Why teachers like me are dreading the return to school
Posted on September 4, 2024 in Education Delivery System
Source: TheStar.com — Authors: Maria Calleja
TheStar.com – Opinion/Contributors
Sept. 3, 2024. By Maria Calleja Contributor
Teachers across the province are feeling the emotional strain of an overburdened education system that has been further crumbling over the last five years.
I am an Ontario educator with a public school board and as I return to work, part of me is dreading it. Many of my teacher friends are also partly dreading the start of the new school year, not because their beach visits are coming to an end, but because they remember how mentally exhausted and burnt out they were in the final days of June.
Teachers across the province are feeling the emotional strain of an overburdened education system that has been further crumbling over the last five years. A 2024 study reported that 28.5 per cent of Ontario teachers have experienced high burnout, and 50 per cent of Ontario teachers have suffered moderate or emotional exhaustion.
I have been one of those teachers who has experienced emotional exhaustion due to the increasing demands of the job since 2019. Over the last five years I have witnessed teachers resigning and abandoning pensions, going on mental health leaves and others leaving the profession before they have even achieved permanent status. In April, a report stated that 30 per cent of Ontario teachers leave the vocation in the first five years as educators.
Ontario educators are leaving teaching behind as severe provincial spending cuts, the strain of COVID and a drastic rise in student violence have created an education crisis in Ontario.
The provincial government began slashing funding to education in 2019. This resulted in multibillion dollar budget shortfalls for Ontario boards like the TDSB. To accommodate these cuts I have seen VPs lose their full-time status, vital programs for severely Autistic students disappear and education assistant positions cut. I have also seen ESL positions reduced to half time while the high number of ESL students has increased sharply with influxes of immigration.
Then the pandemic hit. The cost of preparing schools to be safe for students amidst lockdowns drastically rose. The TDSB alone spent $70.1 million dollars on COVID preparations that were not covered by the province. During the pandemic there was also a shift in the behaviour of students and how parents and teachers interacted. As many of the pandemic school rules were lifted when COVID numbers dropped in Ontario, the number of student violent incidents increased.
In February and March of 2023 an ETFO survey recorded that 80 per cent of Ontario teachers had experienced or witnessed violence in schools. Meanwhile, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) stated that the amount of reported violent incidents rose 72 per cent from the beginning of the pandemic up until March 2023.
With consistent underfunding the amount of staff that are available to support teachers with student behavioural issues has reduced. I have seen office administration step in to help when students are sent to the office for misbehaviour as the half day VP and principal dealt with other student issues.
I have seen violent fights and students have been verbally abusive to me. Teary-eyed teachers have spoken to me about their fear of managing violent children in their classroom.
In addition, the power to deal with student violence by school administrators has been eroded. When a school’s administration decides the consequences for a child who has misbehaved in class they have to balance the needs of teachers, students, parents, and superintendents.
They may worry about receiving pushback if they choose firm outcomes for students. Also, if some parents argue strongly enough the school administration may find it difficult to choose the best solution for students and teachers. Unfortunately, this may mean students who are verbally abusive or violent will be returned to the classroom.
Teachers are also afraid of being punished if they actively try to control severe behavioural disruptions in their class. So many teachers realize that they cannot deliver the entire curriculum to a class that is often disrespectful or violent. They know that if a student complains about their class management skills to the office or to their parents that they may also be reprimanded for their decisions.
Then there is the teacher shortage crisis. A 2023-2024 survey reported a 24 per cent shortage of teaching staff in elementary schools, and a 35 per cent teaching shortage in secondary schools. In addition, there has been a considerable decrease in the amount of supply teachers available across Ontario. I have seen weary special education, and ESL teachers do daily supply work when they have vulnerable students that they should be serving.
So, many teachers just want to feel safe at work and they want to be respected for the hard work that they have invested in a profession about which they deeply care. They want students to feel valued and confident and to know whatever happens in the world that the one place that will always be safe for them is their school.
Maria Calleja is a Toronto-based freelance writer and educator.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/why-teachers-like-me-are-dreading-the-return-to-school/article_8e8f5e80-66e7-11ef-8f6f-4b4d27f1f12e.html
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4 Responses to “Why teachers like me are dreading the return to school”
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Having spent years as a professional teacher in Ghana, I can deeply relate to the concerns raised in this article about burnout and mental health challenges. The verbal abuse from to kids we are teaching, parents and sometimes the school authorities. Human rights activists who jump on issues in our schools always finding fault on teachers. All these put together make the profession not attractive anymore. From all these frustrations teachers go through each day to shape life, incentives are nothing to write home about. In Ghana, we are often faced by large class sizes and limited resources, which makes it difficult to provide personalized attention to students and manage the class for effective teaching and learning. These challenges are like those described by teachers in the article, who express concern over the frustrations in the service, especially after the covid pandemic.
