A look at what's really behind Texas' teacher shortage

As a new school year begins, KXAN investigators dig into what’s REALLY behind Texas’ teacher shortage - by talking with educators who left jobs they loved.
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[@whizbang7130]

Poor student behavior, disrespectful kids, unmotivated students, unsupported administrators and hateful parents. Bottom line.

[@whizbang7130]

@@AlbertMoyerJr if you're hating your students and parents then it's time to go. You don't do anybody any favors by staying. Your virtue signaling implies those of us that leave don't care about America. Sorry, but you're not gonna win that argument.

[@XXLSSBBW]

Don't forget school shootings.

[@dorothyjbond]

I often see these types of surveys and it rarely says student behavior. They are ignoring the elephant in the room. The new reporting methods have no negative terms allowed and really gloss over the kid's behavior and attendance. If the parents don't read between the lines they have no idea that their kid isn't doing the work. They will give out a 50% even if they do nothing to keep the stats positive. So I guess they can't fail but can attend and destroy the learning for everyone else. Crazy. No one in their right mind would take on that college debt to get paid the same as the cleaner.

[@ggrace1133]

I know a fair number of current and former teachers, all of whom 100% feel that parents are the root of the problem because they don’t teach their kids manners and don’t require respectful attitudes toward teachers. Further, if teachers send a student to the principal’s office, parents usually put blame on the teacher and excuse the child’s behavior. Teachers are doing the parenting parents are not doing.

[@dawnbolton6024]

I concur! Parents what to be the cool friends. Being a grown-up is hard work but so worth it . It's greed , the live of money and all that it can buy. Not about family , love, teaching our children how to respect others, how to cook, clean, budget money, speak to others, be a friend ,how to to anything except but stuff and it is all about self.

[@jesuslover5968]

Not sure what you expect that’s the culture in America. Schools really are just bad daycares for working parents.. the system was created to prep slaves into the workdorce

[@Catfluff521]

Totally agree. I worked in a Catholic school; had a student who was a constant distraction and did little to no work. When I emailed her grandmother (mom living there but not involved) she threatened to take kid out of the school and principal response was to “smooth it over” because they didn’t want to lose the tuition from that student. Insane.

[@ggrace1133]

@@jesuslover5968 society must expect parents to actually parent, which is teaching children how to behave in all settings with respect and good manners. And public schools were not set up to prep selves into the work force-public schools were around long before that. Thankfully, there were awesome people who believed all children deserved to be literate and have an education. All belong to God and all are beautiful. But they must have parents who parent properly. Teachers aren’t parents, and schools aren’t daycare centers.

[@jesuslover5968]

@@ggrace1133 well guess what lady all school is is to prep the next batch of slaves for the workforce. How about come back to reality and stop living in lala land

[@faxslaps5775]

Kid: jumps in class. Teacher: can you not jump in class? Kid: screams in class. Teacher: Don’t. Kid: Disrespectfully ignored teacher and continues to misbehave. Teacher: shut up! And sit down! Parent: how dare you tell my son/daughter to shut up. Oh and do your job! Why is my son/daughter failing?!?!?!?!?! Maybe we should correct this parent to teacher behavior first.

[@lorannamoody7011]

Why would a teacher say shut up? I always taught my students not to say shut up.

[@faxslaps5775]

@@lorannamoody7011 Girl shut up.

[@chickensinthegarden]

Im a teacher in Houston and I will QUIT because of the amount of work the school wants me to do. If my contract says I am hired to work for 8 hours a day, then I am available ONLY for that amount of time. Extra meetings, early arrivals and late dismissals, paperwork and so much extra doesn't fit in that 8 hours! This is the real reason why teachers quit! 1 month later update: I have resigned. 4000 net a month is not worth the hassle!!! I have lived with less and very peacefully and I m good with that. Peace of mind is more important for me than living with a lot of material stuff.

[@duanebidoux6087]

Same here. I just took 3 days sick leave because I was simply exhausted. From August 5th through Sept. 29 I didn't have a single day (NOT ONE) where I did not work at least 5 hours. Even on Labor Day I worked.

[@zacarahdalleny3906]

I rather deal with paper work than asses fighting and threatening teachers.

[@duanebidoux6087]

@@zacarahdalleny3906 So would I, but if I were dealing with that I wouldn't be teaching.

[@TheChefDWC]

I was an elementary teacher in Austin, Texas and ended a 17 year long career after taking a job at an inner city school. My 4th grade class was 1-2 grade levels deficient in all areas but I was told that I could not remediate. How was I supposed to teach long division to kids who could not multiply or add? How was I supposed to teach students how to write essays if they could not write a complete sentence? I contacted the parents and arranged to keep all students after school for one hour per day. I used this time to remediate. My building admin stopped me because they said I was making my colleagues look bad. My supervising AP "clued" me in as to how to improve test scores. I was told to focus instruction on those students who were only moderately deficient. The AP told me that the rest of my class was statistically insignificant. NO CHILD IS STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT! I quit the next day.

[@truther001]

Same. Had a fourth grade class and none could read fluently. I found some old readers in the book room and the kids were learning to read. Principal came in and asked why I wasn't using the current curriculum. I told her that they couldn't read those books. She said, "but they can listen."

[@cherylT321]

I believe every word you said! I also remember teaching special ed students who were very low in reading. I brought in books at their level which was basically around kindergarten level, even though these were seventh graders. I was told I would be written up for providing books for them to read at their actual level. We were being told by administration that they had to have books beyond their grade level and reading comprehension “to raise them up;” when all it did was frustrate them and caused them not to try...This is so by design so these kids can be railroaded into the for profit prison system!

[@fbbWaddell]

Wow! You should have gone to the news about this. That would have been a big story and heads would have rolled.

[@cherylT321]

@@fbbWaddell The sad thing is, the public school system is set up not to help but to hinder student growth. They’ve even taken cursive writing out of the curriculum, so students won’t even know how to join their handwriting up to write a check or sign legal documents...I believe the children in public schools are being trained to work for those in power. Students aren’t taught finances or to strive to own their own businesses; no, they’re basically being taught to work for others, at low wages!

[@AlbertMoyerJr]

I have experienced principals who ban remediation. They want grade level material taught to children that have no base. It doesn't work.

[@kathryncainmadsen5850]

More money is needed BUT that is not why most teachers are leaving and it's time we started talking about the lack of support from admin and parents when it comes to student behavior, and the political pressure to destroy academic freedom. There is also a greed motive to destroy public schools and replace them with with profit schools.

[@jackjohnson5672]

FACTS 💯

[@kathleenkirchoff9223]

I think the homeschooling movement of the early 1990s removed the involved supportive parents and let the loony left take over. Parents became even less involved so the TV and social media became the biggest role models for the crazy behavior in schools. And administration got soft on discipline while blaming teachers for classroom management problems caused by the latest fad program sold to school boards by educational consultants. Less money but less stress in retirement.

[@codacreator6162]

Next trend: online education. It’s a great stop-gap, but in no way a viable replacement for traditional Ed. No music, no art, no sports. WTF are kids learning? Just enough to make them slaves to Capitalism.

