I commend David Lee (June 21 Forum) for writing about the real reasons for high teacher turnover. Often when this topic is written or discussed the school bureaucracy talks about the need for more teacher training in classroom management instead of the real problem - undisciplined students.
For more than a dozen years, I taught mathematics at an inner city school in Los Angeles. Upon retiring, we relocated to Athens in February 2003 to be near family. What drove virtually every teacher I knew out of the classroom prematurely were the unruly and undisciplined students Lee talks about. This is especially true for teachers of core classes such as math and English. Experienced teachers retired earlier and new teachers left for better teaching environments or left teaching altogether.
When a teacher resigns, it is rare for him to say he left because of student discipline for several reasons. First, the teacher may feel like he failed because he could not ''manage'' his students and feels he failed. Second, the teacher may want to teach elsewhere and saying he ''could not manage his class'' may jeopardize getting the next job. Third, he may think others may view of him as being racist. Finally, it is simply easier and less stressful to say ''I am relocating'' or ''I am going back to school.''
I was one of the four math teachers who resigned from Clarke Central High School during the 2003-2004 school year. I accepted a part-time position teaching beginning Algebra. During my first week, I had more behavior problems than I was willing to handle and made the decision to resign the following Friday. There never was a district exit interview.
Until Clarke County schools face and address the real problems, it and other similar districts will continue to have high turnover and staffing problems.
Why are there so many private schools in the Athens area? What are their turnover rates? What are the turnover rates at public schools in Oconee, Jackson, Barrow and other adjacent counties? Higher? Lower? Why?
No Child Left Behind + disruptive students = high turnover + continually lowering standards.