any educational training outside of the home that Jesus and His disciples would have had.

A third setting for learning in the biblical time period involved the education of elites themselves, those in the upper stratum of society.

In these settings a more formal education system existed that included training by others outside of the family unit who were hired for that purpose (or slaves were used). While records of this type of training in the OT time period are limited, a general picture includes royal courts and wealthy urban elites with at least some collections of important works. In Egypt and the Babylonian, Assyrian, and Persian empires, the levels of formality, breadth, and sophistication of such learning were quite high.

Teachers were either slaves or employees.

The pattern for formal education in the Greco-Roman culture of the NT period included beginning with grammar instruction during the early childhood years, followed by guidance in the art of rhetoric and speech. Sometimes the student received instruction from a tutor in the home and at other times by attending a school, with various combinations possible between these two options.

Although none of the leaders of the early church or writers of the NT was likely a member of the ruling elites, Paul and Luke may have had some formal educational training.

The Bible focuses on teaching about God and His moral demands (commandments). Consider the following:

Deuteronomy 6:4–7 (LSB) “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! 5 “You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

Proverbs 1:7–9 (LSB) The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline. 8 Hear, my son, your father’s discipline And do not abandon your mother’s instruction; 9 For they are a garland of grace for your head And ornaments about your neck.

Proverbs 22:6 (LSB) Train up a child according to his way, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (TPT) Dedicate your children to God and point them in the way that they should go, and the values they’ve learned from you will be with them for life.

Colossians 3:16–17 (LSB) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

James 3:1 (TPT) My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be so eager to become a teacher in the church since you know that we who teach are held to a higher standard of judgment.

Fire Bible: Teachers. This includes pastors, church leaders, missionaries, evangelists, Christian teachers or anyone who gives instruction in God’s Word or ministers to a church congregation. These leaders must understand that no one has a more serious responsibility than those who teach God’s Word. Because of their position of influence, they will be held to the highest level of personal accountability and judged more strictly in the future judgment.

But, I believe public school teachers also have a HUGE responsibility.

I was listening to the radio this afternoon and heard how 30% of Gen Z think that Hamas, etc. are “good guys.”

Already mentioned, Colson Worldview Article from yesterday:

Talking about modern education, John Stonestreet and Dr. Timothy Padgett say that education has lost its way because teachers have lost their way. They don’t know the why of education. Stonestreet and Padgett assert that:

… education without a why is doomed to fail. Education without a moral framework only makes people better at being bad.

This is the central focus of “Men Without Chests,” the opening essay in one of C.S. Lewis’s most important books, The Abolition of Man. Lewis clearly saw that attempts to de-moralize education would not give us a world without vice, but a world without virtue:

In a sort of ghastly simplicity, we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.

Within a Christian worldview, education is for the acquisition of wisdom and the understanding of God. That’s why historically, wherever Christianity spread, schools followed. When learning is centered on the Bible, literacy has a purpose. When based on an understanding of human beings and our purpose in this world, learning is sacred. God made us to enjoy His creation with all our minds, not our computers, under the care of someone who knows His truth.

The job of Christian educators, Dr. John Stackhouse once said, is more than twice as hard. They must be Christians; they must be educators; and they must be Christian educators.

Nehemiah 8:3, 8 (For context, read Nehemiah 8:1-18.)

Nehemiah 8:3 (LSB) And he [Ezra a Priest and scribe who came with the 2nd group of exiles] read from [the Book of the Law] before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the ears of the people were attentive to the book of the law. Nehemiah 8:8 (LSB) [Ezra and others with him] read from the book, from the law of God, explaining and giving insight, and they provided understanding of the reading.

This chapter describes the reintroduction of the Mosaic law to the Israelites who had returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile, during which their normal religious education had been interrupted, if not entirely suspended. The fact that Ezra brought out the book of the law at the request of the people (v. 1) would indicate that they were hungry for learning. Any teacher would be thrilled to have such eager students.

