(The Center Square) – A poll by Oklahoma Education Association revealed that one in five Oklahoma teachers said they are planning to leave the profession at the end of this school year.
"In Oklahoma, we already had a large number of teachers near retirement age," Katherine Bishop, president of Oklahoma Education Association, told The Center Square. "The difficulty of the last two years, and now the lack of respect and a greatly increased workload, are causing more and more educators [to look] outside the profession.”
Bishop said as hard as last year was for teachers, this year has been even more difficult, due in part to teaching in-person while being required to also create online content. Another difference this year is the lack of community support; Bishop said this year too many people are taking their frustrations out on teachers and school boards and educators are not receiving the respect they deserve.
"A teacher shortage has meant large-class sizes," Bishop said. "The substitute shortage has meant losing planning time to cover other classes or adding more students to full classrooms when a colleague is out and their students are divided into other classes. Over these past two years, there has been extensive disruption in not only our students’ academic learning but also their social and emotional development and well-being."
Teacher pay is another contributing factor. According to Enid News & Eagle, those in the profession currently are looking for other positions with better compensation and benefits. A recent survey of college-bound Oklahoma students revealed that only 2% were planning on pursuing a career as a teacher.
"We want to believe we’re back to normal, but we are still in a pandemic," Bishop said. "Things are not normal. Kids and educators are still catching the virus and having to quarantine. The pandemic has created a teacher shortage and a substitute shortage, and that translates to a much more difficult working environment."
via Oklahoma's Center Square News