The resignation rate for teachers has increased dramatically over the past few years. There are too many teachers who are exhausted and overworked. Moreover, the amount of stress that they have to deal with along with covid-19 issues is overwhelming. 

Recently, one of Seminole High School’s AP United States History teachers has also decided to quit. Hailey Walker decided that she was going to take a break from teaching for a while to focus on other things. As a lovable teacher, Mrs. Walker will definitely be missed.

Mrs. Walker herself says that “I love all of my students, but I have to leave and work on myself, and do what’s better for me. I’m not leaving to teach at a different school. I’m leaving teaching entirely for a while. I hope my students don’t act hostile towards their new teacher and I hope they give him a chance because when I first started teaching I had come in for a teacher that had quit and many students did not like that.” 

The new US History AP teacher that’s going to be replacing Mrs. Walker is Stephen Efland. He has been teaching for a long time and is definitely qualified to take her place! 

Mr. Efland expresses “I’m not exactly like Mrs. Walker and I may have different rules than her but I still wish to have fun in the classroom. I know some students are upset or sad about her leaving but I hope they can accept me as their new teacher and we can have a fun rest of the year.”

Some reasons as to why there may be a decrease in the number of teachers include retirement, emotional stress, and low pay. Teachers approaching retirement age are most likely to consider retirement or retirement due to Covid-19. As a result, schools have started losing experienced teachers at a faster rate than usual. Subsequently, teachers have had to change their teaching positions due to a loss in staff members. They could not spend as much time teaching what they love. Thus, they were more likely to consider retirement. This suggests that the need for regime change is a factor in teacher dissatisfaction. Finally, teachers with higher levels of Covid-19 related health problems were more likely to consider leaving the company. Therefore, effectively addressing health problems can help increase teacher job satisfaction.

A recent study found that one in four teachers in the United States considered quitting their jobs by the end of the last school year, because there’s even more work related stress than there was compared to the pre-pandemic period, primarily due to work-related stress. Recently, studies have found that teachers are driven out of classrooms because of health risks, increased censorship of textbooks, long hours of work, and low wages. Teacher changes often negatively impact student performance. A shortage of teachers can also disrupt subjects or geographic areas that already have staffing issues. This includes math, science and special education, as well as schooling in rural areas and schools serving low-income families. Even if teachers remain in their jobs, a drop in job satisfaction can affect the quality of teacher work and undermine student achievement. Understanding why teachers leave their jobs can help managers and others find ways to better support teachers during these difficult times.

Mrs. Walker is a prime example of such dissatisfaction. Either way, we wish her a happy retirement and bid her farewell. As a school favorite, she will be missed!