四虎影院

Charles Martinez asked himself: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 worse than a crisis?鈥�

The dean of the at UT Austin, Martinez says the teacher shortage that Texas and the U.S. are facing is a chronic crisis that has only grown worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, he tried to find a term to describe it.

鈥淚 actually looked it up myself and found the better word to describe the moment is probably 'a brewing catastrophe,'鈥� he said. 鈥淎 crisis that has become much more challenging in the face of the pandemic and the aftermath of the pandemic and the sort of divisive moments that teachers are facing.鈥�

According to the , the 2021-2022 school year saw nearly 43,000 teachers throughout the state leave the field, or about 12% of teachers. The year before, almost 34,000, or about 9% of Texas teachers, left the field.

When it comes to what is driving teachers out of the profession, Martinez said pay is a factor but so is a lack of support and limited professional development opportunities.

鈥淥nce you鈥檝e endured those first few years, you鈥檙e beginning to ask, 鈥榃ell, what鈥檚 next for me? Am I going to spend the next 20 years dealing with the same kind of headwinds that I鈥檓 experiencing now?'鈥� he said.

Despite the challenges, Martinez said enrollment in UT鈥檚 College of Education has been growing and students are aware of the obstacles.

鈥淭hey are not naive about the reality,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey know that the pay is lousy. They know that the challenges are great. But they also know there is a calling and a moment in which that calling to be in service to their communities matters, and that鈥檚 why they鈥檙e here.鈥�

Soon-to-be teachers expect challenges 

Annie Palmer and Melissa Leon, students in UT鈥檚 College of Education, are set to graduate in December. Both started out with different majors. Initially, Leon was a biology major, but she wasn鈥檛 enjoying it. She started thinking about what she would prefer to study and she kept coming back to the idea of being a teacher.

鈥淕rowing up, I was always pretending to play teacher with my younger sister,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o we鈥檇 print out addition worksheets and I鈥檇 be like, 鈥榊ou have a test,鈥� and I would be pretending to be a teacher. And it did bring a lot of joy.鈥�

After changing majors, Leon was relieved.

鈥淚t really felt like this was what I was supposed to be doing when I switched,鈥� she said.

Palmer鈥檚 interest in becoming a teacher stemmed from the great teachers she had growing up.

鈥淚 just feel so blessed and lucky to have those relationships,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, giving that to another child is like a dream to me because I know it can totally change the course of your life if you know somebody cares about you in the way that teachers have the ability to.鈥�

While being in the classroom is hard work, Palmer said seeing students鈥� growth makes the challenges worth it.

鈥淎ll these tiny little moments throughout the day 鈥� when you leave and you get in your car, I want to go back,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 like you鈥檙e struggling the whole day and you鈥檙e so stressed and you鈥檙e so tired. All you want is a minute alone, and then as soon as you鈥檙e alone, you鈥檙e like, 鈥業 miss them.'鈥�

Palmer and Leon said it is concerning seeing so many teachers leave the field.

鈥淭hat did make me really nervous and sometimes it did make me feel like why am I doing this if every current teacher is dreading their job?鈥� Leon said. 鈥淏ut at the end of the day, being there with the students and seeing their growth from the beginning of the semester to the end is just worth every bit of it.鈥�

Palmer said she is hopeful teaching will be a lifelong career, but the difficulties of the field are not lost on her.

鈥淚 am very aware of teacher burnout, and I鈥檓 very aware that it is a very tricky career to choose with finances and everything like that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be really hard, but I do see myself doing it forever.鈥�

Keeping early career teachers in the field 

In addition to graduating new teachers, the UT College of Education also supports and tries to retain early career teachers. The college has a partnership with the Austin Independent School District called that provides mentors to first through third-year teachers at 14 elementary schools.

Kelly Ocasio, who used to be a teacher, is one of the mentors, known as a teacher leader. When she was working on her master鈥檚 degree, she actually focused on teacher burnout because she felt it herself.

鈥淚 know that there was stress in the classroom,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he biggest stress is the fact that it鈥檚 a job that there is not a lot of gratitude for among society. We just treat our teachers like they鈥檙e babysitters.鈥�

Ocasio added that as a teacher she was expected to work 12-hour days and still felt like she was behind.

鈥淭here just wasn鈥檛 work-life balance. ... Friday nights I was literally in bed by 6 p.m. Just totally physically [and] emotionally exhausted,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, I think all of that just leads to a sense of this is not a sustainable career that I felt like I could do long term.鈥�

But Ocasio wanted to find a way to make teaching more sustainable. Becoming a teacher leader with Texas Education START was one way to do that.

鈥淲e have to create a workforce where people can grow and become leaders and become the mentors themselves for future teachers," she said. "But that鈥檚 just not happening systemically because people are leaving too quickly."

One of the early career teachers that Ocasio works with is Brandi Hartman, who just started her second year as an elementary school teacher in Austin ISD. She said when she decided to become a teacher, she did face some skepticism from family and friends who wondered how she would make a living on a teacher鈥檚 salary.

鈥淚 had told people, well I don鈥檛 want to work a 9 to 5 sitting at a desk, staring at a screen. I would go stir-crazy,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o with kids and students, I鈥檓 up and we鈥檙e all around the classroom.鈥�

Hartman said she did have coworkers who left last year and she supports them making a change.

鈥淏ut for me, just because I鈥檓 newer, I do feel like I do have more in me to keep going,鈥� she said.

Hartman said she would love to be a teacher for her entire career, but she doesn鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 going to be possible.

鈥淭he pressures of what the state鈥檚 putting on us, the districts, the schools and just not asking teachers what we need right now,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like they鈥檙e making all these decisions without actually asking the teachers.鈥�

But, right now, Hartman鈥檚 students keep her in the classroom.

"My students and just seeing their growth and progress and them just coming to me and being like 'Oh, Ms. Hartman, I just did this, I spelled this word correctly,'" she said, "that's just what gets me through this. It's what I do with my students."

But, she says, she can barely afford to support herself on her current salary. She said increasing pay is one way to address the ongoing teacher shortage.

鈥淔or me, personally, I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檒l be able to do this for 30 years. I鈥檇 really hope I can stick it out,鈥� Hartman said. 鈥淏ut with just how things are going, I have to do what鈥檚 best for me. And if I cannot live reasonably with being a teacher, I will have to leave this profession as others are right now.鈥�

Copyright 2022 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit .