Details of Survey
Feb. 6, 2001-- Reported by Education Specialist Nadine Wimmer
A substantial number of Utah teachers are quitting
because they're dissatisfied with their jobs.
And pay is not the top complaint.
One educator says, "If you hate your job and you're not getting paid well, you're not going to stay."
Those are some of the findings in a telling new survey, that aims to better understand why so many teachers are leaving.
The Jordan School District has started surveying teachers when they quit.
This year, they found nearly one in four teachers who left their jobs did so because they're dissatisfied.
The top complaints:
- Insufficient time to organize classwork
- Problems with student discipline
- Stress of mainstreaming students who have special needs or who don't speak English
Teacher Consultant Chris Black says, "You have so many responsibilities, and you're just not sure which ones to address. 'How do I address them all?'"
To address some of those problems, the district has brought together a team of teacher consultants.
They're trained to mentor their colleagues and to help solve classroom problems.
The mentor teachers can't provide new textbooks. They don't have money to buy more supplies. But what they can offer is support and ideas for teachers who may be struggling.
Teacher Mentor Jane Martain explains, "Most of the time you're in your own classroom by yourself, dealing with students and there are lots of things you have to know."
"It's important they have someone they can go to, that can come and actually observe them in the classroom, give them some pointers."
"Anybody who wants help, anybody who the principal determines needs help, that's who we're working with."
The idea is to help teachers enjoy their jobs, so they won't quit.
And these survey findings show them teacher mentors are needed.
Claudia Schmitt of the Jordan School District admits, "Of course it's concerning. It's becoming more and more difficult to find people who want to go into the field of education."
The district will continue surveying teachers when they quit to see if mentoring programs can help turn around the morale problems.
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