Maggie Perkins, a former teacher who left her teaching job to work at Costco, decided on a career switch after a pay of $47,000 a year and 60-hour week job at the school was causing her to have a burn out and prompted her to leave.
In this day and age, it is not surprising that teachers are leaving their jobs after COVID-19 has caused an increase in the price of goods and services. The COVID-19 pandemic not only shook the United States but the entire world as well. However, due to everything shutting down and everyone isolated from each other, the pandemic also had its impact on the economy.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in April of 2020 the unemployment rate in the United States spiked at a level similar to that of the Great Depression and had stayed around that level since, in October of 2021 this rate was at 4.9%. The huge increase of unemployment rates was caused by businesses shutting down and citizens and immigrants were losing their jobs.
The education system was also impacted by the pandemic. Schools were forced to shut down due to safety precautions and students and teachers were expected to continue their learning digitally, at home for a few more months. In 2021 people started transitioning back to their normal lives that would never be the same; with students and teachers going back to school after months of isolation and teachers experiencing a struggle with students in terms of their behavior, academic success, and motivation.
The U.S. Department of Education states that “…all 50 states reported teacher shortages in more than one area for the 2022–2023 school year. Shortages were especially widespread among special education teachers, science teachers, and math teachers.”
Along with the prices of everything increasing as the result of the pandemic, the salaries of jobs that used to be seen as stable, such as being an educator, were starting to not be enough. Educators nation-wide were already underpaid even before the inflation, but, because everything is priced so high these days, their salaries are not quite enough to pay for goods and services.
“When I first started teaching, the expectation was that I teach mathematics in whichever class was needed i.e. Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, etc. As a teacher today, the expectations are much more than just teaching the content… teachers are tired and not happy with many things. More and more expectations are expected of teachers outside of teaching their content, and to us as teachers it seems like less and less is expected of students in their role(requirement) as learners,” Mr. Mark Swanson, a Geometry teacher at Naugatuck High School stated in an interview with The Greyhound.
Adding to that, it seems like the focus of the development is starting to be more on the teachers instead of the students. Teachers are being pressured to go through such lengths that eventually they are going to start burning out, get tired of their jobs, and could possibly leave and pick a different career.
As of now, many schools are handling the shortage of teachers by hiring unqualified staff or qualified just enough to be in these classrooms. In Florida, schools are hiring veterans and spouses to be a part of the staff. With the lack of educators, students are not and would not– in the future if this continues– experience enough learning as they need and are unable to get an adequate education as students did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The shortage is causing less qualified teachers to be hired, affecting learning for students and resulting in less opportunities. Hopefully more teachers who are well qualified for their possessions can take some of these positions in the future,” Chloe Tome, an NHS sophomore, states.
According to the National Science Teaching Association, measures such as increasing the salaries of teachers, debt-free teacher preparation programs, high-quality mentoring for amateur teachers, and other improvements should be taken into consideration so the stability in the educational system should be restored. Also, the focus on improving the working conditions and working habits of the students should also be considered.
“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” – (John F. Kennedy)