Ezra stood on a platform, flanked on his right by six leaders, and on his left by another seven, whose presence lent a measure of gravitas and authority to Ezra's words as he spoke (v. 4).

He was further supported by 13 Levites who "helped the people to understand the law" (v. 7), and by Nehemiah, the governor, who comforted the people, who "wept when they heard the words of the law" (v. 9). Nehemiah told them that they should celebrate what they were learning by eating together, making sure that everyone had provisions and that no one was left out (v. 10-12).

The next day, heads of households came together with Ezra the scribe, the priests and Levites, "to study the words of the law" (v. 13). When they discovered a practice in the law that they had neglected, they immediately resumed the activity with great delight (vv. 14-17). And every day, they listened as Ezra read again from the book of the law.

I have to immediately question the relevance of this passage with the subject of public school teachers.

To me, there is a great distinction between public school teachers and Bible teachers.

They may share a few techniques, but the approach seems very different.

Also, it seems the passage particularly deals with teaching adults. Teaching children is VERY different.

Thoughts?

Questions: What factors made this time in Jerusalem an exciting time to be an educator?

There was a hunger for the knowledge of the Lord.

To be a student?

God has raised up Ezra and men who were willing to learn from him.

What could have short-circuited this renaissance of learning?

Busyness (farming, building, shepherding, etc.)

Enemies threatening them (building the wall, they had swords in one hand and a trowel in the other)

Nehemiah 4:16–17 (LSB) And it happened that from that day on, half of my young men carried on the work while half of them took hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. 17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.

Why do you think the people wept when they heard the words of the law?

They were convicted.

Are there times when teaching difficult topics or history might stir feelings of grief, regret, or even horror?

Certainly! I think of Lt. William Calley (just died a few weeks ago on 4/28/24 [at 80 years old) and the My Lai Massacre.

{His death was not reported until July 29, when it was discovered in public records. On his death certificate, a question asking if he had ever served "in [the] U.S. armed forces" was marked "no".[56]}

How should teachers and leaders handle such an outpouring of emotions?

They should give context.

Luke 2:46-47 (For context, read Luke 2:41-51.) Luke 2:46–47 (LSB) And it happened that after three days they found Him [Jesus] in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

At the age of 12, Jesus accompanied Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the Passover. Unbeknownst to them, Jesus remained behind at the temple, soaking in whatever tidbits of wisdom might fall from the lips of the teachers there.

Questions: What might Jesus' actions on this occasion suggest about His attitude toward teachers?

He saw value in being with them.

What might He have learned from them?

Their experiences.

What might they have learned from Him? The Father’s rationale for events.

Proverbs 11:24-26 Some give freely yet grow all the richer;     others withhold what is due and only suffer want. A generous person will be enriched,     and one who gives water will get water. The people curse those who hold back grain,     but a blessing is on the head of those who sell it. (No context needed.)

We might easily see how these verses apply to individuals, whether they are generous and fair, or stingy and miserly. Let's try reading the passage again this way:

Some communities give to teachers freely, yet grow all the richer;     Others withhold what is due to staff, and only suffer want. A generous community will be enriched,     And one who gives life-giving water will get life-giving water in return. Teachers curse those who hold back resources they need to survive and to do their job,     But a blessing is on the head of those who provide a good return on teachers' investment.

Questions: We are not suggesting that we rewrite scripture, and we acknowledge that we have taken some liberty with the text. But what do you think?

I think the approach seems logically sound, but how things actually turn out is a whole other kettle of fish (unintended consequences).

When, if ever, have you seen this interpretation play out in our education system?

I have not personally see a generous system (for teachers NOT admin).

1 Timothy 5:17-18 (For context, read 1 Timothy 5:17-22.)

1 Timothy 5:17–18 (TPT) The pastors [elders] who lead the church well should be paid well. They should receive double honor for faithfully preaching and teaching the revelation of the Word of God. 18 For the Scriptures have taught us: “Do not muzzle an ox or forbid it to eat while it grinds the grain.” And also, “The one who labors deserves his wages.”