[@rdean150]

@@kathleenkirchoff9223 The loony left and the ridiculously religious right were the groups who took their kids out of school to homeschool them themselves. That movement trimmed the extremes of both sides of the spectrum. If it seems like liberals were more common in the decades that followed, it's because that was the direction the entire country was moving until about 6-8 years ago. I believe a much bigger problem the No Child Left Behind approach of school funding being based entirely on standardized test scores, and the subsequent transition to curriculums of nonstop testing and practice testing, with little focus on concept reinforcement and deeper understanding. That and the shift toward privatization, charter schools, and general profit-based school administration, as OP said. Both of those aspects inevitably push down salaries and drive away good teachers, which drags down test scores, which reduces state funding, which pushes down teacher salaries, which drives away teachers, and on and on until the situation is out of control.

[@fbbWaddell]

This must be a Texas thing because in NC, we have very few private schools. They are all very expensive. The real problem here is common core. The school district I graduated from had an excellent curriculum(my teachers would give me my own assignments when I asked) and it was destroyed by common core. Now, they only teach what is necessary to pass the test at the end of the year/semester because that determines school funding and whether or not they keep their jobs. It's really sad because gifted students who lack the resources for a better education no longer have access to it.

[@SEXYDCGIRL84]

Teachers are grossly underpaid and under appreciated. They spend so much time trying to discipline unruly students. They also wear too many hats like therapist, parent, and social worker. it's sad.

[@annwitzel9630]

But the schools have a huge amount of money for football programs , superintendents over the top salary and the list goes on and on .

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup.

[@utesandoval138]

I agree that I miss some of the students..yet the majority of the time teachers are too busy maintaining order in rebellious chaotic classrooms..unable to actually teach.. The behavior problems excellarated over the years..wondering if I worked in Juvenile Hall instead of school.. I don't miss teaching... currently recharging in a stress-free workenvironment....

[@hollybigelow5337]

I completely agree with my dad's description of the job. Many taechers go into the profession with the dream that they will inspire the next generation to love learning, but once you actually get into the job you realize you are just an overworked, underpaid babysitter. There are several people who claim teachers are overpaid, but those people don't realize how many hours outside of the classroom most teachers spend grading papers and preparing lesson plans and going to trainings and meetings, etc. That summer off may sound really great, but it's very possible that many teachers are working just as many hours per year as employees that work a standard 40 hour work week. The other thing critics don't realize is how soul draining the job can be. Like you said, it is basically several hours per day in a row of battling chaos. At first you may try to teach, but eventually you may have to settle for just trying to keep the students from killing each other and destroying the classroom. The advanced classes might be a little better, but even they can have their problems at times. The problems grow exponentially as the size of the classes go up. It's possible that there are legitimate criticisms of teachers, but I personally believe no one should have the right to criticize until they have done the job for at least an entire week. Journalists, parents, legislators, and others in my opinion have the right to criticize overall or say that teachers are overpaid only after doing the job for at least one month themselves. We actually had a legislator in our state who did go into the classroom for a week, and it is amazing how different his opinions changed after that experience. I have a ton of respect for him for doing that. I do believe parents should have the right to criticize inappropriate classroom content or criticize the school board, but criticizing content or the bosses is very different than saying teachers make too much money especially considering that they get summers off.

[@truther001]

I have a friend who taught in Oakland. He quit and got a job teaching in a prison. He said the prison job is so much easier! Most of the prisoners want to learn and if anyone disrupts the class, the guard takes him out. Better pay too.

[@MrMultiMediat0r]

@@truther001 the irony of that is that those eager to learn prisoners are the same kids who refused to learn and misbehaved in class when they were younger. They had to learn the importance of paying attention in school the hard way, rather than doing it right the first time

[@leannewheeler5351]

@@MrMultiMediat0r exactly. The hardest lesson of all

[@MrVariant]

You need hazard pay for each student who gets violent. Nancy wins the internet for that prison teacher comment which yeah better benefits than going to da 'hood. Who knew working backwards would work so well?

[@michellemcclary8695]

I am a teacher (22 years). I ponder resigning every day. The stress and workload is too much and beyond what people realize. We get the pushback that teachers get summers off so what are we complaining about. I work so much during the school year (beyond 40 hour workweeks) so summers are a way for me to finally decompress. Lawmakers and principals are a huge factors in the amount of stress that teachers endure. They have sucked all the fun out of education. And the pay just does not justify the amount of work that is expected of teachers.

[@robotics4kids]

My last principle was nicknameed 'Nazi." She sucked all the joy out of teaching, replaced that emotion with fear and stripped all of joy of learning from the education process.

[@Lotusblume.8]

Plus people need to know that teachers don’t get paid over the summer so you either put some money aside or get a summer job. So it’s not all as rosy as people think.

[@Commonsenseiscommonsense]

Save yourself! Resign. You are worth so much more. I was a teacher assistant and a middle school teacher. There is too much on our shoulders to deal with and no resources to help us. The low pay is painfully insulting, the disrespect is shocking, the lack of support from parents and districts is disheartening. Teachers face physical threats and actual physical harm and the student is right back in a classroom in a short amount of time. My best friend was a special education teacher and her classroom was completely trashed on a regular basis by a particular student and NOTHING was done to help her. We are underpaid, over worked, not valued, bullied by students, districts, and parents. The students are completely running the schools now and school districts allow it to happen. Teacher are at risk of lawsuits for not addressing students by their pronouns even if they did not know about it or, as in the case of my school, the student would change their pronoun daily and we had to constantly keep up with "who are you today" or risk a lawsuit for not knowing that the pronoun had changed that day. Again, save yourself. Don't left fear keep you in a situation where you should leave. You are educated, experienced, and you will find other opportunities.

[@jr8554]

@@Lotusblume.8 Yeah. Thankfully some schools provide the option to divide your paycheck into 12 months.

[@lorrainemcfarland621]

@@robotics4kids I also had a principle like that. She was a typical bully. Our staff had a meeting with the superintendent and each teacher had a turn to talk. Some of the teachers were crying so hard they couldn't talk. She resigned after that and we have since had (mostly) wonderful administrators.

[@thespiderman630]

There’s a substitute teacher shortage in Texas too…….I added to that with my resignation. The pay is not livable.

[@herculesh1907]

I quit 10 years ago and never look back....its bad here in nyc..they have no teachers and they are trying to down play the shortage.

[@jernedavis3872]

I was happy to substitute last year. The pay incentive was my motivation. I was working for FBISD and the pay for long-term substitute teacher that was certified and substituting in content made $225 a day out of content $180 which was somewhat decent pay. This new school year they have removed the stipend and dropped pay back down to $100 a day not enough money for me to survive basic life needs. With the shortage of teacher's and being certified I could accept a contract, but honestly I have know desire to. Teacher's are overwhelmed, overworked, low pay, bad behaviors in classroom, no support from administration. I am currently looking for a job in another field of work so I don't end up homeless due to low pay.

