Sinking Morale

In a recent New York Times Article, MetLife's Survey of the American Teacher revealed that teacher morale is at its lowest point since 1989. The survey included teachers, parents, and students and indicates particular factors that have caused the significant drop in satisfaction. Of the factors mentioned, common ones include:

• Increased pressure of standardized testing
• Increasing class sizes with fewer resources
• Overall job security.

The most interesting piece of the article for me was the section that identified that the results were consistent across teachers who were working in poor and stable neighborhoods. While ignoring the lack of clarity surrounding what a "stable" neighborhood is, it is also interesting to see that the race and ethnicity of the students, and length of a teacher’s experience, had little bearing on the survey's results. Despite the apparent consistency across the profession, the survey also noted that teachers working in urban schools with a large population of minority students reported lower satisfaction with their jobs.

Common trends amongst teachers who were satisfied with their jobs included a stronger sense of job security, more opportunities for (meaningful) professional development, longer planning time, and higher levels of parental involvement.

For those teaching in Baltimore City, most of these factors are familiar and relevant in our day to day work. It raises the question of what it would take to increase teacher satisfaction overall, but particularly in urban areas where many of these issues are magnified. It would appear that a multitude of factors result in higher or lower satisfaction, but how many of these factors are within the district, school, and teacher's control?

-Michelle