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

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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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 07 2017, @08:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 07 2017, @08:26PM (#490502)

    What you say is just not true. It takes patience and a lot of work, but children do learn to appreciate reasoning very early on if you actually do try to reason with them. And you're right, it does take very primitive forms at first and hell of a lot of repetition, such as by telling a small child that he can have 2 treats if he behaves or only 1 if he doesn't (hey, the kid still has to eat), etc. You have to establish rules to the game (e.g., you have establish a contract) and then absolutely follow through with those rules.

    Especially important is following the rules yourself; if you as a parent break a rule—and especially if a child calls you out on it—then you, too, must pay the agreed price.

    Maybe my kids are just smart, but I doubt that's the only reason. Very many children are quite stupid, and I'm never surprised to find that their parents are the sort who bark authoritarian commands based on quasi-circular, obscure logic that follows no meaningful patterns: "Get over here! When I tell you not to touch something, you don't touch it!"