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Hands-on, Practical Guidance for Educators

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Why Great Teachers Quit

And How We Might Stop the Exodus

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.

Full description


Product Details
  • Grade Level: K-12
  • ISBN: 9781412972451
  • Published By: Corwin
  • Year: 2010
  • Page Count: 200
  • Publication date: July 08, 2010
Price: $34.95
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This book is not available as a review copy.
Description

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.

PodcastPodcasts
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)

Author(s)

Katy Farber photo

Katy Farber

Katy Farber is a teacher, author, and founder of the blog, Non-Toxic Kids. She is also the author of two books about education, Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Stop the Exodus and Change the World with Service Learning. Katy has written for various news, parenting, non-profit and educational publications, including MomsRising, Moms Clean Air Force, Educational Leadership, CNN’s School of Thought Blog, Problogger, Fox News opinion, and many others.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Foreword by Virginia Hines


Preface


Acknowledgments


About the Author


"Guardian" by Katy Farber


Introduction


1. Standardized Testing

Effects on School Climate

Effects on Curriculum

Effects on Teaching Schedules and Learning Outcomes

Effects on Students

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

The Silver Lining: Personally Fulfilling

Hope on the Horizon: Reevaluating Our Standardized-Testing Culture

Additional Resources

2. Working Conditions in Today's Schools

Big Problem #1: Violence

Big Problem #2: Unsafe Schools

Small Problems That Add Up

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

Hope on the Horizon: Cities Adopt the Precautionary Principle

Success Stories: Green Schools

Additional Resources

3. Ever-Higher Expectations

Unrealistic Expectations

The Time Crunch: Do More With Less

Professional Development That Doesn't Speak to Real Concerns

The Threat to Health and Well-Being

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

Success Stories: Professional Learning Communities and Collaboration Time

The Silver Lining: Challenging and Always Changing

Additional Resources

4. Bureaucracy

Field Trips: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Committees: The Death of Creative Ideas

Purchase Orders and Closed Budgets

Scheduling: Not Ideal for Students or Teachers

Policy: Lack of Input

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

Success Stories: Real Life Integrated Learning

The Silver Lining: Making a Difference

Additional Resources

5. Respect and Compensation

Struggling to Make Ends Meet

Paying for School Supplies

A Culture of Disrespect

The Martyr System: Do More for Free

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

Success Stories: A Decent Working Wage

Hope on the Horizon: Teacher Pay and Respect in New York and Other States

The Silver Lining: Helping Children Learn and Grow

Additional Resources

6. Parents

Unrealistic Demands and No Limits

My Child Is Always Right

Helicopter Parents: Micromanaging the Classroom

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

Success Stories: Partnering to Help a Child Read and Participate

The Silver Lining: Contributing to a Community Over Time

Additional Resources

7. Administrators

The Pressure Cooker of the Principalship

Pressure From Parents

Testing Pressure

Time Pressure

Mentors Help Principals, Too

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

Success Stories: Principal Mentors Make a Difference

Additional Resources

8. School Boards

Shared Leadership

Uses and Abuses of Power

Recommendations for Administrators and Teacher Leaders

Words of Wisdom From Veteran Teachers

Success Stories: School Board, Administrator, and Teacher Teams

The Silver Lining: Buoyed by a Supportive Community

Hope on the Horizon: Teaming Up With Teachers

Additional Resources

Afterword: Final Thoughts


References


Index


Reviews

Reviews

Price: $34.95
Volume Discounts applied in Shopping Cart

Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.