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倦怠的美国教师加入辞职潮大军

倦怠的美国教师加入辞职潮大军

TREY WILLIAMS 2022-12-07
教师短缺问题日渐加剧,也为现有教职员工带来了更大的压力。

今年,老师因倦怠而辞职在美国各地屡见不鲜。图片来源:MASKOT—GETTY IMAGES

妮娜的父母在其祖国法国均从事教师工作;她的兄弟也在其家乡教书。她的姑姑、叔叔,甚至她先生的父亲也是老师,这一现象感觉就像是一种使命召唤。 “真的很不可思议,” 她对《财富》杂志说。

最起码,从事教师职业也有家庭压力的因素。不过,29岁的妮娜称自己对教学充满热情,而且十分喜爱自己辛辛苦苦教育出来的孩子。她在法国教了两年书,然后自疫情爆发后一直在亚利桑那州的一所高中教英语语言艺术。然而,她如今开始怀疑自己能否继续干下去。与经历了疫情萧条的众多员工一样,尤其是教师,她正在寻找机会改换自己的职业。不过,她自己也不是很清楚该从何处着手。

妮娜最近在就业指导子版块中写道:“教师这一行我是真干不动了。然而,我在教育行业呆的时间太长了,以至于我觉得自己的能力出了问题,做任何事都提不起兴趣,哪怕我有一腔努力工作的热情和意愿。”妮娜是《财富》为了保护其隐私而使用的化名。

受疫情影响,人们围绕教育孩子的方式和内容争论了约两年的时间,教师短缺问题日渐加剧,也为现有教职员工带来了更大的压力,因此加深了教师的倦怠情绪并促使更多的教师另寻他路。该遭遇与美国企业雇员在解雇潮和大辞职潮期间面临的情况类似,期间,数百万的员工因持续的疫情倦怠情绪辞去了工作。

全美教育协会(National Education Association)在今年早些时候开展的调查显示,80%的协会会员称,工作空缺导致了工作量和义务的增加,而且超过半数的会员有意先于计划离开教育行业。妮娜认为自己也是其中的一员。自疫情爆发之后,有30万教师和公共学校员工离开了这一行业,她希望跟随他们的步伐。

她有充分的理由:缺乏信任和支持,压力以及倦怠情绪,同时还得应对历史性的学习滑落以及人手的不足。

妮娜说:“我曾认为自己可能会在高中任教很长一段时间,或者当一名预留地的高中老师,不过答案是否定的,我认为自己一辈子在高中执教并不是什么好事。最终,每当我对工作感到沮丧时,我依然在坚持。”

疫情让教学成为了一项难以忍受的工作

妮娜搬到美国西南部是希望与美国土著居民建立合作关系,尤其是纳瓦霍人。她的目标是教育土著学生,然而等待她的却是被疫情摧毁的学校系统。

新冠疫情凸显并加剧了妮娜处境危险的学生及其任教的小型委办学校所面临的不公平性。当学校转为远程教学之后,其中的一些学生困在了家中,没有可供上网课的计算机,或处于线上教学基本无法实现的环境中。

与美国众多教师一样,妮娜不得不给这些远落后于高中阅读水平的学生学分,并为其亮绿灯,让其进入下一个年级。总的来说,美国儿童的学习水平下滑抵消了数十年的学习进步。更加让妮娜感到痛心的是毕业学生面临的压力,因为他们根本不具备毕业的资质或做好了毕业的准备。然而,还有什么办法吗?难道让他们留级,浪费他们数年的时间?这对于妮娜来说是难以承受的。

此外,学校管理也存在问题。她称自己始终有种遭到了糊弄的感觉,被人轻视,而且得不到信任。此外,学校的人手严重不足,以至于她不得不教授特别教育课程。

妮娜说:“他们要求我们做的工作与支付的薪资相距甚远。我并不是特别教育老师,而且我也没拿到相应的薪酬。”妮娜在美国土著人和美国人研究领域拥有两个硕士学位,还有两个学士学位。

她说,这些天,寻找合适的新职业近乎成为了一种爱好。她发现自己对非营利性事业、政治或维权领域的工作十分感兴趣,哪怕这些工作依然在教育或学术界,只要不是教书就行。

妮娜说:“我希望我耗费了大量时间学到的技能能够有用武之地,而且这项技能也将我带到了美国。我来美国是为了与美国土著居民合作,并争取环境权力。我在就读博士项目的时候曾实现了一小部分目标,然后疫情爆发了,资金匮乏,因此我来这里当了老师。”

