New survey revealed that a majority of teachers in Texas are on the verge of quitting as the U.S. continues to experience a teacher shortage.
According to the study conducted by the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), 70 percent of the 688 teachers surveyed said that they are seriously considering leaving their jobs.
The number is the highest recorded by the TSTA, which has been tracking teachers’ concerns in the Lone Star State for over 40 years. The survey recorded that 53 percent of the teachers they asked considered leaving their profession in 2018.
About 94 percent of respondents attested to the pandemic increasing stress in their professional lives, while 84 percent said their workload and planning requirements increased. Around 41 percent of surveyed teachers said they took on extra jobs throughout the year.
The TSTA said that the main reason for the teachers’ dissatisfaction is that they don’t feel listened to or paid adequately.
“If situations don’t improve, if the political climate doesn’t improve and the members of the legislature don’t start spending more money on public education and teacher’s salaries, it may get worse,” said Texas State Teachers Association Clay Robison. “The people that suffer are the school children. Their learning loss could get worse and that puts the future of Texas at risk.”
“I think a lot of that [discord] built up and a lot of teachers said, ‘well, I’m out of here,” he added.
This comes as more cities across the U.S. are experiencing vacancies, with some schools shifting to a four-day weekly schedule to compensate for the lack of teachers.
Teachers are also citing financial strain as the cause of their career crisis. Last month, First Lady Jill Biden acknowledged the lack of action from the American Federation of Teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to union president Randi Weingarten for sucking up taxpayer money while they sat around at home.
Republicans pointed out early on that the teachers union was a front by the Democratic party to capitalize on the pandemic.
“It was never about the kids,” RedState reported. “Instead, it was about putting the American Federation of Teachers first. It was about getting a bunch of spoiled, lazy teachers and their union bosses a year of paid vacation–while they held millions of children hostage with no care for what that would lead to. These people shouldn’t be lauded, they should be condemned for their gross attempts at extortion.”