In my future practice as a social worker, I expect to encounter many of the same difficulties. Social service professionals frequently deal with heavy caseloads, emotional pressures, and juggling several tasks, just like teachers do. Since professional mental health services and training for teachers are scarce in Ghana, the article’s assertion regarding the lack of support for educators resonates with me. Because of this lack of support and ongoing pressure, professionals may feel overburdened and unable to give their best work.
Being aware of these possible pressures will be essential in my future position. It will be essential to understand the psychological demands associated with working with vulnerable groups to avoid burnout. Like how educators need a system that promotes their wellbeing, social service workers too need professional development opportunities, frequent supervision, and access to mental health resources in order to handle the emotional demands of our work.
A practical example from my teaching experience was managing a class of 60 students with varying needs and backgrounds. While I was committed to helping every student succeed, I often felt that I couldn’t provide the individual support each one needed due to time and resource constraints. I now realize that, as a social service worker, I must advocate for better resources and mental health supports not just for my clients, but also for myself and colleagues,
Reflecting on this article, the challenges described will shape my practice as a social service worker by reinforcing the need for self-care, continuous professional support, and advocacy for systemic change. The emotional and psychological well-being of teachers and social service workers should be prioritized to ensure that we can continue to provide quality care to those in need. To enhance teaching and learning process there must be measures put in place. This I believe is collaborative effort from the stake holder of education. From the government, the school district board, social service workers teachers, parents,the learners, the community and the country at large all have role to play.I believe education is the bedrock of every nation as such all hands must be on deck to support the education system.
Me and my group have chosen this article because it was quite interesting for our group project. I especially found it interesting because I know that this is an issue that is still going on and as a middle school/high school student I have experience and seen how it was affecting the teacher while the students were being disrespectful towards the teacher and some of the times the teacher would quit their job or take a sick leave because of this issue. This would affect a lot of things at my school like the students that wanted to learn and the council because they had trouble in hiring other people, and we would get left with the principle and it was just not the same. I feel also as when I was a student it really affected me when it happened it would distract me from learning and other aspects, I just found it disrespectful also for the student that wanted to learn in my class. As a future practice social service worker this issue will impact me by knowing how teachers are overwhelmed by the return of school and have an idea of the factors. It will help me understand the challenges. This awareness can also help me to provide support and developing strategies to assist teachers in managing such satiations by using empathy knowing how they feel so I can collaborate with educators to create a positive and supportive environment for the student and others. I will over all try my best to reduce how the teachers are feeling in this issue for the future. This issue that is still going on makes me sad how teachers try their best for the students and that students can’t have respect sometimes I feel like it sounds very difficult for them to do that work and to not be appreciated I would like to be part to help make a difference.
In this article I selected, there was much focus on the fear educators have in Ontario when it comes to going back to school to teach. This is due to emotional their experience in their working place as a result of a number of issues such as increased violence, increase in the number of ESL students as well as the impact of Covid 19 among others. As a social service worker, I feel that such issues are more likely to affect me in my professional practice in future due to a number of reasons.
First of all, external factors that directly affects the working of individuals highly determine how they perform at work. For instance, as a social service worker, if at all there is some sort of violence among the people I would be working for, then that would be problematic. This is because it becomes hard for people to work together in achieving a common goal, making it even more difficult for one to appreciate their duty. We also have issues which are interconnected which how the country is being governed for instance in the article there is a concern of the rise of ESL students.
Having looked at all these matters, I realized that there is need for social workers to get the emotional support they need be it through therapy or any other significant approach. This is because in social service it is expected to meet different personalities and social matters which can be draining and therefore being in the right headspace can help in achieving smooth navigation.
The article by Maria Calleja really made me reflect on the current state of education in Ontario. As I read about the burnout teachers are experiencing, I felt a deep sense of concern. It’s clear that many educators are overwhelmed, and I can understand why. The demands placed on them, from long hours to managing disruptive behavior without enough support, are simply too much. I can imagine how emotionally exhausting it must be for teachers to try and give their best while feeling unsupported by the system.
The rise in student violence especially caught my attention. I find it alarming that teachers are feeling unsafe in their own classrooms. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them to manage violent or disruptive students, especially when they fear facing consequences for taking action. This must make teachers feel isolated, and I can see how this lack of support would increase stress levels even further. It makes me wonder how much more teachers can handle before it becomes impossible to continue.
The teacher shortage is another issue that hit home for me. With fewer teachers available and more responsibilities being pushed onto those who remain, I can imagine how frustrating it must be to juggle so many roles. Teachers are expected to be educators, counselors, caregivers, and disciplinarians, all at once. I can see how this added pressure would lead to burnout, especially when there’s little relief or support.
Reading this article made me realize that the problems in Ontario’s education system are not just affecting teachers, but students as well. Teachers are doing their best, but the system is failing them, and it’s disheartening to think about the toll it’s taking on their well-being. I believe that immediate action is needed to address these challenges. Teachers need more support, better funding, and a safer environment where they can do their jobs without fear. If the government and school boards don’t act soon, I worry about the future of education in Ontario.