In the News
In a guest blog post that appeared in Education Week Teacher, “Teachers are Not Losing at Everything,” MƒA President John Ewing and MƒA Executive Director Megan Roberts write about the current narrative for teachers who regularly get asked “why do you stay?” It’s a perspective that pushes teachers away from the profession:
“All this focus on what's wrong was echoed in our recent national election, which featured the slogan “we’re losing at everything.” It was meant to be a dramatic new way to describe the state of our country, but for educators the slogan sounds all too familiar. It’s been the theme for public discussions about education for the past three decades. No wonder the public has soured on education and teachers, in particular. No wonder that teachers are routinely asked why they would stay in a failing system. And no wonder so many of them don’t – nearly 40 percent leave within the first five years!”
But Ewing and Roberts say that we are not losing at everything in education. They write that in order to change this narrative and to keep great teachers teaching, we must listen to why they choose to stay in the profession:
“It’s our mission to listen to teachers and highlight the many reasons they choose to stay in the classroom and build professional, lifelong careers. There are so many great schools, great teachers, and great communities of excellence both in New York City, and across the country. Let’s recognize what’s working. Let’s celebrate the profession. Let’s listen to why they stay.”