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Teacher Resignation Letters Paint Bleak Picture of US Education

posted by martyb on Friday April 07 2017, @02:21PM   
from the stifling-curiosity dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

As teacher resignation letters increasingly go public -- and viral -- new research indicates teachers are not leaving solely due to low pay and retirement, but also because of what they see as a broken education system.

In a trio of studies, Michigan State University education expert Alyssa Hadley Dunn and colleagues examined the relatively new phenomenon of teachers posting their resignation letters online. Their findings, which come as many teachers are signing next year's contacts, suggest educators at all grade and experience levels are frustrated and disheartened by a nationwide focus on standardized tests, scripted curriculum and punitive teacher-evaluation systems.

Teacher turnover costs more than $2.2 billion in the U.S. each year and has been shown to decrease student achievement in the form of reading and math test scores.

"The reasons teachers are leaving the profession has little to do with the reasons most frequently touted by education reformers, such as pay or student behavior," said Dunn, assistant professor of teacher education. "Rather, teachers are leaving largely because oppressive policies and practices are affecting their working conditions and beliefs about themselves and education."

The study quoted a teacher in Boston: "I did not feel I was leaving my job. I felt then and feel now that my job left me."

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Original Submission

• Re:Get real. Kids are inspired by their PEERS. Re:Get real. Kids are inspired by their PEERS. (Score: 3, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Friday April 07 2017, @05:40PM (3 children)

  by Nerdfest (80) on Friday April 07 2017, @05:40PM (#490372)

  Perhaps they don't get made fun of for "acting white" in those schools when they do well.

  Parent

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• Indeed. That's the whole point. Indeed. That's the whole point. (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 07 2017, @06:10PM (2 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 07 2017, @06:10PM (#490405)

  What their peers think is what matters.

  Parent

  • Re:Indeed. That's the whole point. Re:Indeed. That's the whole point. (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 07 2017, @10:51PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 07 2017, @10:51PM (#490583)

    I guess you've never been a regular kid then... Even the ones who understand that it doesn't matter will get a little depressed when bullied by a massive social circle.

    So many sociopaths on here.

    Parent

    • Re:Indeed. That's the whole point. (Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 08 2017, @05:26PM

      by kaszz (4211) on Saturday April 08 2017, @05:26PM (#490906) Journal

      Which is the reason people should have the option to protect themselves from the sociopaths and their zombie followers.

      Parent