The annual Met Life Survey of the American Teacher is out. There are hardly any surprises. Principals (who are also surveyed) and teachers are feeling the effects of declining budgets, and being asked to do more with less creates a great deal of stress for our educators.
Some noteworthy findings:
- More than half of principals (53%) and teachers (56%) report that their school’s budget has decreased in the past 12 months.
- Three-quarters (75%) of principals feel the job has become too complex.
- Seven in 10 (69%) principals say the job responsibilities are not very similar to five years ago.
- Less satisfied teachers are more likely than very satisfied teachers to be in schools where budgets declined in the last 12 months (61% vs. 47%) and to identify maintaining an adequate supply ofeffective teachers (58% vs. 43%) and creating and maintaining an academically rigorous learning environment (66% vs. 56%) as challenging or very challenging for school leaders.