[@dawnkeckley7502]

I wish they had interviewed someone other than a new mother with concerns over COVID in the school because I would’ve loved to have heard from people leaving because of the behavior problems, lack of teaching freedom in the classroom, and focus on teaching to the test.

[@cherylT321]

Well, the comment section makes up for that!

[@Romey301]

Agreeeeeed!

[@amandabuffin8539]

So true..especially in areas where there is significant violence within the community

[@teacheranalice]

Exactly

[@jillsalkin7389]

The insanity of what can and can't be taught, and book bans, are heaped on the huge pile of what is wrong with public education.

[@silviavanhuijsen482]

Pay teachers at least 80 K , increase the teacher tax deduction to $30K ( include transportation, housing , food, clothing, hair cutting, etc), higher 401 K, medical, dental vision insurance should be free, summer pay without teaching, holiday pay, free lunches once a month.

[@adithalee8660]

Yes, The Pre-SChool and beginning Teachers $40,000 and the more it goes up including Educational certificates up to $80,000+ for all teachers. But no teachers should be making $10,000-39,000 a year. That's ridiculous.

[@mba2ceo]

NO !!! Pay should never be MORE than $35K. Let the parasites go get a REAL JOB

[@cherylT321]

That is an excellent suggestion... I wish!

[@cl9315]

@@mba2ceo You must be the leader of that planet your on.

[@juancavazos5901]

Admin also doesn't want to deal with difficult students. When I was a teacher I went to the principals office because i had 34 students in my class and was a little chaotic. And the principal was playing golf In there. Wow.... I said to myself I have a engineering degree and a masters in civil and this guy has a easy education degree and not doing his job. F this laters bro. You teach. I quit. Not my problem. Now I'm getting 100k plus. Best choice ever to leave. :)

[@soonahero]

Do you regret it? Also plenty of principals were stem teachers

[@kcourtney6826]

The journalists mentioned they typically don’t get access to teachers because their in the classroom working, but another reason is any teacher knows if they talk to the media speaking negatively about the district or their school there would be repercussions.

[@maryl8614]

I’m also sure that there’s the usual dog-and-pony show thing going on. When I was teaching, visitors to the school would always be taken to a few specific classrooms where admin knew there would be a perfect lesson going on, like the French teacher who admin knew would be doing interactive song time, or a math teacher who “happened” to have her unusually small class of gifted students at that time. Admin knew exactly what rooms to visit each hour to give a very different impression of the school from reality. They’d never show the room where some 6.5 foot student is about to body-slam his teacher for asking the student to sit down, and they won’t show the room where an autistic child (who doesn’t have an trained or certified aid bc there aren’t enough aids to go around) is screaming uncontrollably, or the room where the football coach is showing Lord of the Rings instead of teaching economics (can’t fire him- he won state championships a few years ago), or my room, where the walls are covered in boring, black-and-white text “required learning outcome” posters because I teach 4 different preps and don’t have any wall space left over for meaningful decorations. I doubt very much whether any journalist has really seen what life is like inside. I know the journalists back home didn’t have a clue.

[@AlbertMoyerJr]

@@maryl8614 You speak truthfully. That's exactly how it is set up to run.

[@rogerhull5632]

Look beyond the superficial statements. Salaries are low, but have been before. People quit over working environment. Teachers are being attacked, degraded, treated like children. Teachers are being forced to work in dangerous pandemic conditions. Teachers are not respected by news, politicians and too many people.

[@splitliving]

I did go to the website and read the whole report. Yep, there ya go, TEA, punish those who resign mid year. That’s soooo predictable. And, speaking of the old fallback of hiring subs to run the classes-just where do you think those subs will come from? I’m a retired Texas teacher, and glad to be so. At this point, I wouldn’t recommend ANYONE get into Education as a profession. I recently saw a sign in Panda Express advertising for “General Managers-beginning salary $80,000 plus benefits”. Why would anyone take a pay cut and add hours of work to go into teaching? And, by the way, this isn’t just a crisis in Texas. It’s all over the country. As the news has reported, “the (teaching) pipeline is dry.”

[@jerryrichardson2799]

Exactly and thank you!

[@jernedavis3872]

I was happy to substitute last year. The pay incentive was my motivation. I was working for FBISD and the pay for long-term substitute teacher that was certified and substituting in content made $225 a day out of content $180 which was somewhat decent pay. This new school year they have removed the stipend and dropped pay back down to $100 a day not enough money for me to survive basic life needs. With the shortage of teacher's and being certified I could accept a contract, but honestly I have know desire to. Teacher's are overwhelmed, overworked, low pay, bad behaviors in classroom, no support from administration. I am currently looking for a job in another field of work so I don't end up homeless due to low pay.

[@glennwatson3313]

Go ahead a try working as Panda Express. Then you will see what hard work really is.

[@libertysprings2244]

In highschool the kids just sit with their phones and earbuds in and most dont look up when you try to speak to them. Plus there are no books, paper, or pencils in the classrooms. It's weird. I am a sub but was told to just go easy on the kids because at least they showed up to school. I'm just supposed to take attendance and keep them from leaving the windowless classrooms, similar too a prison. I have had 50 kids jammed into a small room since they were combining classrooms due to the teacher shortage. I honestly think we should cut highschool by 2 years and let them go ahead to Junior College or a job earlier. The kids are being stifled.

[@queenmadhatter5020]

Right I agree 4 years for highschool is just wasteful.

[@melelconquistador]

Day care is important. No one like to think of it that way but it is true. Durring the pandemic, people were upset because they couldn't look after their own kids while they worked.

[@shawndevoid9813]

I agree. That’s how they do it in UK (and probably most European countries).

[@rdean150]

50 students per class in high school??? Holy cow

[@holachika5071]

Agree

[@darynhanson2095]

I had plumbing work done this weekend in my house. I make $35 an hour as a teacher. The plumber charged me a week's pay to change my shower fixture and told me that it cost that much because he must have a salary of $70 per hour to survive. That's why teachers are leaving in droves. I have three college degrees and there is the difference in how society values the two professions. Wake up America!

[@martenkrueger8647]

I hope you are not just talking about a shower fixture? I would of charged you 25 $ too show up..and 0 too install it! .....

[@darynhanson2095]

@@martenkrueger8647 yes, it was a shower Fixture. I don't live in Texas, however. It's ridiculous what they charge for these things. Thank you for the offer.

[@cherylT321]

My dad just had some plumbing work done. Two guys came, stayed for half an hour and got paid $200 for it..High way robbery!

[@olddoug8945]

LIKE THE OLD JOKE: Plumber, "that will be $500". Homeowner, "you were only here an hour. I'm a lawyer and I don't make that much an hour." Plumber, "neither did I when I was a lawyer."

[@terryr7622]

Considering what today’s teachers have to face I don’t blame them one bit

[@jmurry6695]

Break down of the family. With that, the loss of civilized behavior.

[@brilliantbrad]

I'm leaving because of admin stress, students behavior, and crazy parents. It's not really the pay. I can eat off the pay but these kids and parents are insane.

[@cherylT321]

Agreed!

