My TikTok feed is a mixture of music recommendations, political commentary, consumer culture, and week after week, teachers throwing their hands up in surrender and leaving teaching altogether. Other fads come and go, but this feeling of hopelessness and defeat seems constant. Teachers complain of rowdy, undisciplined classrooms, unhelpful admin, and overall chaos. Even those who have been teaching for decades feel a distinct change in the profession—this isn’t just the regular struggle of adjusting to the workforce or a new job. Teaching has become harder than ever.
None of our Saint Francis teachers seem to be quitting though, and they definitely don’t seem hopeless; the teachers quitting disproportionately live in low-income communities. McKinsey, a top American consulting firm, surveyed over 1800 educators at the end of the 2022 school year. Of these educators, 40% of those who worked in districts where most students receive free or reduced price lunch said that they planned to leave. Only 25% said they planned to leave in districts where less than a fourth of the students received free lunch. In majority black schools, 38% of teachers were thinking of leaving. In majority white schools? Only 30%. This can be partially explained by finding inequities, but the more complete reason includes how low-income and minority families were hit much harder by COVID-19, the start of this crisis.
The pandemic was especially detrimental to low income neighborhoods. Their education suffered because many didn’t have resources, like computers or Wi-Fi, to log onto online classes. Many others were left to watch their younger siblings rather than attend school, as their parents had to work to keep the family afloat. Their health also suffered because they lost access to the free breakfasts and lunches that many schools offer, and they often didn’t have access to the same healthcare as those in wealthy areas. Many kids lost out on critical learning— like how to read and write, which many middle-school teachers report is a struggle for their students. They also missed out on early interaction with their peers and the social instruction that schools offer. When schools returned in person, teachers were left to deal with classes of kids years behind, educationally and emotionally.
The support plans for these teachers? Nearly non-existent in many districts. Seemingly their only pathway was to leave the profession. Of the educators McKinsey surveyed, almost one-third overall said they planned to leave before the beginning of the 2023 school year. Across the nation, that is equivalent to 900,000 teachers leaving. Fewer teachers means larger classes and less ability to help individual students who are falling behind. Fewer teachers means fewer extracurricular activities that develop kids as people, not just students. Fewer teachers means fewer specialized programs to help kids with learning disabilities or English-language learners. Fewer teachers means less support for kids and more responsibilities for the few teachers left; the behavior that is prompting teachers to leave in the first place will only increase and force even more out of the profession.
The US currently faces an education crisis. The first step to remedying it will be providing teachers with more support, financially and emotionally, to continue their vital work. And the first step to provide such support will be getting the attention of our lawmakers who have the power and money to do so.