感觉困在了这里,没有出路

妮娜的父母总是说,教书可以成为一项十分惬意的工作,因为有假期,工作还稳定。不过,她并不希望过得太安逸。一位拿到了博士学位的男同事告诉妮娜,他开始教书是为了支付账单,但他掉入了这个陷阱,而且任教时间大大超过了其最初的计划。

然而,妮娜此时对于如何规划自己的职业变化没有把握。尽管她手握的四个学位和专长总的来说超过了她当前工作的需求,但妮娜担心,如果她等的时间过长,她所学的内容将与现实完全脱节。

她并不希望陷入无尽的求职循环当中。一位同事最近跟妮娜开玩笑说,她在谋求职业转型已经有15年的时间了。妮娜说:“我只不过是觉得,‘是的,我不想步她的后尘。’。”

多个行业的员工已经表达了自身对于在工作和技能方面与时俱进的担忧,因为此次疫情不仅让人们落后了,还让其对职业和工作-生活平衡进行了重新评估。妮娜说,她在疫情期间有了第一个孩子,也耗费了其大量的精力。然而,新冠疫情导致的封锁令和隔离也为妮娜提供了大量的时间来思考自己想要什么以及什么对自己的健康和职业最有利。

她说,自己在求职方面已经被拒了两次,其中一份工作堪称完美,然而她并没有放弃。学校总会有这样或那样的无奈,迫使她又重新回到了招聘网站。她在Reddit网站上的网友陆陆续续地提供了意见和指引,向她推荐更多职业选项,建议她与猎头合作,或者直接为她加油打气。

妮娜说:“在找到更好的工作之前,我会一直留在这里教书……我不会先辞职,然后再去寻找另一份工作。我喜欢孩子,也喜欢我的同事。他们并非是我最中意的人,但我十分尊敬他们,我们互动的也不错……而且我也不想失业。我有一个孩子,日托服务的成本跟房租差不多,因此不能失业。”(财富中文网)

译者:冯丰

审校:夏林

妮娜的父母在其祖国法国均从事教师工作;她的兄弟也在其家乡教书。她的姑姑、叔叔,甚至她先生的父亲也是老师,这一现象感觉就像是一种使命召唤。 “真的很不可思议,” 她对《财富》杂志说。

最起码,从事教师职业也有家庭压力的因素。不过,29岁的妮娜称自己对教学充满热情,而且十分喜爱自己辛辛苦苦教育出来的孩子。她在法国教了两年书,然后自疫情爆发后一直在亚利桑那州的一所高中教英语语言艺术。然而,她如今开始怀疑自己能否继续干下去。与经历了疫情萧条的众多员工一样,尤其是教师,她正在寻找机会改换自己的职业。不过,她自己也不是很清楚该从何处着手。

妮娜最近在就业指导子版块中写道:“教师这一行我是真干不动了。然而,我在教育行业呆的时间太长了,以至于我觉得自己的能力出了问题,做任何事都提不起兴趣,哪怕我有一腔努力工作的热情和意愿。”妮娜是《财富》为了保护其隐私而使用的化名。

受疫情影响,人们围绕教育孩子的方式和内容争论了约两年的时间,教师短缺问题日渐加剧,也为现有教职员工带来了更大的压力,因此加深了教师的倦怠情绪并促使更多的教师另寻他路。该遭遇与美国企业雇员在解雇潮和大辞职潮期间面临的情况类似,期间,数百万的员工因持续的疫情倦怠情绪辞去了工作。

全美教育协会(National Education Association)在今年早些时候开展的调查显示,80%的协会会员称,工作空缺导致了工作量和义务的增加,而且超过半数的会员有意先于计划离开教育行业。妮娜认为自己也是其中的一员。自疫情爆发之后,有30万教师和公共学校员工离开了这一行业,她希望跟随他们的步伐。

她有充分的理由:缺乏信任和支持,压力以及倦怠情绪,同时还得应对历史性的学习滑落以及人手的不足。

妮娜说:“我曾认为自己可能会在高中任教很长一段时间,或者当一名预留地的高中老师,不过答案是否定的,我认为自己一辈子在高中执教并不是什么好事。最终,每当我对工作感到沮丧时,我依然在坚持。”

