Day -35: What We Already Know

I saw a new report yesterday that's trying to document why teachers leave teaching. Guess what? You already know the answers, I bet.

Here's an excerpt:
"Dissatisfied teachers who left the profession cited serious problems with their working environment. More than half
expressed concerns over inadequate supports, such as a lack of time for planning or professional development, and
bureaucratic impediments such as classroom interruptions, unnecessary meetings, and too little say over the way
their schools are run. Teachers pointed frequently to a lack of collegiality as a key reason for leaving the classroom."

So what should we do about this? The report's number two recommendation is to "increase school funding to (at least) adequate levels." What a crazy idea! We might actually be able to make schools better by giving them more money to work with. I don't want the money for myself, and in the report, most teachers agreed with me. Low salaries were not the main reason people were leaving. But if my school had money for counselors, for after-school tutoring, for fixing my ceiling so it doesn't leak, for a real librarian, for a psychogist and a nurse who would be on campus more than half a day per week, for giving me more time to plan lessons. Now that would make a difference.

It reminds me of another report that came out this week about the reasons for the high rates of breast cancer in certain communities in the US. The main answer: poverty. What should we do? Provide everyone with adequate health insurance, the report's authors say.

Yes.

In other news, today, after yet another little lecture from me about the importance of knowing appropriate times for silliness, Juan turned to me and said, on the verge of tears, "But I don't know what people would think of me if I weren't funny." That's another reason I love teaching fourth grade. My students often tell me totally honestly why they are doing what they're doing.