Why Do People Become Teachers Today?

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Why Do People Become Teachers TodavP From TO TE.ACH: THE. JOURNE.Y OF A TE.ACHE.R

BY WILLIAM AYERS

William Ayers is a teacher in Chicago. He has taught at every level from preschool to university and it is clear that he loves teaching and thoughtfully reflects on his chosen profession. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Ayers’s name became a well-known name because of his leadership in the radical antiwar politics of the I960s. Many years later he served on a rather large educational board with Barack Obama, and the presidential candidate was criticized because of his association with this “radical.” A lifelong educator, Ayers has written compellingly about the importance of his profession. The selection that follows, from his book To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, describes his own decision to become a teacher and his commitment to stay with the profession,

Teachers are asked hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times why they chose teaching. The question often means: “Why teach, when you could do something more profitable?” “Why teach, since teaching is beneath your skill and intelligence?” The question can be filled with contempt and cynicism or it can be simply a request for understanding and knowledge: “What is there in teaching to attract and keep you?” Either way, it is a question worth pursuing, for there are good reasons to teach and equally good reasons not to teach. Teaching is, after all, different in char- acter from any other profe ion or job or occupation, and teaching, like anything el e, i not for everyone.

There are many reason not to teach, and they cannot be easily di mis ed especially by those of us who love teaching. Teachers are badly paid, so badly that it is a national di grace. We earn on aver- age a quarter of what lawyers are paid, half of what accountants make. les than truck drivers and ship- yard workers. Romantic appeals aside, wages and salaries are one reflection of relative social value; a collective, community assessment of worth.

Teachers also uffer low status in many com- munities, in part as a legacy of sexism: Teaching is largely women work, and it is constantly being des killed, made into something to be performed mechanically, without much thought or care, cov- ered over with layers of supervision and account- ability and bureaucracy, and held in low esteem.

Teachers often work in difficult situations, under impossible conditions. We sometimes work in schools that are large, impersonal, and factory-like; sometimes in chools that resemble war zones.

The complexity of teaching can be excruciating, and for some that may be sufficient reason not to teach (for others, it is one of teaching’s most com- pelling allures).

These are some of the reasons not to teach, and, for me at least, they add up to a compelling case. So, why teach? My own pathway to teaching began long ago in a large, uniquely nurturing family, a place where I experienced the ecstasy of intimacy and the irritation of being known, the power of will

Source: From William Ayers, To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, New York: Teachers College Press.

and the boundary of freedom, both the safety and the constraints offamily living. I was the middle child of five children, and I had opportunities to learn as well as opportunities to teach. In my family, I learned to balance self-respect with respect for others, asser- tiveness with compromise, individual choice with group consciousness.

I began teaching in an alternative school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, called the Children’s Community. It was a small school with large purposes; a school that, we hoped, would change the world. One of our goals was to provide an outstanding, experience- based education for the young people we taught. Another was to develop a potent model of freedom and racial integration, a model that would have wide impact on other schools and on all of society. e thought of ourselves as an insurgent, experimental counterinstitution; one part of a larger movement for social change.

The year was 1965, and I was twenty years old.. For many young people, teaching was not only respectable, it was one of the meaningful, relevant things a person could do. Many schools then. as now, were inhumane, lifeless places. But we were crusad- ing teachers. We felt that we could save the hools, create life spaces and islands of compas ion for chil- dren and, through our work, help create a new social order. We were intent on living live: mat did not make a mockery of our values, and t hing seemed a way to live that kind of life. We were hopeful and altruistic and we were on a mi ion of change.

Today, teaching may not eem 0 attractive, nor so compelling in quite the ame way. Not only are the schools in even worse hape than before, and the problems seemingly more intractable, but there is a narrow, selfish spirit 100 e in the land. Ideal- ists are “suckers” in the currency of the day, and the notion that schools should be decent, accessible, and responsive places for all children is just more pie- in-the-sky. With a combative social Darwinism set- ting the pace in our ociety, and a cynical sense that morality has no place in our public lives, teaching today can seem a fool’ errand. ..J

 

 

But it is not. Teaching is still a powerful calling for many people, and powerful for the same reasons that it has always been so. There are still young people who need a thoughtful, caring adult in their lives; someone who can nurture and challenge them, who can coach and guide, understand and care about them. There are still injustices and deficiencies in society, in even more desperate need of repair. There are still worlds to change-including spe- cific, individual worlds, one by one-and classrooms can be places of possibility and transformation for youngsters, certainly, but also for teachers. Teaching can still be world- changing work. Crusading teachers are still needed-in fact we are needed now more than ever.