疫情让教学成为了一项难以忍受的工作

妮娜搬到美国西南部是希望与美国土著居民建立合作关系,尤其是纳瓦霍人。她的目标是教育土著学生,然而等待她的却是被疫情摧毁的学校系统。

新冠疫情凸显并加剧了妮娜处境危险的学生及其任教的小型委办学校所面临的不公平性。当学校转为远程教学之后,其中的一些学生困在了家中,没有可供上网课的计算机,或处于线上教学基本无法实现的环境中。

与美国众多教师一样,妮娜不得不给这些远落后于高中阅读水平的学生学分,并为其亮绿灯,让其进入下一个年级。总的来说,美国儿童的学习水平下滑抵消了数十年的学习进步。更加让妮娜感到痛心的是毕业学生面临的压力,因为他们根本不具备毕业的资质或做好了毕业的准备。然而,还有什么办法吗?难道让他们留级,浪费他们数年的时间?这对于妮娜来说是难以承受的。

此外,学校管理也存在问题。她称自己始终有种遭到了糊弄的感觉,被人轻视,而且得不到信任。此外,学校的人手严重不足,以至于她不得不教授特别教育课程。

妮娜说:“他们要求我们做的工作与支付的薪资相距甚远。我并不是特别教育老师,而且我也没拿到相应的薪酬。”妮娜在美国土著人和美国人研究领域拥有两个硕士学位,还有两个学士学位。

她说,这些天,寻找合适的新职业近乎成为了一种爱好。她发现自己对非营利性事业、政治或维权领域的工作十分感兴趣,哪怕这些工作依然在教育或学术界,只要不是教书就行。

妮娜说:“我希望我耗费了大量时间学到的技能能够有用武之地,而且这项技能也将我带到了美国。我来美国是为了与美国土著居民合作,并争取环境权力。我在就读博士项目的时候曾实现了一小部分目标,然后疫情爆发了,资金匮乏,因此我来这里当了老师。”

感觉困在了这里,没有出路

妮娜的父母总是说,教书可以成为一项十分惬意的工作,因为有假期,工作还稳定。不过,她并不希望过得太安逸。一位拿到了博士学位的男同事告诉妮娜,他开始教书是为了支付账单,但他掉入了这个陷阱,而且任教时间大大超过了其最初的计划。

然而,妮娜此时对于如何规划自己的职业变化没有把握。尽管她手握的四个学位和专长总的来说超过了她当前工作的需求,但妮娜担心,如果她等的时间过长,她所学的内容将与现实完全脱节。

她并不希望陷入无尽的求职循环当中。一位同事最近跟妮娜开玩笑说,她在谋求职业转型已经有15年的时间了。妮娜说:“我只不过是觉得,‘是的,我不想步她的后尘。’。”

多个行业的员工已经表达了自身对于在工作和技能方面与时俱进的担忧,因为此次疫情不仅让人们落后了,还让其对职业和工作-生活平衡进行了重新评估。妮娜说,她在疫情期间有了第一个孩子,也耗费了其大量的精力。然而,新冠疫情导致的封锁令和隔离也为妮娜提供了大量的时间来思考自己想要什么以及什么对自己的健康和职业最有利。

她说,自己在求职方面已经被拒了两次,其中一份工作堪称完美,然而她并没有放弃。学校总会有这样或那样的无奈,迫使她又重新回到了招聘网站。她在Reddit网站上的网友陆陆续续地提供了意见和指引,向她推荐更多职业选项,建议她与猎头合作,或者直接为她加油打气。

妮娜说:“在找到更好的工作之前,我会一直留在这里教书……我不会先辞职,然后再去寻找另一份工作。我喜欢孩子,也喜欢我的同事。他们并非是我最中意的人,但我十分尊敬他们,我们互动的也不错……而且我也不想失业。我有一个孩子,日托服务的成本跟房租差不多,因此不能失业。”(财富中文网)

译者:冯丰

审校:夏林

It felt like a calling: Nina’s parents are both teachers in her home country of France; her brother is teaching back home too. Her aunts, uncles, even her husband’s father is a teacher. “It’s insane,” she tells Fortune.

There was familial pressure to become a teacher, to say the least, but Nina, 29, says she is passionate about teaching and loves the kids she works so hard to educate. She taught for two years in France and has been an English language arts teacher in an Arizona high school since the pandemic started. But she’s not sure she can do it much longer. Like many workers in the waning days of the pandemic—especially teachers—she is seeking a career change. But she’s not entirely sure where to begin.

