Jan 2, 2008 6:00 pm US/Central
Teacher Burnout: Parents, Not Students, To Blame
(WCCO)
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The study of German teachers found a number of factors that are taking a toll on teachers -- everything from students to a huge work load. However, the most pressure comes from parents.
CBS
A new study shows educators are feeling pressure from all sides, but
you may be surprised at "who" causes the most problems for
teachers.
The study of German teachers found a number of factors that are taking
a toll on teachers -- everything from students to a huge work load.
However, the most pressure comes from parents.
We talked with some teachers at Hassan Elementary who told us they
enjoy their jobs, but some days can be challenging.
Elaine Horrmann teaches fifth grade. She said she can relate to the
study that says sometimes pressure to perform takes a toll on teachers.
"I think our jobs sometimes can be stressful
because of the number of people we are accountable to -- we're
accountable to parents, we're accountable to administrators, we're accountable
to our students, we're accountable to each other, and those things pull you in a
lot of different directions," said Horrmann.
Kim Greenwaldt teaches second grade. She said state required tests add
to the pressure teachers feel. Exams were also a stress factor in the
study.
"I've been teaching for 17 years, and when I
first started teaching, we did our regular test ... end of the chapter tests ... but
now we're taking all of our tests and we're taking state tests, and we're
analyzing that data. We're always getting together on non-school days to analyze
data ... how to improve test scores," said Greenwaldt.
The surprising finding in the study showed that parents, not students,
were the reasons behind teacher burnout.
"We're contacting parents all the time,
sometimes parents think ... I'm the only parent that I'm talking to a
day. I betcha I talked to maybe 10 parents some days," said Horrmann.
"I think when you're in the classrooms you can
see what's happening, when you're not here you might have an idea of what it's
like, when you were a kid, but it's a very different perspective when you come
back as a parent when you're here everyday," says parent volunteer Jill
Hellman.
Teacher turnover is also a problem. Another study shows nearly a third
of new teachers are leaving the profession after just three years.
"When I first went into teaching that just didn't
happened. You wanted to be very careful about where you got your job, but you
knew once you got into teaching that was probably what you were going to do,"
said Greenwaldt.
The teachers WCCO-TV talked with also said they feel more pressure because
they are helping to shape a child's future and that's a huge responsibility.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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