And this, I believe, is finally the reason to teach. People are called to teaching because they love children and youth, or because they love. being with them, watch- ing them open up and grow and become more able, more competent, more powerful in the world. They may love what happens to themselves when they are with children, the ways in which they become better, more human, more generous. Or they become teachers because they love the world, or some piece of the world enough that they want to show that love to others. In either case, people teach as an act of construction and reconstruction, and as a gift of oneself to others. I teach in the hope of making the world a better place.

thought they could never create anything meaningful into confident and excited historians. A lesson in world history on the art of Michelangelo finds me jumping on a desk, lying face up, showing students how Michelangelo created his masterpiece. Students are engaged, excited, answering difficult questions about art, style, and form. The students add their own crucial analysis to the work and I, as their teacher, am in awe of them. This is a gift, a miracle.

The rewards of teaching are many. Watching our school’s mock trial team, a team that was never supposed to win or achieve, compete against suburban school sys- tems with many more advan- tages and economic resources makes my heart skip a beat. I have watched the team transform into a confident, well-prepared legal team. It has become a formidable adversary. As the team mem- bers advance to the final round of statewide competition, I am inspired by their dedication, their spirit, and their performance. I am like a proud parent watching them soar. In 1995, the team placed second for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Some may question why I con- tinue teaching. My answer is t

BY MELINDA PELLERIN-DUCK

From “THE COLORS AND STRANDS OF TEACHING”

Melinda Pellerin-Duck has remained far from the national spotlight. A teacher in the High School of Commerce in Springfield. MassachusettS, she was named the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year for 2003-2004. She sees her commitment to teaching as rooted in stories from her family dating back to the time when her great-great-grandmother was a slave in Louisiana and in her experience as a student of the Sisters of St. Joseph at Holy Name Elementary School in Springfield. In this article. her sense of calling and her creative approach to curriculum come through loud and clear.

I was meant to be a teacher. It has not been one experi- ence, but many that have taught me this. Life’s lessons have made me the person I am, and continue to transform me into the teacher Iam becoming. Lessons from students, family, and friends have taught me that patience is a virtue to be embraced in m classroom every day. I’ve learned perseverance, even when the struggle seems insurmount- able. I’ve learned love, and rye had this love reinforced by the gifts each child brings to my classroom experiences. I’ve learned about hope, and I know not to judge a per- son by outside distractions because it is inner beauty that counts. As a teacher, I continue to earch for it in each tudent These are the lessons Itry to instill in each miracle

that walks acro s the threshold of my clas room. I have alway believed that classrooms must transcend

traditional onvention. Students hould participate actively in their own learning; they cannot just sit pas ively while knowledge’ being poured into them. Instruction must be well planned, relevant, interesting. and exciting. To be an outstanding teacher. you must see your students as fellow travelers and learne . In my classroom, we are all “in this together.”

A successful tea her erstands there is alway room for improvement. Iam De .er satisfied with the notion that the longer I teach, rbe more expert I become. I am not an expert, but I am . g to learn more and to become experienced. I live in – earning-mode.” I am motivated to learn more because her reaching for higher standards for myself my students. There is noth- ing more rewarding .” ~ ~ g transform students who

26 Source: ~1a!::6:?:::A=u.:L inNiem.. -‘–J.–E

c.obs aid Strands of Teaching,”

 

 

WhV Do Some People leave Teaching;’ From “THE WRONG SOLUTION TO THE TEACHER SHORTAGE”

BY RICHARD M. INGERSOLL AND THOMAS M. SMITH

that I teach because I see extraordinary possibilities in my students. I could not see myself doing anything else but teaching; it is my vocation. It is part of my life, my soul, and my heart. It is challenging, at times difficult, but the rewards are overwhelming. As a teacher, I have the most fortunate experience of nurturing our future. If we do it well, combining unforgettable and meaningful instruction with a sense of community, our students will become not only stewards of their destiny, but productive citizens of our nation and the world.

Too often, I hear that old quotation, “Those who can’t, teach.” It has been used in popular film and culture to poke fun at and criticize our profession. Yet ours is a vocation, a vocation of love; true teachers know this. Those who instruct, who nurture, who hope patiently and lovingly each and every day understand the quotation is really, “Those who can, teach.” Those who can, find joy in walk- ing into a room with open minds. They teach. Those who can, take students from “I can’t” to “I can.” They teach. Those who can, counsel and dispense positive discipline, while staying well after school hours with students. They

teach. Those who can, struggle with self-doubt but endure. Those who can, worry about their lesson plans and whether a particular student will-have enough clothing to wear, or whether there will be heat in that student’s home. Those who can, teach and they do it everyday. I am lucky enough to be one of those who “can.”

