Who becomes a public school teacher? | Synthia Goode | Ep. 1

This is Synthia, a married mother of three, who works part-time and who decided in her late 30s to return to get her undergraduate degree and become a public school teacher.But who does that?The NY Times ran a piece that highlighted the crisis of teachers quitting their jobs because they were pushed to their limits by children’s pandemic-related behavioral and emotional setbacks and staffing shortages that forced them to take on roles beyond their normal remit.In a paper published in November 2023 by the Annenburg Institute for School Reform at Brown University they wrote, and I quote:Perceptions of teacher prestige have fallen between 20 percent and 47 percent in the last decade to be at or near the lowest levels recorded over the last half century. Interest in the teaching profession among high school seniors and college freshman has fallen 50 percent since the 1990s and 38 percent since 2010, reaching the lowest level in the last 50 years. The number of new entrants into the profession has fallen by roughly one third over the last decade, and the proportion of college graduates that go into teaching is at a 50-year low. Teachers’ job satisfaction is also at the lowest level in five decades, with the percent of teachers who feel the stress of their job is worth it dropping from 81 percent to 42 percent in the last 15 years.And yet, Synthia, who graduates college next Spring, is heading for the classroom.With a full awareness of the challenges she’ll soon face, Synthia remains committed to entering the classroom (play third clip)Join me as I talk with Synthia about her remarkable journey to become a teacher in today’s challenging public school classroom This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit markgoode.substack.com