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April 3, 2023

American public schools are witnessing a mass exodus of teachers.

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The term “stampede” may be more appropriate. According to one poll conducted in 2022, some 55% of educators were ready to leave the profession, and this unease is often translated into action. In one Chicago school nearly every teacher bailed out. Many teachers are not even waiting for the end of the school year and are leaving in mid-term.

These departures overwhelming result from school violence, disorderly classrooms, insufficient administrative support, and trying to teach kids who just don’t care. According to one study during the 2020-21 school year, one-third of teachers reported at least one incident of harassment or threats of violence while 14% were actually physically attacked. The American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Violence against Educators and School Personnel reports that threats can even come from parents convinced that junior is “a good kid” despite carrying a knife to the classroom.

Cold statistics understate the fear of violence, especially in schools where poor, single-parent minority students predominate. Reports of physical confrontations quickly spread to others as does the unwillingness of school administrators to punish culprits.  Further add daily in-your-face hostility to learning such as talking during lectures, constant iPhone use, and obvious boredom that can kill a teacher’s commitment.

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Under such circumstances, the usual workplace incentives are of little value to unhappy teachers. A 3% salary raise, or better medical plan, cannot compensate for daily living in fear for one’s safety. This is not the Great Depression where a secure teaching job was prized no matter what. Nor are today’s female teachers limited in their vocational options.   

The problems of unsafe and dangerous working conditions are the classic tribulations that precipitated America’s labor movement. After all, what could be more central to a union?  So, how are the two teacher unions responding? Answer: By making it worse.

Considering the sheer size and resources of the two teachers’ unions, protecting their members should be a no-brainer. The American Federation of Teachers  (AFT), has 1.7 million members and besides K-12 teachers. it represents many in non-educational fields such as nursing. The National Education Association (NEA) is the world’s largest professional organization with 2.5 million members. Both unions are recognized for their skilled lobbying and lavish contributions to political campaigns. As the recent COVID crisis illustrated, these unions can shut down public schools for long periods, often against the desires of parents and public officials.

Why then are teachers’ unions ignoring the plight of teachers jumping ship over working conditions? The short answer: both unions prioritize a sweeping radical political agenda versus what daily concerns teachers. Yes, these unions acknowledge their traditional bread and butter missions, but such prosaic concerns fail to drive their passion for racial justice.

A recent AFT statement—Reimagining School Safety—illustrates this racial justice obsessions. Its solution to reducing school violence explicitly rejects punitive measures such as expelling troublemakers in favor of preventive therapeutic interventions. It states, “Reenvisioning education and schools …must account for the large bodies of research showing that schools with strong, caring, culturally supportive, and positive climates can not only address issues of ongoing victimization but also prevent students from being victimized. Little evidence suggests that law enforcement strategies have prevented school shootings or made schools feel safer for students.” In fact, it continues, “significant research has highlighted the negative impact that security, law enforcement, and punitive approaches can have on school climate, including lowering students’ sense of belonging and safety and academic performance.” Down with the police, up with hiring more therapists (who, no doubt, will then join the AFT).  

The NEA is even more supportive of racial justice as the cure for the problems driving teachers to quit. They are not shy: “We are working tirelessly to dismantle systems of oppression that prevent children from accessing a great public education because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, or nationality.” The rejection of punitive measures cannot be any stronger: “… zero tolerance and other exclusionary school discipline policies are pushing kids out of the classroom and into the criminal justice system at unprecedented rates. Funding choices by certain politicians prioritize putting police into schools, harming students who are Black, brown, LGBT or disabled for making mistakes that – for wealthy white kids – are deemed part of growing up and learning. By joining together – parents and teachers, Black, white, and brown – we can make every neighborhood public school a place where all children can learn, grow, and thrive.”