I. Look at the reason William Ayers gives for not teaching? How do you react to those concerns?

2. What are your thoughts about Ayers’s assertion that, in spite of all the reasons not to teach, teaching is worth doing?

3. What do you think when you read Pellerin- Duck’s comment “I was meant to be a teacher.” Does that ring true for you. or is teaching a more recent interest!

Richard Ingersoll, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has written a number of books and articles teacher turnover and the way this turnover creates a shortage that would not otherwise exist. In this artide – Who Controls Teachers’ Work? Power and Accountability in America’s Schools, he and his coauthor not only analyze Wry ::ez:;;,ers but also give very clear advice to school leaders and districts as to what they could do to change the situation.

In recent years, researchers and policymakers have told us again and again that severe teacher shortages confront chools …. They point to a dramatic increase in the demand

for new teachers resulting from two converging demo- graphic trends: increasing student enrollments and increas- ing numbers of teachers reaching retirement age. Shortfalls of teachers, they say, are forcing many school sy terns to

‘er their standards for teacher quality Iational Commis- sion on Teaching and America’s Future, 1997).

A loser look at the best data available suggests that the enrional wisdom on teacher shortages, although partly

also errs in important ways. The demand for teach- indeed grown. Since 1984, both student enrollments

CIlIli teacher retirements have increased (Snyder, Hoffman, & UJ;:IUUI:;:'” 1997). Substantial numbers of schools with teach-

-= openings ha e experienced difficulties finding quali- candidates to fill their positions (Ingersoll, 1999). But

rbe darn also show that increases in student enrollment and her retirements are not the primary causes of the high

emand for ne tea hers and subsequent staffing difficul- ti . A larger part of the problem is teacher attrition (leaving

Soun:e: Richad :\l In”aasoII and 1bomas M, Smith, ‘The Wrong Solution 10 the Teacher SOOoage.- Eduauionol Leadership, May 1003. Vol 60. ~o. W. ~33. For a complete listing of the references fur ibis Reading. go 10 www.mhhecomheachlelult).

the profession)-which is particularly big in their first few years of service.

Understanding Employee Turnover The teaching occupation suffers from hronic high annual turnover compared with many tions. Total teacher turnover is fairly eWTI ..y _ two components: attrition (those who ea -e . g aho- gether); and migration (those who move 10 teaching jobs in other schools). Teaching is also a relatively large occupa- tion: It represents 4 percent of the entire civilian work force. There are, for example, more than twice as many K-12 teachers as registered nurses and five times as man teachers as either lawyers or professors -.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998). The sheer size of the teaching force, combined with the relatively high annual turnover rate within the teaching occupation, means that large numbers of employees flow into, between, and out of school each year.

Of course, not all employee turnover is a bad thing. Too little turnover in any organization may indicate stagnancy. Effective organizations usually benefit from a limited

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degree of turnover, which eliminates low-caliber perform- ers and brings in new blood to facilitate innovation. High levels of employee turnover, however, suggest that an orga- nization has underlying problems; in turn, this high turnover can cause turmoil and lead to problems in how the organiza- tion functions (Mobley, 1982; Price, 1977).

Industries and organizations take employee turnover seriously because of its high costs, some of which are more apparent than others. Employee turnover has especially serious consequences in workplaces that require extensive interaction among participants and that depend on commit- ment, continuity, and cohesion among employees. From this perspective, the high turnover of teachers in schools does not simply cause staffing problems but may also harm the school environment and student performance.

Attrition Among Beginning Teachers The turnover problem, although high for the entire teach- ing occupation, affects beginning teachers more than oth- ers. Teaching has always lost many of its newly trained members early in their careers, long before the retirement years (Johnson & Birkeland, in press; Lortie, 1975; Mur- nane, Singer, Willett, Kemple, & Olsen, 1991).

We used the SASSffFS [Schools and Staffing Sur- vey/Teacher Follow-up Survey] data to provide a rough estimate of the cumulative attrition of beginning teachers in their first several years of teaching. The data suggest that after just five years, between 40 and 50 percent of all beginning teachers have left the profe ion. Wby do begin- ning teachers leave at such high rates?

Perhaps the best way to discover wh employees depart from jobs is to ask them. Many organizations do this

through exit interviews. Similarly, the Teacher Follow-up Survey administered a questionnaire to a national sample of U.S. teachers who had left their teaching jobs the year before. Among other questions, it asked teachers to list the main reasons (up to three) for their departure. For this analysis, we focused on new teachers who left teaching after their first year.