While Paul was addressing people in the community of faith, we can extrapolate principles from these verses that are applicable in secular work environments as well. The metaphor of an ox treading out grain helps us visualize what the adage, "The laborer deserves to be paid," means. It could be considered unkind, even cruel, to force an ox to toil in a gristmill without ever being able to taste the tiniest morsel of the grain beneath its hooves.

Questions: How might these instructions apply to teacher recognition and remuneration?

Public school teachers are also worthy of recognition and remuneration.

What factors should determine what a teacher deserves, and what an educator is worth?

There needs to be a better accounting for prep time, grading papers, extracurricular activities, etc. There needs to be an accountable reimbursement system in place.

In MS and HS some teachers will have to work longer (English, Social studies, etc.) compared to math and science (particularly in grading). There needs to be appropriate compensation.

The Big Questions

1. What positive and negative impacts did the pandemic have on teachers? Students? Families with school children?

The school-age students were set back during the pandemic, maybe never to catch up?

Teachers continue to face the disruption of “distance learning” days (lost days) since the pandemic to keep systems exercised for a possible return to suspension of in-class learning.

Families were disrupted, BUT apparently some parents better engaged with their children’s curriculum making startling discoveries.

2. If you are a teacher or school administrator or staff member, or a student considering education as a profession, what, if anything, makes education a desirable career path? What might cause you to pursue a different line of work?

3. What weight do you give to your own needs and the needs of your family when deciding what the next steps in your career should be? How do you strike the right balance between those needs and what you value in terms of what you want to contribute to building a healthy community?

Let’s take these 2 together.

Where does the will of God fit into these questions?

Matthew 6:7–10 (LSB) “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

Gary Meadors (2003). Decision Making God’s Way: A New Model for Knowing God’s Will

Psalm 40, quoted in Hebrews 10:5–7 and applied to the earthly life of Christ, summarizes Christ’s example of doing God’s will:

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body You prepared for Me;

with burnt offerings and sin offerings

You were not pleased.

Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about Me in the scroll—

I have come to do Your will, O God.’ ”

The reference to God’s will here is a classic example that God’s plan is God’s will.

Jesus was unique, of course, but He became a man under the messianic expectations of the Old Testament. How did He fulfill those expectations? Did He have to figure out what doing God’s will meant? Did he have to find it? No. He merely obeyed God’s Word with the special application of being its fulfillment! As Hebrews 5:8–9 states, “Although He was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Even for Jesus, character development was at the core of doing God’s will.

Jesus fulfilled God’s will by submitting to the sovereign plan and exemplifying the moral expectations of Scripture.

He was born in Bethlehem in fulfillment of Micah 5:2.

He consciously lived out the purposes of the Servant of the Lord (Luke 4:14–30).

He fulfilled the plan of God by his choices (Matt. 3:13–17; John 4:34).

He promoted conformity to God’s moral will to those who followed his teaching (Mark 3:35; Matt. 7:21; John 7:16–17; 9:31).

He sought the teaching of Scripture to deal with the issues of life that confronted him (Matthew 4:1–11; 5:17–20; chapters 5–7).

Furthermore, Jesus expected the Jewish people to whom He was sent to know what the Bible expected and act on it (John 3; 5:39–40; Luke 24:25–27).

He insisted that those who possessed the Bible not only obey its explicit teaching but also reason out the implications of its teaching and values in life’s circumstances (Matthew 23:23; chapters 5–7; cf. 2 Cor. 3:6).

For Jesus, to live under and flesh out God’s plan and moral teaching was the substance of doing God’s will.

Jesus passed His teaching to the apostles so that they could pass it on to the next generation (Matt. 28:18–20). The apostles understood Jesus’ teaching as crucial and they in turn taught what they had received without reduction (2 Tim. 2:2).