[@zacarahdalleny3906]

You can teach college level virtual with a Masters Degree

[@Mrsuserdawn]

I quit after 30 years because the blame game got to serious. Everything was my fault especially after Covid when kids were several grades behind, more resistant to rules, and more likely to lie than ever before. Parents, students, principals, and administrators all play the blame game with NO sense of personal responsibility at all! I was so sad to leave but had to save my own life and health.

[@olddoug8945]

when you say "quit" I hope you mean "retired," with a pension.

[@galemartin9155]

Teachers in healthcare workers do not have to put up with this. Hey if Texas won't let you do your job, if Texas won't let you do what you love, find another state that will respect and appreciate your dedication, screw Texas.

[@DiBy-0]

Believe it or not even Florida has better working conditions then what I have read about in Texas.

[@galemartin9155]

@@DiBy-0 You are right. That is hard to believe.

[@nodebt6188]

Come to CCSD(Las Vegas). I love teaching at my high school. I have an 80 minute prep every day. Starting salary is $50115. Experienced teachers make more.

[@freefree5453]

It’s not just Texas

[@vicky924]

Facts

[@libertysprings2244]

Anyone wonder why teachers are quitting should try substitute teaching a Kindergarten class of 22 students (max is the norm now) alone, all day. Good luck. It's the worst paid babysitting gig you'll ever have. Other similar jobs like tutoring ONE child or being a home nanny for ONE or TWO children, pay just as much. It's not the pay though, it's the stress of being overwhelmed by the responsibility of 22 small humans safety for 8 hrs, counting them constantly and trying to get some to stop screaming and hitting you or other students, etc . Classroom sizes are TOO BIG! I have taught all ages kinder through college, and K-1 is the hardest and should be immediately changed to max 12 students per K-1 classroom. If you are a parent of a K-1st grader, keep them homeschooling those 2 years. It is NOT SAFE and there are openings from playground to the street with inadequate ratio of teachers to children.

[@f.acostaa9429]

it's heartbreaking to see dedicated teachers that actually love their career stress like this. I think #1. the demands on teachers burn them out. #2. Pay is very low #3. student behavior in schools ..are the main factors for our educators.

[@bucsr.6106]

As a teacher who no longer teaches I would not return unless teachers were given a raise to at LEAST 75k a year, an hour lunch and NO MORE clubs, after hours meetings without compensation.

[@brialyncroi]

I can for sure tell you teachers are not always being 100% honest on these exit surveys. They are terrified of backlash so many will put moving or something like it to avoid any negative side effects.

[@adeleennis2255]

I taught overseas for six years and as an adjunct here in the US for three years. At the time I tried getting a teaching job, I wasn’t considered hire able because I don’t have a masters degree. I’m sure I could get a job now if I wanted it, but why would I? I don’t like being muzzled as to what I can say in a classroom. I don’t like having to play politics with administrators and parents. I don’t appreciate being sent children who are not academically prepared to be in my classes. It’s a disservice to the students who meet the requirements, a handicap to the kids who aren’t prepared, and extra work for me as the teacher. As an adjunct I was teaching college credit pre-engineering courses to high school students. Never mind their behavior issues, which were substantial, I had students that clearly had learning disorders. Those students were passed through the system to their detriment and then some counselor decided a pre-engineering class is a good fit for a child who can barely read at 14 years old. How where they supposed to complete my classes with a passing grade when my dyslexic eight year old niece could read and write better than them (and she was eight when she learned to read)? In my area, when a parent complains enough about their child’s learning abilities, the schools tend to simply change their grades to passing. If your school does this, they are not teaching them, and they are not going to figure out why your child is struggling. They will just pass them up and let them graduate without functional literacy. My sister had to pull my niece out of her school when it was apparent this is how they would deal with her dyslexia, which the school district called a “nonspecific learning disorder.” If s school district says that about a child, start looking for better schools because they will not help your child.

[@capodavis11]

Ever consider paying them what they warrant, stop overworking them, provide a safe environment.... Come on... is it really that hard?

[@spyderlogan4992]

In the good old days, PARENTS and TEACHERS worked together to insure their children and students, were getting a solid, useful and practical academic education to succeed, like reading comprehension and critical thinking, for examples. Now the teachers have been abandoned by the parents(zero communication/social media zombies) and crushed by an ISD's bureaucracy(rules, processes and procedures). They are caught in the middle of a no win, stressful situation. You could offer some teachers double the money, and guess what? They'd still break their contracts. In my opinion.

[@casrogue]

Its not the teaching part ..is what is taught and passed by critical thinking by the state and STAAR crap ideology !!

[@galemartin9155]

No they did not.

[@jjc6530]

Because of the unrealistic and unreasonable workload expectations. Requiring 36hrs of work in a 24hr day.

[@casrogue]

@@jjc6530 AT one meeting the principal expected teachers not to grade during the school hour only after hours or on weekends on our own time ..ridiculous

[@spyderlogan4992]

@@jjc6530 Correct. Put on them by the pencil pushing, desk jockey former teachers that were kicked up to administrator jobs in the ISDs because they were ineffective and incompetent but couldn't be fired. Now they have the power to push the classroom teachers around.

[@rosellatyson983]

My school district started August 10th. On August 17th, some students threatened to blow up the school over a fight. The entire school went on lockdown and police were called in. On August 18th, we had another lockdown and again police were involved plus our school made the evening news both days, Then on the same day (18th) some students vendalized the snack machines and destroyed the machine. I transferred to this high school which is a Title One school that is a failing school and the amount of work that has been put on me is outrageous! Teachers have to meet 4 times a week after school mandatory! I teach 9th and 11th graders with a total of 90 students in which I have to prepare for plus, I have to do IEP's on 30 students, attend the meetings and also lead the meetings. I am already tired and school started 20 days ago!! I am overwhelmed, frustrated, and shocked all at the same time! This is insane! Oh, did I mention that we teachers only get a planing period every other day and me and I have to share a paraprofessional with two other teachers daily! Now, I see why teachers are leaving the profession!

[@nodebt6188]

30 students on your caseload is ridiculous. Our max is 24. I have 4 coteach and two resource classes. I only do grades for 27 students. The general education teacher does the lesson plans. Come to CCSD(Las Vegas). Starting salary for new teachers is $50115. Experienced teachers start more than that.

[@nodebt6188]

I have an 80 minute prep every day.

[@britd.1152]

That’s unsustainable

[@sharmisthas]

If am sorry to hear your ordeal.

[@ZeeTene]

All Facts!!

[@jernedavis3872]

I was happy to substitute last year. The pay incentive was my motivation. I was working for FBISD and the pay for long-term substitute teacher that was certified and substituting in content made $225 a day out of content $180 which was somewhat decent pay. This new school year they have removed the stipend and dropped pay back down to $100 a day not enough money for me to survive basic life needs. With the shortage of teacher's and being certified I could accept a contract, but honestly I have know desire to. Teacher's are overwhelmed, overworked, low pay, bad behaviors in classroom, no support from administration. I am currently looking for a job in another field of work so I don't end up homeless due to low pay.

