Why are So Many Teachers Quitting?

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It seems that everywhere I turn, I hear about teachers changing careers.  I know teachers who are going back to school, attempting to change fields entirely. I cannot speak for all teachers screaming and running from high school buildings across the country, but I am a former teacher. I made the awkward decision to leave the field of secondary education. I truly believe that my reasons for leaving mirror the excuses of many former teachers all over the US.

First of all, I’m not ashamed to say that my paycheck was measly.  After state and federal taxes, social security, retirement fund, and disability insurance, it was a meager amount of money to contribute to my household. It’s even scantier considering teacher responsibilities. For example, I did teach state mandated objectives each and every day, but I also had to take roll, grade papers, track student success, remediate students, keep logs of that remediation, and clean my room. That merely scratches the surface of a high school teacher’s duties.  Teachers are also required to make parental contacts, maintain effective discipline, become an expert on state objectives, and maintain a versatile and educational classroom. This doesn’t even take into account additional duties like creating bulletin boards, gathering fees, writing receipts and hall passes, and attending sports’ duties. The lists can continue, but I won’t bore you with more mundane tasks that teachers perform daily.

Perhaps the greatest reason that teachers decide to abandon the field they once held in high esteem regards state testing. All state mandated tests vary; however, all public school systems give achievement tests. The purpose of these tests is twofold. The tests provide accountability of individual school districts, and each school is rated upon various factors, including state test scores. To maintain or raise school levels, schools must prove yearly progress. Secondly, students who do not pass subject area tests cannot graduate from high school, and this ensures that students learn essential information before graduating. It forces teacher standards to be high, and the educational expectations of high school students are rising each year.