Interesting article from The Atlantic regarding Why Teachers Quit. While these statistics may be startling to some, those of us how know a little about education or educators (I’m married to a Kindergarten teacher) know that these numbers sound about right:
* 40-50% of teachers leave teaching in the first 5 years
* 9.5% of teachers do not finish their first year of teaching
* 15.7% of teachers leave the profession every year
* 40% of those who pursue an undergraduate degree in teacher never enter the classroom at all
Every profession has its share of turnover, but education seems to run higher turnover rates than other professions. The author of the article, Richard Ingersoll, himself left education after six years in the classroom, shares his thoughts as to why teachers are not sticking. What do you think of the reasons he gives for teachers leaving the classroom?
