I sat down this week to write about the K-12 teacher shortage in the US. Halfway through, I realized calling it a shortage absolves policymakers of their role in creating poor working conditions in classrooms and driving people out of the profession.
The way we treat practitioners is fundamentally at odds with the values we collectively espouse and a ton of folks are seeing that and looking for the exits.
https://natebowling.substack.com/p/the-canaries-are-dead-and-no-one
@natebowling So much this!
I was lucky enough to be able to retire just before the pandemic, and while the salary was among the lowest in my state, it was really the working conditions that drove me out.
I was good at teaching. That was really my problem: the practices of my school kept cutting into my ability to do the job WELL. Like the year I had 7 different classes to prep for— or the time I was taken off working on my AP audit to do unpaid substitute work instead.
🧵
@natebowling Above all, the lack of time for grading and prep. I taught high school, every level from freshmen to seniors, from students with a 3rd grade reading level through AP students.
Writing is not something that can be taught or graded on the fly, and doing it well, especially with students who are behind, is hard and time consuming.
I left because the workload always increased, and the time to do it never did. And I was getting too old for 50– 60 hour weeks.
/2
@natebowling No money for books, no time for prep, promises not kept.
But the saddest part is that I am still mourning what could have been. I loved teaching, when I got to do it. I’m a 4th generation teacher.
It HURT to leave the classroom. It still does.
/3
Nate Bowling (نيت بولينج)
Cat C-B