When I became a teacher, I had what many might consider the ideal position. I was teaching 12th-grade English, the grade level with the curriculum I was most excited about. My schedule was that of a long-time veteran teacher who’d just been promoted to administration. And I was teaching in the school I’d graduated from, which meant I knew a lot about the school culture, and the leaders had a special investment in my success as both a faculty member and an alum.
And it was still the hardest job I’ve ever had. My two years in the classroom tired me out in ways I’d never experienced and left me with even more respect for teachers than I’d had before.
I’ve been thinking about my short teaching career a lot over the past two years, when teaching has become even more difficult than before. Every decision that teachers, administrators, and district leaders made has been fraught. Keep everyone safe from COVID by teaching remotely and risk leaving behind students who need in-person engagement. Bring students back to the classroom and scramble to keep the school open when large numbers of your faculty and staff come down with COVID. For many educators, there seem to be no good choices.
Behind all these possible solutions is the idea that we need to listen.
All of these choices are being made in a climate where some community members are riled up and using school board meetings to air their frustrations in anger, without stopping to listen and understand what is happening. This year’s PDK Poll shows that members of the public rate their community’s schools higher than ever in the history of the poll, but it’s hard to hear their quiet approval amid all the shouting.
It’s no wonder that more and more teachers are considering leaving, as David Marshall and his coauthors explain in this issue. Teachers are trying to do more and more with fewer resources, which Christopher McCarthy and his coauthors tell us is the formula for increased stress. And, as is so often the case, teachers of color bear an additional burden, which is discussed in articles by Jessica Stovall and Tara Sullivan and by Doris Santoro, Julia Hazel, and Alberto Morales.
The authors in the issue pose numerous solutions to the crisis facing educators. These include raising salaries, improving working conditions, offering affinity groups, and rethinking the way the profession is structured. Behind all these possible solutions is the idea that we need to listen. As McCarthy and his colleagues explain, educators are well aware of what they need, but they are too often left out of the conversation about how to improve schools and educator working conditions.
As Kappan’s new editor-in-chief, I hope to also be able to listen to the educators in our audience, and to provide content that will help you become not just better but also happier educators. Kappan has a long tradition of serving the education profession, and I, our new managing editor Kathleen Vail, and creative services manager Justine Hirshfeld — along with everyone on the PDK International team who supports Kappan — want to make sure that this magazine continues to be a resource for you. We want to help sustain educators through every stage of their professional journey. If you have a story or suggestion to share, please get in touch — we’re here to listen.
This article appears in the September 2022 issue of Kappan, Vol. 104, No. 1, p. 4.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Teresa Preston
Teresa Preston is an editorial consultant and the former editor-in-chief of Phi Delta Kappan and director of publications for PDK International, Arlington, VA.
Visit their website at: https://prestoneditorial.com/
