To say Leah Juelke is an award-winning teacher is a bit of an understatement. She was a top 10 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize in 2020; she was North Dakota's Teacher of the Year in 2018; and she was awarded an NEA Foundation award for teaching excellence in 2019.
But Juelke, who teaches high school English learners in Fargo, N.D., says nothing prepared her for teaching during the pandemic.
"The level of stress is exponentially higher. It's like nothing I've experienced before."
It's a sentiment NPR heard from teachers across the country. After a year of uncertainty, long hours and juggling personal and work responsibilities, many told NPR they had reached a breaking point.
Heidi Crumrine, a high school English teacher in Concord, N.H., says this has been the most challenging year she's ever encountered in her two decades of teaching.
"And I say [that] as someone who started her first day of teaching on 9/11 in the Bronx in New York City."
Teaching is one of the most stressful occupations in the U.S., tied only with nurses, a 2013 Gallup poll found. Jennifer Greif Green, an education professor at Boston University, says the additional stress teachers are reporting during the pandemic is CONTINUE READING: Pandemic Stress Has Pushed Teachers To A Breaking Point : NPR
