You want to know why?

Yesterday I heard on the news that teachers are quitting the profession after only three years on the job. (see last article on website) Shocking? Thinking that new teachers are wussies and can't handle the demands of your average classroom? Sure, that's an easy way to justify the decline in numbers. Let me tell why teachers are quitting so early in their careers.

1) Universities are not telling the truth about the classroom: Universities (at least the ones in this province) are still sugar-coating the actual facts about what happens in the classroom. Classroom management classes are presenting worse case scenarios that have at the most 2 or 3 problem kids, and those problem kids have only 1 difficulty (ex: Little Johnny has ADHD). The reality is that in a group of 25 to 30 students (in an average school with inclusive classrooms, meaning there is no segregation between regular stream kids and children with difficulties), 1 third to 1 half of students have 1 or more known behavioral or learning difficulties. Sure, teachers end up getting paid more for these students (students with these particularities are "worth" more, meaning they are as demanding as 2 students), but the universities do not prepare future teachers to this reality. They don't even take the time to explain that some of these kids work at different levels. They just give you the basic, the simplest situation and teach you to deal with that. Show me anyone, even those super-moms, who can deal with 10 to 15 students who are either misbehaving or cannot learn or even both.

2) Students are out of control: Speaking of students, tell me if you would want to stay in a profession where your clients (in this case, the students) will do the following: throw paper, coins, marbles, food and firecrackers at you, throw your office furniture out of the window, vandalise your personal property, steal your personal effects, graffiti your office with swastikas and various parts of the male anatomy, physically attack you, insult you with oh-so-colorful language and ignore you when you are working with them. Name me one lawyer, doctor, bus driver, secretary, salesperson who would be willing to keep his or her job when these things happen to them. Of course they won't. They will be the first to complain to their suprevisors/employers/regional director/media to get satisfaction. But when a teacher demands a higher salary or better resources to deal with what happens in a classroom, we collectively freak out. And forget reporting it to the administration and getting a speedy outcome. To successfully expell a truly problem child, a file about the size of the Gomery Report needs to be established and only then can you expect some consequences (at least in the public sector). Suspensions these days are seen like vacation time for students and detentions have about as much effect as a slap on the wrist.

3) Lack of accountability: Who is ultimately responsible for all of this? Students are out of control? The social finger of fate points to society, who then points to parents who finally point to teachers. Why? Because we see them everyday? Since when have we become children's primary caregiver? I am not denying that we play a vital role in the younger generation's education. A crucial role even. We are an integral part of these childrens' loves, but come on! I have seen barnyard animals with better social skills than some of these teens. They come to us totally fudged up. Should we then blame the school administrators? Another easy scapegoat to use when things go wrong and results are not satisfactory. However, principals and vice-principals have their hands tied by some beauraucratic red-tape that prevents them from really applying the punishement kids deserve. You think they enjoy saying: "I'm sorry there's nothing we can do for now"? Don't forget, many principals and v-ps are former teachers who have gone through the exact same thing current teachers are experiencing and trust me, I have seen numerous occasions where the principal wanted to kick some kid out of school, but couldn't because of laws or schoolboard rules. So let's blame the school board! Okay, but they have the ministry, le MELS, to deal with, and if you are an english schoolboard, you have more pressure on you than you can imagine. Okay, then let's blame the MELS...but uhm, the government is us, society as a whole, when you think about it. So why aren't we as a society doing more to resolve this problem?

I'm tired of hearing the public complain/moan/groan when educators are vocing their concern. I'm tired of hearing people gasp when they are told that thousands of teachers are quitting because of psychological distress. I would like to see more action done about this instead of the constant filibusting that amounts to nothing.