“I just don’t want to be a teacher,” Nina, a pseudonym Fortune is using to protect her privacy, recently wrote in the career guidance subreddit. “But I’ve been in education for so long that I don’t feel like I am qualified enough to do anything remotely interesting even though I have the fire and willingness to work hard.”

The pandemic, which brought about two years of debating how—and what—to teach kids, fueled a teacher shortage that has put more pressure on staff, intensifying burnout and leading more teachers to search for an exit ramp. The effect is similar to what employees in corporate America face amid layoffs and the Great Resignation, in which millions of workers have vacated positions amid continued pandemic fatigue.

A National Education Association poll from earlier this year found that 80% of the union’s members say job openings have led to more work and obligations, with more than half of members planning to leave education sooner than planned. Nina counts herself among them, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the 300,000 teachers and public school staff who have left the profession since the pandemic.

Her reasons are plenty: a lack of trust and support, stress and burnout, contending with historic learning loss, and depleted staffing.

“I thought I would be a high school teacher for a while and maybe be a high school teacher on a reservation, but no,” Nina says. “I don’t think it would be good for me to be a high school teacher my whole life…Essentially, every time I’m frustrated with my job, I go on Indeed.”

The pandemic has made teaching unbearable

Nina moved to the American Southwest fueled by a desire to work with the Native American population there, particularly the Navajo Nation. She had goals of teaching native students. What she found was a school system ravaged by the pandemic.

COVID-19 highlighted and exacerbated the inequalities facing Nina’s at-risk students and the small charter school where she teaches. When the school went remote, some of her students were stuck at a home without a computer for online class or in environments in which online schooling was virtually impossible.

Like many teachers across the country, Nina had to give credit and pass along students who are far behind high school reading levels to the next grade. Broadly, the learning loss for America’s children has erased decades of academic progress. What pains Nina more has been the pressure to graduate students who are simply not equipped nor ready to graduate. But what’s the alternative: Waste years of their lives by holding them back? It’s become untenable for her.

Then there’s the school administration. She constantly feels patronized, undervalued, and not trusted, she says. And the school is so short-staffed that she’s been forced to teach special-education classes.

“They’re asking us to do things that are way above our paycheck,” says Nina, who holds two master’s degrees in Native American studies and American studies plus two bachelor’s degrees. “I am not a special-education teacher, and I am not paid like one.”

Looking for the right next career has become almost a hobby these days, she says. She finds herself drawn to nonprofit work, the political or advocacy sphere, even something still in education or academia—anything but teaching.

“I want to use my skills that I spent so much of my time learning and that brought me here to the U.S.,” Nina says. “I came to the U.S. to work with Native American people and work for environmental rights. It happened for a little bit when I was doing my Ph.D. program, but the pandemic happened and lack of funding happened, so here I am.”

Feeling stuck with no way out

Teaching can be a comfortable gig; that’s what Nina’s parents always preached: the time off and job security. She doesn’t want to get too comfortable, though. A colleague of hers has a Ph.D. and told her he started teaching just to pay the bills, but he fell into the trap and has been teaching much longer than originally planned.

But Nina is unsure at this point how to navigate such a career change. While she’s got four degrees under her belt and an expertise that for all intents and purposes exceeds the scope of her current job, Nina’s worried that if she waits too long, her training will become all but irrelevant.

And she doesn’t want to be stuck in an endless job search. A colleague, somewhat jokingly, told Nina recently she had been looking for a career change for 15 years. “I just kind of felt, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to be her,’” Nina says.

Workers across industries have expressed concerns about staying relevant in their work and skills after a pandemic that not only put people behind, but also made them reevaluate careers and work-life balance. Nina had her first child during the pandemic, which took a lot of her focus, she says, but lockdown and the isolation that came with COVID-19 gave her a lot of time to think about what she wants and what’s best for her health and career.

She’s been turned down for two jobs already, one that would have been perfect, she says. She’s not deterred, though. There’s always more frustration at school that pushes her back to the job boards. Fellow Redditors offered advice and guidance in droves, suggesting other potential careers, working with a headhunter, or simply sending encouragement.

“I’m going to stay as long as I can stay until I find something better…I will not resign and then look for another job,” she says. “I love the kids. I like my colleagues. They’re not my favorite people, but I respect them and we have a good dynamic…And I don’t want to be unemployed. I have a baby, and day care costs just as much as rent now, so there’s that.”

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