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Why Great Teachers Quit
Featuring clear analysis and concrete suggestions for administrators and policy makers, this book takes you to the front lines in the fight to keep great teachers where they belong: in the classroom.
- Grade Level: PreK-12, Elementary, Secondary
- ISBN: 9781412972451
- Published By: Corwin
- Year: 2010
- Page Count: 200
- Publication date: July 08, 2010
Price: $34.95
Description
"In this lively and interesting book, Katy Farber makes public the real reasons why inexperienced teachers rarely stay long enough or get the support they need to become good, why good teachers don't become great, and why great teachers quit."
—Deborah Meier, Educational Reformer, Writer, and Activist
"This book is for every parent who has had their child's teacher leave in the middle of the year, every administrator who marvels at the difficulty of teacher retention or team spirit, every policy maker ready to walk the walk, and anyone who has invested years in preparation for a career in the classroom only to be faced with the thought of cutting his or her losses."
—Esmé Raji Codell, Author of Educating Esmé
Learn why today's best teachers are leaving—from the teachers themselves.
Podcasts: 
Education Talk Radio: 4/6/2011
Low pay, increased responsibilities, and high-stakes standardized testing—these are just some of the reasons why more talented teachers are leaving the profession than ever before. Drawing on in-depth interviews with teachers all over the country, Katy Farber presents an in-the-trenches view of the classroom exodus and uncovers ways that schools can turn the tide.
Farber's findings paint a sometimes shocking picture of life in today's schools, taking a frank look at
- Challenges to teacher endurance, including tight budgets, difficult parents, standardized testing, unsafe schools, inadequate pay, and lack of respect
- Strategies veteran teachers use to make sure the joys of teaching outweigh the frustrations
- Success stories from individual schools and districts that have found solutions to these challenges
- Recommendations for creating a school environment that fosters teacher retention
Featuring clear analysis and concrete suggestions for administrators and policy makers, Why Great Teachers Quit takes you to the front lines of the fight to keep great teachers where they belong: in the classroom.
Podcasts
Katy Farber's interview about why great teachers quit on EduTalk. Listen here. (38 minutes)
Katy Farber's insightful 36-minute interview with Jane Lindholm on Vermont Public Radio.
Click here to read Katy Farber's thoughts on "The Problem of the Disappearing Teacher and How to Solve It" in the Huffington Post.
Katy recently did an in-depth interview with EducationDegree.com. Watch it:
Key features
- In-depth interviews with dozens of teachers from across the country that reveal the dissatisfactions that cause them to leave their classrooms.
- Analysis of the problems facing today's teachers: standardized tests that are used punitively to judge teachers and school; unsupportive administrations; unrealistic expectations of the scope of teachers' responsibilities with regard to their students' lives; inadequate pay and working conditions; etc.
- Recommendations for how these problems might be addressed, and how teachers can act as their own advocates.
- Inspiration in the form of accounts from committed teachers who find the joys of teaching outweigh all the considerable job dissatisfactions.
- Resources for teachers to use as they seek to address the problems that interfere with their continued life in the classroom
Author(s)
