Teachers aren’t martyrs, monks or nuns. But they are dedicated and trying their best for their students. | Get Schooled

Teachers aren’t martyrs, monks or nuns. But they are dedicated and trying their best for their students. | Get Schooled:

Teachers aren’t martyrs, monks or nuns. But they are dedicated and trying their best for their students.

2:46 am August 1, 2012, by Maureen Downey

I am hearing a lot about teachers leaving their schools, even in high performing areas.

One of the Get Schooled blog’s most eloquent and articulate posters,Jordan Kohanim, who gave up her north Fulton teaching job this year, shared this list of ways schools could stem the exodus.

By Jordan Kohanim

There are some obvious solutions to this problem which can be addressed at the grass-roots level.

1.  Acknowledgement: This one of the most important factors. Recognizing that teachers have a difficult job and are doing the best they can (and often successfully so) is an essential and surprisingly easy thing to do. Acknowledgement across all realms of education — not just math and science is essential. All teachers have a role and purpose in a school. This doesn’t mean the principal needs to have a Ra-Ra session every year, but admitting that:

•This is a hard job, with not enough monetary compensation, that most people appreciate