[@kathleenkirchoff9223]

Is that ft bend isd? Also is the ESS a new national sub finder that districts are using to out sources the sub jobs. I was dis appointed that my district with huge sub shortage would not just add me as retired teacher. So why are my tax dollars going to a middle man????

[@cl9315]

@Mustafa Q ESS also works with Frisco ISD and Little Elm ISD.

[@malcolmhodnett8874]

You can get more than $100 a day for a night of hosting at a club with no tips. That’s shameful

[@1Letter23Numbers.]

Why would anyone want to be a teacher today knowing they have to work with unruly students and parents, have to work long hours, multiple jobs, work summer school for additional pay, and all for the luxury salary of $33k? There should be a shift in how students are being educated to keep them engaged so they're less of a pain in the ass in the classroom. The pay needs to go up as well.

[@jamesroof6150]

Bad pay, poor working conditions, unruly students and not valued by society. Plus you might get shot. What's not to love about being a teacher.

[@maryhollis220]

I thought that the lottery monies were going to the schools, and roads what happen with that

[@casrogue]

Ask the guy in charge !! ABBOTT

[@harrycooper5231]

In America educational funding is largely based on skin colour. But I bet you already knew that.

[@cherylT321]

It’s gone into some politician’s pocket!

[@marghrdz2569]

Besides the pay, excessive amount of work done after school hours, the teacher evaluations are so stressful. Administrators swarm your classroom in groups and expect you to keep your cool and expect tou to diliver this fabulous lesson. Then all they do is focus on what they didn't see. They make you feel incompetent. Districts and TEA promise incentives for "Master Teachers" and the principals and facilitators do anything they can to give you low evaluations. The stress is agonizing and makes you hate your job. The State assessments have unrealistic expectations for each grade level, specially right now after a pandemic, and administrators say you can't use this as an excuse as if the effects won't linger around for years.

[@miriamcollins7587]

Accurate. This is it.

[@DiBy-0]

Thank you for this piece. Journalists sadly don’t seem to want to do this legwork now and its refreshing to see someone accurately describe the problem and why people are leaving this profession in droves. I hope you will take this information and shove a microphone in politicians faces when invariably you will have the usual suspects at the state level refuse to invest the money we need to raise salaries. Included in this aggressive reporting should be the supers who make six figure salaries and board members who are often the worst impediment in improving things for teachers in their district. Thank you again for doing this deep dive, for telling the public the truth, and for shining a spotlight on what these destructive policies and wage suppression has done to public education.

[@cyclemadness]

"As teachers, we put what we need aside to be the selfless ones, to give...." Yeah, the whole system has been relying on that, then they guilt you for quitting to better yourself. Not one other job anywhere, save the military, shortchanges their employees like teachers. Here's a district where the teachers can't afford to live there. Are you telling me there's no money in that community? Teachers driving past BMW's, Mercedes, etc, to go to work in an unairconditioned room. Yep, I was a teacher for a while too.

[@georginatoland]

The best decision I ever made was to abandon teaching as a career on the first day of my college’s teacher training program. Low pay, no supplies or support from the school, the expectation that I had to act as a social worker on my own time, and the behavioral problems were just part of the job. No sensible person would choose to stay at such a job. The problem with American schools is that teaching is primarily a career occupied by women, and therefore undervalued. Four of my friends went into teaching. None of them lasted more than a few years. One is still on medication for the PTSD brought on my the pressure and very real threat of physical violence. All of them worked for Austin schools. I know that kids who want to learn are out there…but they are just going to have to do it on their own. There is no education going on in public schools anymore.

[@nikoknightpuppetproduction369]

BS, teachers are NOT leaving because of better affordable housing in another district. Which districts have an overabundance of teachers signing up with them? Teachers are resigning because of the lack of support, over worked, over stressed and lack of respect.

[@DavidMiller-dt8mx]

I've said it so many times - educating the next generation needs to be top priority. For this, you need the best and brightest as teachers. If you aren't respecting that, and paying top dollar, the best and brightest will go elsewhere. With rising costs to live, they'll do it, even when they don't want to,

[@Spyrit2011]

A 300 year old education system is part of the problem. Students have instant access to a world's wealth of information at their fingertips, outdated education system does not compete. Times have changed education has not, students need to be taught how to critically think, how to solve problems, STEM, and how to use modern technologies. I don't blame teachers for this, public school systems have been defunded for a very long time, making them not be properly functional, students futures are on the line and in America we are woefully behind other nations. Education needs to be brought into the modern age, teachers need to be paid better, and politics needs to stay the hell out of it.

[@rdean150]

That assumes that modern technology actually improves learning. If I wanted to train a kid to be an endurance runner, I would not start by teaching him to drive a car. Outsourcing our memory and cognitive function to the internet and mobile devices is not necessarily going to facilitate deep understanding or long-term knowledge retention.

[@cherylT321]

They also need to bring back home economics, sewing, wood work and metal work in schools; especially for those who are not academically inclined!

[@ocachisu]

No one in the education system knows the students better than the teacher. But we ignore the teachers, and consequently, the students anyway. The difference is teachers can, and do, leave. The children don't have that choice. Home schooling is a privilege and not everyone is cut out for it. If we have fewer kids than 3 decades ago, why does the education system continue to increase class sizes and add to the work load for teachers on top of that? What's the incentive to stay?

[@lesliemcclinton7844]

I retired early from Texas because of the behavior of kids and administrators who believe the lies of the students.

[@joiamed8544]

Good luck to my cousin who is a teacher near Houston

[@RJelly-fi6hd]

The money is there for teacher raises, supplies for students, and extra help for students who need it...we just need to take it from the administrations that are stealing it.

[@DiBy-0]

This is a nationwide phenomenon. The superintendents pad their salaries, hire relatives as assistant supers, directors, and coaches where they make many times the salary of a classroom teacher. How they justify thos salary is the forms teachers fill out, the professional development that doesn’t develop anything, and the programs that add to our workload but allow them to strut like peacocks on a stage in front of the public

[@hollybigelow5337]

