Each day we entrust our children in America to schools where teachers educate them, guide them, deal with a myriad of student issues and help them achieve their yearly academic goals. It is such an important role to play in their lives and will have impact to their future in significant ways.
The role of teachers is so significant to the success of our schools. During COVID, teachers were struggling significantly and many left their profession. While some of the stressors have somewhat levelled off since that time, our teachers are still feeling the stress of a number of aspects of their occupation.
According to NEA Today, there is still a significant level of burn-out and stress that teachers are experiencing. They recently conducted a RAND study and here is a quote from their website about teachers and stress:
The RAND survey also asked teachers about the causes of stress. Fifty-two percent of teachers said their stress stems from managing student behavior. Low pay was cited by 39 percent. Some other factors included: preparing students for state standardized tests, working outside contract hours, supporting students’ mental health and well-being, and performing administrative work outside of teaching.
In other surveys, poor working conditions are often cited by educators as the top reason—more so than low pay—why they leave or may leave their jobs. This is why NEA members have put issues such as mental health support, class size, teacher autonomy, and healthy learning environments on the bargaining table and on the agendas of local and state lawmakers.
I also know that the technological demands on teachers is a significant challenge as they must keep up with the constantly changing use of software. They also must be clear about what students are using and whether those methods are helpful or unhealthy.
One of the troubling realities is that many of the federal grants for teachers to receive added support and training have been reduced or eliminated. In today’s world of teachers who are self-reporting high levels of stress in the diverse and challenging job they perform each day, we should be encouraging professional development and relevant supports.
Lakeside has been a leader in teacher support in programs like our NeuroLogic by Lakeside program. We have just updated our website with an exhaustive list of support services that we believe every teacher should experience. Through trauma-informed training and coaching, we attempt to bring classroom management support, self-regulation, strategic planning and coaching to help teachers manage the needs of their students, their own emotional needs and their overall academic environment.
If we are to help our teachers manage a very demanding and intense school environment, we should be giving them more support – not less. We know that teachers respond well to that support because they deeply care for their students. They are asked to do so much more than teach, and we should be offering them quality training and encouragement for the valuable job they do each day as they care for our kids.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