About 19 percent of these beginners who left teaching said that they did so as a result of a school staffing action, such as a cutback, layoff, termination, school reorganiza- tion, or school closing. Another 42 percent cited personal reasons, including pregnancy, child rearing, health prob- lems, and family moves.

Around 39 percent said that they left to pursue a better job or another career, and about 29 percent said that dis- satisfaction with teaching as a career or with their specific job was a main reason. These final two reasons-pursuit of another job and dissatisfaction-together playa major role in about two-thirds of all beginning teacher attrition.

The survey asked the 29 percent who listed job dissat- isfaction as a major reason for leaving about the source of their dissatisfaction, again giving them the option of listing up to three reasons. More than three-fourths linked their quitting to low salaries. But even more of them indicated that one of four different school working conditions was behind their decision to quit: student discipline problems;

Reasons for Job Dissatisfaction

Poor salary

Why New Teachers Leave

School staffi)g action……..,. ~ Family or personal

Student discipline problems

Poor administrative support

10 20 30 40

Poor student motivation

Lack of faculty 116 Oo/t influence I °

Class sizes I 4 2°;’ too large ‘I °

No opportunity for 11 3~ advancement ‘ r

Classroom I 0/’ intrusions 0,6/0

IM””‘~” time IO.5J I

10 20

Percent

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50 30 40 50 Percent

 

 

lack of support from the school administration; poor stu- dent motivation; and lack of teacher influence over school wide and classroom decision making.

These findings on dissatisfaction-related attrition are important because they point to “policy-amenable” issues. The conventional wisdom places the roots of the teacher short- age outside schools, within larger demographic trends. By contrast, these data suggest that the roots of the teacher short- age largely reside in the working conditions within schools and districts. These two explanations for the teacher shortage point to different prescriptions for fixing the problem.

What Can Schools Do? The data on new teacher attrition suggest that efforts to recruit more teachers=-which have been the focus of much policy-will not, by themselves, solve the staffing prob- lems plaguing schools. The solution must also include teacher retention. In short, recruiting more teachers will not solve the teacher crisis if 40-50 percent of these teach- ers leave in a few short years. The image that comes to mind is that of a bucket rapidly losing water because of holes in the bottom. Pouring more water into the bucket will not do any good if we do not patch the holes fust.

Although the data confirm that raising teacher salari – offers one effective way to plug these holes, this strategy would be expensive, especially given the sheer size of the teacher population. The working conditions identified b new teachers as factors in their decision to leave teach- ing-lack of administrative support, poor student disci- pline and student motivation, and lack of participation in decision making-may offer a more effective focus for improvement efforts (Ingersoll, 2003).

Increasing support from school administrators for new teachers, for example, might range from providing enough classroom supplies to providing mentors. Mentors are especially crucial. Life for beginning teachers has tradi- tionally been described as a sink-or-swim proposition. Indeed, data from SASSfTFS show that mentoring does make a difference.

Plugging holes through these kinds of changes will not be easy. But the good news, from the perspective of this analysis, is that schools are not simply the victims of inex- orable demographic trends. The management and organi- zation of schools playa .significant role in the genesis of school staffing problems but can also play a significant role in their solution. Improving teachers’ working condi- tions would contribute to lower rates of new teacher turn- over, thereby diminishing school staffing problems and improving the performance of schools.

I. How do you respond to the problems described by Ingersoll and Smith?

2. Are there ways to find a school district that offers the kind of supportive programs Ingersoll a~d Smith describe? How important do you think these programs will be to you?

3. Do you know someone who taught for a year or two and then stopped? Are that person’s reasons for leaving similar to or different from those described in this article?

4. Ingersoll and Smith say that many of the reasons teachers leave could be fixed by schools and districts. As a future teacher, are there things you can do to improve the situation this article describes?

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From THE DISCIPLINE OF HOPE: LEARNING FROM A LIFETIME OF TEACHING

BY HERBERT KOHL

Herbert Kohl began his teaching career in New York City in the I960s. He wrote a book about his first-year experience, Thirty Six Children, which became a best seller because of its graphic description of the frustrations of urban teaching 4 decades ago. In the years since then, Kohl has devoted his life to improving schools, improving teaching, and, most of all, improving the lives of children, As passage reflects, he still has great hopes, both for himself and for the nation’s children, as he begins his 5th decade as a teacher:

tion I am asked these days is whether the hoo now than they were when Irbegan teaching. _ ”

Percentage of Attrition

• Teacher Participated • Teacher Did Not Participate

Should I Be a TeacherP

These are not easy times in which to keep hope alive in poor or even middle-class communities. The most common ques-

Source: Herbert KoW, The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), pp. 331-333.