I agree with the other person who said this is a nationwide phenomenon, and this is absolutely happening. It isn't just administrators that are stealing it, though. Publishers and software companies are also stealing a huge chunk of that money. I don't know if it is still happening, but I was told about a decade ago Bill Gates donated several computers to a school, which sounded incredibly generous, but he donated the computers on the condition that the school would sign up for software licenses for his programs that teach what is called Common Core. I was also told that he made something like triple the value of the computers that he donated on software licenses for Common Core in the first year alone, and, of course, the school is committed to paying those software licenses for several years. Don't get me wrong, there are legitimate costs to building good learning software and writing good textbooks, but especially now that most things are digital the marginal cost of producing one additional textbook or one additional student account is almost zero. My mom found software she really liked while teaching at school that every single student has access to, and she asked me to look up what a license cost for an account with the software. When I looked it up it was $150 per student per year with the discount rate given to the district for buying in bulk and for being an educational system. The district pays this for every single student K-12 even though a certain number of students may never even log into the system for the whole year. Once again, I get that there are start up costs and there are also annual maintenance costs that the companies have to cover, but I promise they are making bank on those charges. If they were subject to free market forces no one would ever pay such high prices for their services, but because it is a hidden charge paid by taxpayers no one bats an eye at the high costs. And that is just one of several software licenses the school system pays. I have also indirectly worked with textbooks at the college level, and I can say the people making all of the money are the publishers. The authors don't actually make that much, and the bookstore selling the textbook tend to operate on rather thin profit margins. Perhaps the publishers have very large costs that justify needing such high profits from textbooks, but it is definitely the publishers that are getting the bulk of the revenue off of textbook sales. I'm sure there are higher than average copyright costs for some textbooks, but comparing the cost of say a Harry Potter book to the cost of the typical textbook I just can't imagine that publishers actually need that level of profits to produce the textbooks. They are also taking advantage of the fact that their customers have to buy the books, so the publishers aren't subject to free market forces. And the final drain on school resources is the incredibly high cost of standardized testing. Once again, especially now that most standardized tests are graded by computer rather than by hand, I know there is an initial cost of setting up the tests, and that is going to be quite high, but the cost of giving an individual test is almost zero, and once most tests have been written they don't need much updating each year. Basic math doesn't really change from year to year, and neither do the basic rules of vocabulary. So if you want to know the people who are siphoning off all of the money budgeted for education, I'd guess the biggest culprits are the costs for software licenses, followed by publishers of textbooks, followed by standardized tests, followed by administrators. Every single one of these groups have their hands in the pot, and I'm convinced if we stopped these drains there would be plenty left to decrease classroom sizes, etc.

[@jernedavis3872]

Texas teacher's need to go on strike like teacher's in Chicago

[@riverlove6820]

@@DiBy-0 This. Instead of hiring more teachers to reduce the class sizes which would improve teaching working conditions, they hire more administrative assistants. I have 189 students this year. I try to make connections with all of my students but this is too much. I wanted to stay for 3-5 more years but since I'm eligible for retirement, I am jumping ship after this year. I too will miss the students but I will not miss anything else about sports focused Texas high schools.

[@XXLSSBBW]

And an air-conditioner in each school. Keeping ALL classrooms cool and not just the main office.

[@Tekmology21]

How about taking a look at this story as a "silent strike"? The conservative politics in this state have created a situation in which it is illegal for teachers to strike. Hard-working, dedicated teachers that left a year's worth of lessons (including videos of the teacher teaching) behind when they resigned in the middle of the school year to go to a job that feeds their family, are being slandered by a school board saying they abandoned their contract and don't care about kids. We can't quit when we find a job in the middle of the year and we can't strike. What else can we do to improve our working conditions (which happen to be learning conditions for the kids) but not renew our contracts and go look for work elsewhere?

[@miriamcollins7587]

Exactly! Imagine making negotiating your own working conditions ILLEGAL.

[@ladydi1079]

Two teacher friends of mine retired in their fifties, years before they wanted to. The disrespect from parents and students and the lack of administrative support were the problems, not pay. As much as people talk about the pay, these two would have stayed until age 65 or longer if they weren't constantly attacked by parents and disrespected by students.

[@cherylT321]

I’m trying to hang in there and retire in six years. That would give me 30 years in... I’m just hoping the economy improves by then because my 401k is tanking right now!

[@jazmine4649]

I literally got COVID coming back to work, they still want us to come back but with a mask. It's pretty bad for us teachers.

[@cherylT321]

I caught covid at my school. I was out sick for a month with it. Administration kept messaging me saying I could come back to work because the quarantine time was up. I kept telling them I was out because I was experiencing all the negative effects of covid, including not being able to stand for too long due to dizziness. They still kept messaging me telling me to come back! I ended up having to get my union rep involved so they would leave me alone so I could recover!

[@angelasaizapaschall6324]

Who isn't struggling because of salary? I have 20 years of experience in Public Relations, a degree from an expensive private university, usually had a 60+ hours work week year-round, have been employed at successful organizations in urban locations and yet my salary was comparable to that stated in your report for teachers. Same old same old. So, having said that, I am now substitute teaching and relate completely with the teachers exiting the profession but not because of the money...the reason this report is stressing. It's STUDENT BEHAVIOR. I have had students sleep in class, gamble in class, order Door Dash in class, not work in class, slam doors, run out of the room, lie about their behavior, lie about me saying I threw something or hit them. And they DON'T STOP TALKING. "We made Ms. sjdlfkjsdf cry. Are you going to cry?" No consequences. Read the comments below. Many cite student behavior also. Suggest you investigate that.

[@rdean150]

Ok so now we see the starting salaries for brand new teachers. But how much are teachers who have been teaching for 5 years making? 10 years? 15? I suspect that those numbers will be even more disappointing.

[@Nihilistictendencies1]

I wish you had featured a school that wasn't a performing arts school. One with behavior issues like in Aldine or Houston isd. Pay isn't the only reason but it seems nobody really wants to address this issue.

[@jtenn73]

Abbott and morath wrecked the teaching profession. It's all by design

[@ellen5603]

I wanted to be a teacher but after I saw the salary and heard about the working conditions, nope. I work as an actuary instead, double the pay and nobody accuses me of being a mind-controlling Communist or whatever.

[@ashleypotter4433]

It’s honestly not rocket science. We know why teachers leave. Ask yourself-why aren’t I a teacher? There’s your answer.

[@XXLSSBBW]

Because I value my life. America has more school shootings than any other country on Earth.

[@otherworld11]

Teachers are extraordinarily underpaid. Need to bump the start salary to $70

[@dclaet1135]

And...raise the top end, so teachers can afford to buy a house.

[@GG-wi2ij]

Teachers don't get respect or support by admin or parents. Kids are atrocious because there is no real parenting. Parents are expecting teachers to be babysitters and admin blame the teachers when there's literally nothing they can do to wrangle the bad apples. I've heard about kids getting sent to the office for behavior problems and the admin send the kid back to class with snacks. Kids are being taught by admin and parents that there are no consequences for bad behavior and all the weight of this falls on the teachers shoulders..its sick. The policies are sick. The psychology behind how admin expects teachers to handle issues is sick. Teachers not only are expected to teach, they're expected to babysit, be counselors, nurses, psychologists, parents, magicians, best friends, clowns really and for such little pay. Other countries treat their teachers with dignity and respect similar to doctors with appropriate pay, but here in America, teachers are treated like trash, like slave labor. They are so abused!!! And now after covid, teachers were loaded down with even more unrealistic work and expectations. This trend has been happening for a while, but these days, it's just gotten so much worse. No one has been listening and nothing is being done about it. The good teachers can't take it anymore. Ultimately, you take God out of school and country, this is just a part of the degredation of a society that is inevitable.

[@Thatscrazyyourecrazy]

50k in ATX? Makes sense why they are quitting, affordable wage is in the 60-70 range

[@holachika5071]

So, I started subbing last year bc I was thinking I might want to actually get my teachers certification. It’s always something that I thought I might do. But, I have to listen to all the teachers quitting right now and question this choice. Is getting my certification something that I really want to do in this climate of low-pay/overworked school environments brimming with so many problems? Why would I do that?

