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Hannah Myers
Prof. Haynes
April 8, 2019
Composition II
What a Failing Professions World Looks Like
Education is one of the essential things in anybody’s life. Knowledge is power, and
without it, we would all be lost, confused, and powerless. In today’s world, education is
becoming undervalued and ignored. If we do not act on the issues within teaching, teachers will
become scarce, and the world will lose its power. Teaching is one of the most critical jobs in the
world giving education to kids all across the globe, despite this, it is a dying profession and soon
enough could fall apart completely.
Most teachers nowadays are dissatisfied with their jobs. Occupational stress along with
demands and pressure to improve students’ standardized test scores put teachers at high risk of
being dissatisfied with their jobs (Moore, 2008). Teachers are quitting suddenly at an alarming
rate. Studies suggest that 12% of all teachers leave teaching every year, with only 25% of those
being from retirement (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2008; Boe, Cook, & Sunderland, 2008;
Ingersoll, 2002, as cited in Moore, 2008). On top of this, in high poverty schools as much as 20%
of teachers leave; either to different schools or to new schools (Ingersoll, 2002, as cited in
Moore, 2008). Teachers leaving the profession is beginning to cause a vast shortage and a huge
problem. This turnover will be a substantial financial burden on the schools and the district. It
will take much money away from an already meager budget. Several factors in the school
environment can lead to teacher dissatisfaction. Different causes of school dissatisfaction
include; negative school climate, poor administrative leadership, and the quality of the physical
structure of the building (Buckley, Schneider, & Shang, 2005; Lee, Dedrick & Smith, 1991; Tye
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& O’Brien, 2002, as cited in Moore, 2008). If these issues do not get resolved, teacher
dissatisfaction will increase causing even more issues within the profession.
Teachers are starting to make less and less as the years go on. The average for a teacher’s
salary is 59,660 (Thomas, Desiree, & Hammond, 2017). Despite this seemingly higher number,
teachers’ economic position has worsened over time. Inflation has destroyed any salary
increases: Over the past decade, the average teacher’s salary has increased by 15.2%, but with
adjusting for inflation, the average salary decreased by $1,823 or, 3% (Thomas, Desiree, &
Hammond, 2017). Because pay is decreasing, teachers who were just hired often find themselves
not able to live near where they work and on top of this sometimes are even working other jobs
to make it. They have so many financial needs with student loans as well as settling down and
getting everything together. The stress of being a teacher is already a lot from the job itself; the
added financial stress it brings to the table is pushing teachers away from teaching.
Burnout is a huge problem within the teaching communi...
