Teacher Retention
Friday, April 21st, 2006Ms. Frizzle discusses teacher retention:
the city neglects really basic improvements to physical plant, yet invests millions in recruitment.
The city is going to be paying about $1.5 million for this. But they can’t fix the ghetto floor in my classroom (as my students call it)?
I’m with her on this one; I’ll bet there are investments in improving working conditions that could directly benefit students while simultaneously improving retention. It’s hard to explain to someone who works in a comfortable downtown office all day long, the subtle wearying effect of working in ugly, broken-down classrooms, always and unpredictably the wrong temperature, with unreliable access to internet and other technology, unreliable plumbing, cockroaches and mice, and so on… and this wearying effect is on both teachers and students, sending us a message of neglect. Spend a few days in schools where the atmosphere is always tense, voices raised, curses flying, and see what it does for your blood pressure and ability to sleep well at night, and your desire to return the next morning.