[@ironrose888]

I used to be a teacher in Austin and I miss my students but the students would act out to distract the class. Very little support from administration or parents. Some assistant principals and parents were wonderful, but the majority were not. I had to work a second job on the weekends and holidays to make ends meet. I felt exhausted all the time and I kept getting sick. I had to quit so I could get healthy again. I like teaching adults rather than teenagers.

[@cherylT321]

At least the adults want to be there!

[@mikem820]

All you people moving down to taxes because of ‘low taxes’ , be prepared. You will see one of the worst schools you’ve ever encountered. I apologize to my kids every day for the 5 years we lived there from 2005 to 2010

[@tanasialovelady5391]

I've seen the posters for Subs but they don't pay enough in my opinion ($125 per day)

[@dclaet1135]

They pay $200 per day in Fresno, Ca, but housing is getting higher and higher.

[@housingrevolution5237]

The tentacles of our dysfunctional, feudalistic land & housing system have reached even Texas. The more we expect employers to keep up with the greed of those controlling land & housing, the more housing costs inflate. Until we finally deal with the underlying root problem, things are just going to keep getting worse.

[@stphns1737]

I am in Arizona. Ditto. The "solution" is NOT to demonize teachers and make laws to let people in who are NOT certified teachers.

[@englishteacherdon]

What the hell are teachers supposed to do if our society is in the midst of a total meltdown? That's not the role of educators. You need the military to fix this problem, not school teachers.

[@gloribyrd9259]

With more and more teachers not being married, salary becomes a higher priority.

[@teresasinclair8044]

Ummm... as a teacher of 19 years. It is a combination of everything in this video. Low pay (but also like no raises), AC is often broken/ not working, no faculty lunch room anymore, teachers buy their own copy paper, unrealistic expectations from admin, and very little support from parents.

[@cherylT321]

The a/c’s never broken in the main office where the principal hangs out!

[@XXLSSBBW]

How come no one mentions the school shootings? America has the highest number of school shootings in the world. Teachers, as well as students, must be afraid going in each day not knowing if there will be a person with a gun. It's like guerilla warfare.

[@davidstainton7201]

I taught for 38 years. As time passed behaviour worsened with less and less accountability for academic excellence, and less and less accountability for behaviour. Little or no consequences, was the norm. I eventually moved out of my high school because I was being brought up on the rug by administration and parents for being too strict and demanding behavioural and academic standards.

[@Clasped003]

How ironic that a state famous for disrespecting educators is now scratching their head wondering where all the educators went 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@tandysaysyoucandoanything6758]

When a pro birther state cries over something kid-related, just know the problem is gonna get worse. Thank your local politician

[@oxtails1]

In a nut shell I blame Republicans on there war on teachers I wish they have that same energy on bad policing in America

[@TeachinTV]

The falsehood about boosting teacher pay is this: they are boosting rookie's pay while refusing to stick to reasonable pay raises as they stick to their careers for ten to twelve years. Look at charts of teachers' pay rates, they are virtually frozen until they have been showing up for at least a decade. In the middle and later years of employment they do get decent increases in pay. The other way to earn a decent living is by going back to college, going into debt to finance a master's degree. It's a lose-lose proposition. In addition, teachers show up on the first day of school, are given a shopping bag with a box of pencils, a ream of paper, some scissors and scotch tape intended to last them the entire school year. Naturally teachers who want to decorate their classrooms, furnish a class library, and have enough of supplies dig into their own paychecks to provide them--to the tune of $500 up to $1,000--to their students.

[@SLees-tv7gh]

Gov Abbott is to blame for the teacher shortage in Texas.

[@aveaguila7679]

In California the pay is ok ..but the administration want you out ...SI the can hire a less experience teacher , a newbie cost less. Others states do similar acts of 'saving'money.

[@nodebt6188]

@@aveaguila7679 Teach in Las Vegas.

[@jtenn73]

Mike Morath appointed by abbott is just as bad

[@pistoffpussycat5778]

Please tell me how I like how he is dealing with illegal immigration, but idky teachers don't like him. I'm a teacher, but unaware how he is harming us. Honest question here.

[@cherylT321]

Yep!

[@CueStudent]

As someone who left after 2 decades its stunning how local news media reports like this dance around the core issues, but this type of disconnect is a large part of the problem.

[@soonahero]

So did you. What is the core issue

[@JTheTeach]

Money is a big reason. The fact that we as teachers cannot even get into our jobs or advance in our pay scale without at least a masters degree, but then we get paid like we barely passed high school. Teachers are THE SINGLE MOST UNDERPAID profession. Secondly there is the work loads, which just keep increasing. So thats related to the money issue. Most jobs will pay you more if you work more. Not so in education. Lastly its the crappy parents out there making our jobs political. WE are the professionals in education. Parents are educators too, but its not their expertise. They need to back off and let us do what we know works best and let us teach the truth. We are preparing the kids for the real world ideally, not some parents fantasy world.

[@grantcanada1]

It's very good work, yet very difficult work. Thus when you have compounding problems on top of the work, it's brutal - even if you are Single.

[@bre.172]

Maybe they don’t wanna get shot

[@thetacticalfuturist588]

Objective, informative and excellent!

[@kaepeach7588]

Hmm this is sort of incomplete. The districts are not rushing to fill gaps. I happen to know a masters degree holder who applied for a teaching license and did complete the cert program. Through out the process the person was gaslighted during the internships, unsupported by the program, and sent to schools that either had her application in piecemeal, schools that are notorious for running teachers out that were not of a particular race profile, and much much more. we heard of many other teacher candidates experienced the same. This is also and ironically well known. This is a diservice to our kids.

[@jrm371]

This was an excellent report

[@lolomorr6563]

Go onto social media and just read all the hate aimed at teachers. The profession is accused of indoctrinating kids, wokness, etc. parents are angry and blaming teachers for everything!

[@cherylT321]

Yep, except for their poor parenting skills!

[@sciencelabvideosl7558]

Have you guys looked at the latest STAAR REVISED tests? Wow. They just made the tests like 5X harder. What a turnoff.

[@Tamar-sz8ox]

I live in the North east part of the USA 🇺🇸 , we have 99% of our positions filled in my county. We are paid a good salary , with benefits and pensions/ that’s the bottom line/ and it’s not an easy job !l you come home and collapse and work extra hours

[@christineolsson5037]

You are not allowed to teach in Texas or Florida, so why stay?

[@roravenclaw7797]

This is country wide, not just Texas. I have been teaching for 30 years in special education. In Special education, lawyers make ridiculous demands without having any knowledge of how something would work in a classroom with other spec. ed children. We have hours and hours of paper work that never ends, that have legal due dates and time lines. That's on top of trying to meet the needs of severely disabled students.

[@evaacosta4832]

TEA is approving waivers to place 24-26 kids in a kindergarten classroom. School districts are not hiring teachers and saving money. At least 10 of the kids have severe behavior issues so this is driving teachers out. Just in my team 3 teachers have been driven out. They will probably just place a long term sub and call it a year.