Speaking to area pastors yesterday — “Teaching is a calling. People don’t (shouldn’t) go into it because it is “a desirable career path,” or for pay, for the needs of their family, etc.

I would hope that the required internship (student teaching) would be a wake-up call (if the instructors/professors romanticized it) to expose just how much hard work it is.

4. What might help you deal with painful feelings (grief, anger, guilt, anxiety, disappointment, etc.) that may come with leaving a profession you have loved? What guidance does your faith provide you about if and when "quitting" the path you are on might be appropriate?

We are back to the same question: “What is God’s will? What is God’s will in light of CURRENT realities (Physical and cognitive abilities, etc.).

5. If you are an educator, what action, if any, would you most like to see people in your community, including church members, take on your behalf?

For Further Discussion

1. Consider these perspectives on the role of teachers:

Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. -- Japanese proverb

One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world. -- Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani education activist

The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise. -- Maya Angelou, author

Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives. -- Andy Rooney, television commentator and curmudgeon 

Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together. -- Scott Hayden, composer

"Teaching is a calling, too. And I've always thought that teachers in their way are holy -- angels leading their flocks out of the darkness," wrote journalist Jeannette Walls in Half Broke Horses.            

If Walls is correct, what does that suggest about how we should view the profession and treat educators?

Teachers are absolutely essential and should be treated accordingly.

BUT, they are PARTNERS with parents who have the FIRST responsibility for their children’s education.

Vanessa couldn’t do math — we had her tested and went above and beyond.

Nathan couldn’t read well. Again, WE researched, WE worked with, WE found resources to help.

2. Which of these methods do you think would be the most effective ways to support teachers?

Ask teachers what they need and how you can help

Respect teacher autonomy and expertise

Express gratitude/celebrate educators during Teacher Appreciation Week and all year round

Post a "Thank you, teachers" message on a lawn or business signAcknowledge teachers on birthdays or other special occasionsBrag about teachers on social media or in letters to the editorWrite a note to school administrators, the school board or to legislators about what teachers mean to you and your child; advocate for more support for educatorsSet up a breakfast buffet, tea or catered lunchHost a surprise party in the break room or parking lot

Give gifts

Send flowers or a plant for the classroomProvide a treat basket for your child's teacher, or stock the teachers' break room with healthy snacks and drinksBeginning or end-of-year gift cardsProvide a spa day, self-care and wellness bags with candles, etc.Give teachers school swag or personalized items such as t-shirts, mugs, hats, notepads, sticky pads, water bottles or tote bagsCreate "coupons" or give gift certificates teachers can redeem for items they need or want (cleaning supplies; tickets to a movie, concert or sporting event; dinner at a restaurant), or skills you can offer (home repair, an oil change, a tank of gas, mowing a lawn or snow removal, washing windows, child or elder care, etc.)

Lobby the powers that be to substantially increase funding for education and teacher compensation

Create a group in which educators can share concerns, ideas, experiences and best practices

Donate books, supplies, snacks

Volunteer time and skills

Offer to tutor a student. Chaperone a field trip. Wash teachers' cars. Join the PTA/PTO.

Attend school board meetings or run for a position on the school board.

Responding to the News

Building on the second item in For Further Discussion, brainstorm ways your congregation can intentionally lean into support for educators, school administrators, students and their families. Start by asking people in the teaching profession what practical assistance would be most beneficial to them. Ask for volunteers or assign members of your church to specific schools, to keep track on a regular basis of their needs, to bring those needs back to church leaders and membership for prayer and possible action.

Prayer suggested by Psalm 32:8; Psalm 78:1; Psalm 86:11; Psalm 119:66; John 3:2; John 16:13

O God, who promises to instruct and teach us the way we should go, give us ears to listen to your words so that we may learn good judgment and knowledge. Help us to find creative ways to encourage and support teachers as we work together to raise up the next generation to live useful and meaningful lives that honor you and bless others. In the name of Jesus, the great Teacher, and by the power of the Spirit, who guides us into all truth, we pray. Amen.