Shortly after I decided to retire a year and a half ago, my husband and I were at our local Friday afternoon happy hour spot. In chatting with our favorite bartender, I shared with her (public information anyway!) that when I retired I was making about 65k a year with a Master’s degree and 30 years of experience.
She makes more. I am not suggesting, by the way, that she is overpaid. Those who know me well also know that I wasn’t planning to leave public education, but the situation I was in, in a district that truly doesn’t value teachers, made me say, “I have my 30 years, I’m out!”
Found out today that 2 more friends and colleagues, long time teachers, have decided to retire early vs going back face-to-face in the classroom. That makes 5 this week and at least 20 since July. Many would have stayed, sharing their passion and experience in the classroom for at least another 5 years.
Much has been written about new teachers, how many bail within the first 5 years. I can’t even imagine how many of them are saying “Oh, hell, NO!” right now.
But the loss of experienced teachers, those who are the best at teaching kids, and those who mentor the newbies and help keep them in the profession, should be alarming.
For most teachers 30 years, or at least 80 points, is a goal. You get your full retirement.
These teachers are CHOOSING to leave a profession and the students they love before they hit this goal because they are scared, not only about their own health and safety, but that of their students, their students’ families, and their own families.
I started a new path when I retired and have been working for an educational software company for almost a year. On March 13 the entire company started working remotely. There is no plan to bring employees back to the office or have them travel until the company is sure that the risk to employees and their families is minimal.
Look, I get it. Students learning remotely is not ideal for teachers, kids, or their parents. I especially feel for the little ones. The kindergarten teachers who are teaching kids who don’t even know their letters, and now the kiddos can independently log in to a Zoom meeting are my heroes!
But the fact of the matter is that requiring teachers to return to schools that can’t guarantee the safety of their employees or their students is educational malpractice.
Most teachers I know are really smart people. We are probably better off having them in classrooms (even if they are remote for the short term) than earning a much bigger paycheck in the private sector.
In medias res... 