[@Romey301]

i also want to add something that no one here has mentioned , I’d like to say that teachers are literally the only job I could think of that requires you to put in the work even when you call in sick . You’re sick and you still have to plan for the days lesson . It’s like you have to plan on choosing when to be sick ahead of time so you have time to put in the lesson pla for the next days . It’s ridiculous and the amount of time you spend after hours planning is also ridiculous for what a measly 50k ! Oh and did I mention the the students behavior and lack of parent support and ohhhh the grading ! Of course , and every role you have to fill in as you’re also a counselor, psychologist, a therapist a mother! Oh and you don’t have the free will to just walk out and mend your business when you have to , you only have 5 minutes to between class periods … you’re basically running oh and meetings and IEPs and afterchool sports and clubs . I could go on and on…

[@Thomas63r2]

I’m a Texas Middle School math teacher in my 60’s. I love teaching and helping my kiddos achieve success - but I do not feel loved back by the legislators and some administrators. The subject of high turnover in teaching has been ongoing for long enough that I have concluded the legislators do not care. Instead of correcting known problems, they continually devise solutions that make teachers miserable. I have no idea how early career teachers can pay their bills, especially if they take a position in a district that pays only the minimum scale. Legislators and the governor always fail to enact pay increase proposals because deep down they don’t think teachers are worthy. I never entered education to become wealthy, but when teachers cannot support their own families, then pay becomes the primary issue. The next main issue is student, and many times parent, behavior. This is a tough topic because everyone really wants to help the poor behaving students become more productive. What is lost in the effort to accommodate these high needs students are all the other students loss of learning by having to endure dysfunctional classrooms. In my opinion, for the sake of the greater good for the greater number of students - it’s best to remove the worst offenders and return the classroom to teaching and learning. Stop returning serial offenders to the classroom. On the subject of which students receive the most discipline referrals: rather than race, it’s more related to the economic situation of the family. Shoot me for stating the obvious: single parent households are a big indicator for student behavior issues. The less stability a student has in their home life, the more behavioral issues they will experience. There is huge trauma of living through never staying anywhere for a full school year, evictions, and food insecurity for too many students.

[@privatezone9029]

I am a senior in college pursuing my Bachelors in Education in hopes of teaching in Texas. Unfortunately, from recent experiences, I have decided to utilize my degree for other career options instead of teaching. I do believe the process to get a degree, complete a teaching program that costs $4,000 and pass an exam of 240 or better, is too excessive and not worth it. On the other hand pay does not match the expectations and job load given to teachers.

[@ronwade2206]

Hell no, not in Indiana, not in Texass or any other republitards controlled state. You want school teachers? Act like a grown up.

[@jillclarke7264]

As a retired teacher I'm hearing a number of folks are leaving because the low pay is not worth the political pressure being put on teachers . Can't blame them, not much freedom or money if you are a teacher in Texas, better to go elsewhere.

[@AlbertMoyerJr]

Yes! California is waiting. Your money will go farther there. Go!

[@pamlewis1183]

All states were given $$ for air circulation in the Rescue Act

[@ovrjoyd4u2]

I come from a long line of educators and this is my 2nd career. I will not make it 20 nor 30 years, but will age out and have full retirement pay/benefits. I have 4 years to go. Do I want to quit? YES! Will I? NO. I am doing my assigned tasks, taking no work home and doing my best. I don't care what they rate me on observations because I do the "scripted curriculum" as prescribed. I do my best to manage or ignore behaviors (give me strength), lead disgruntled parents to an administrator to vent, and recharge my energy over the weekends (3 day ones are a plus). I live well on my salary, not because it is high, but rather I have a low mortgage, shop at goodwill and Aldi and buy no supplies or TPT material with my own money anymore. At best, I try to form positive relationships with students that have even a glimmer of spark for learning. I only pray that I reach a few of them.

[@davidwatson6831]

To be honest its not just having a substitue teacher because a lot of substitute teachers do come into the profession with qualifications and experience within the field of education. Before we address those qualifications have you taken the time out to evaualte their qualifications fully. An individual could have possibly have been a Paraprofessional lets say for 10 years, but decides to become a teacher the next following school year. Its not a once size fits all shoe in the field of education. It takes time and expereince is the best teacher. Teachers are very dedicated individuals but are not respected as such. Society feels anyone can teach. The job of a teacher is really easy compared to other professions. They don't work long hours compared to someone with the same qualifications of entry into the profession. Teacher's are leaving for a number of reasons to be honest its not just pay its society's view of teachers that drives the exodus of teachers out of the profession. When teachers don't feel valued, respected, and appreciated for the work they do to inspire the next generation of students and their contributions to society as a whole, teachers start to look else where, because they feel their contributions would be more appreciated within that field or sector instead.

[@TheChefDWC]

I forgot to mention that as a former teacher who spent 9 years teaching in Texas, Nevada is much more teacher friendly at least in terms of pay. I currently work for the Clark County School District where STARTING PAY is $50,100 for first year teachers. As an experienced teacher, I am doing considerably better. As with Texas, Nevada does not have a state income tax.

[@yair77]

It also depends on where in Texas you work. The Houston area districts start off pay at around 60,000

[@olddoug8945]

my wife has been a teacher for nearly 30 years (yes, with MS Degree). She says the problem is that the SCHOOL BOARDS AND ADMINISTRATORS refuse to have and enforce reasonable discipline policies. The solution is to elect school boards that set discipline as a top priority and monitor them and insist that they hire school administrators who understand that. IF you want to make things better for everyone, run for election to your school board. Get like minded people to run also. You CAN get elected and fix this mess. You can then see to it that policies that end the chaos are implemented and that school administrators DO THEIR JOBS. Then the teachers would be supported and backed up when they discipline disruptive students. Parents would again support and backup the teachers. Then the chaos would END. Schools would again be SANE asylums, as they were when I grew up. NEVER chaotic. No attacks on other students (ok, sure, there was the rare fight, but only between 2 students and not knock down drag outs), but NEVER an attack on a teacher. Ancient history, I guess. I graduated HS in 1964.

[@KentuckyLiz]

The GOP War on Teachers

[@laurarivera2714]

After 21 years, I was non renewed with no reason given ….. my story is one that needs to be told ….. as I type this, I’m crying because unlike these teachers, I was forced out of a career that was a passion for me ….. I am asking anyone who can help me be heard to reach out to me ….. I am heartbroken and I have realized that when teachers are fighting for rights, they really have non…. I have a voice and I deeply feel I am not the only one who has something similar happen and I don’t know how to advocate for teachers

[@dorianmac7466]

I hope I can give you some words of encouragement. You were forced out of a career you loved; much like a lover unexpectedly dumping you. What if that lover was no good ; how would you get over the break-up? Hopefully you will soon see how you are better now that you are away from what unbeknownst to you, was a toxic and harmful situation. Try to look at it from the perspective of it happening to a close and cherished friend, how would you want them to deal with that betrayal? Take care many people feel for you and care about that unfair treatment.