May 19, 2024
Teachers leave long-lasting, positive impacts on their students through the lessons they teach and the discipline they instill. They take time out of their day to help their students prepare for assessments, encourage them to overcome obstacles and commend them on their achievements.
The work of an educator extends far beyond the classroom. In addition to lesson planning, teaching and grading, they coach sports, advise clubs, organize events, further their knowledge by attending workshops and contribute to professional organizations.
According to the career planning website Zippia, the average teacher will impact about 3,000 students throughout their career. Results from Zippia’s survey reveal that 83% of students had a teacher who improved their confidence and self-esteem, and 88% said a teacher played a positive role in their lives.
Teachers are critical in shaping today’s youth. However, their contributions are generally unappreciated or even go unnoticed.
According to a study published in AERA Open, a journal of the American Educational Research Association, only a quarter of teachers said they feel valued in society, and just 18.4% of teachers reported feeling valued by the media. Teachers’ perception of the appreciation they receive from policymakers is even lower, with only 13.3% reporting that they feel valued.
ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX SKOWRONSKI
Teachers can feel underappreciated due to lack of recognition, inadequate compensation and disrespect from students, parents and administrators.
This takes a toll on teachers’ mental health. About 28% of teachers have experienced symptoms of depression and 24% of teachers feel unable to cope with job stress, according to the business magazine Forbes.
Teachers are severely underpaid as well. According to a 2023 study by the research institute the RAND Corporation, two-thirds of teachers who responded to a survey said they deserved a $17,000 increase in base pay. Their responses were based on the fact that teachers earn roughly 27% less than similarly college-educated workers, a phenomenon known as the “teacher pay penalty.”
The survey also found that during the school year, teachers work 53 hours per week, compared to an average of 46 hours among working adults. According to the RAND Corporation, about one of every four hours a teacher works per week is uncontracted and uncompensated.
Lack of respect, a heavy workload and low pay are all factors that contribute to the ongoing teacher shortage across the United States.
According to the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, fewer than one in five Americans would encourage a younger person to pursue a career in education. Similarly, a study by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University reported that there were an estimated 55,000 vacant full-time teaching positions in the United States in 2022.
There is no time to waste when it comes to making positive changes that will impact educators.
At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, 45% of public schools reported being understaffed, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. While this statistic is deeply troubling, it actually reflects an improvement compared to the 53% of schools that felt the same way at the end of the previous school year.
According to National Public Radio, about 7% of American school districts are so desperate for teachers that they have decreased their school weeks to four days to address staffing shortages and entice prospective educators to work at their schools.
However, four-day school weeks come with several problems. They raise concerns about food insecurity since some students lack adequate access to meals on days when they are not in school and issues with child care among parents who have five-day work schedules.
Additionally, the magazine Education Week cites significant drops in math and reading achievement in districts that have moved from a five-day to four-day weekly schedule.
There is no time to waste when it comes to making positive changes that will impact educators.
Teachers sculpt younger generations and prepare them for the real world. Their work is severely underappreciated and should be recognized by communities, employers, the government and society as a whole.
