After studies showing that the number of college students entering teacher programs is significantly less than in previous years, Gainesville, Georgia education professor, Bryan Sorohan, responds with an issue he believes the average person forgets when they consider what it is like to be a teacher. The neighborhood where a teacher’s students come from significantly impacts the teacher’s experience in his or her workplace. Teachers aren’t all starting on a level playing field. Many have been dealt a poor hand.

According to Sorohan,

The elephant in the room, however, is that despite years of research showing that the largest factor affecting test score variation is the socioeconomic status of the student’s family and school district, no one will acknowledge that intractable problem. Nobody wants to work in a job where they will be vilified for the results of conditions over which they have no control [emphasis mine].

Or in other words, students bring baggage with them to school that seriously affects what happens in the classroom. This fact makes the daily job for teachers extremely difficult. Students often start behind academically or hijack the classroom with behavioral issues. Then, teachers are held responsible for where students ended up academically without recognition of where they began or what they faced during the year.

The issues that come with concentrated poverty seep into the learning spaces and hinder the ability of many teachers to do a good job. Sorohan also specifically addressed this point in his article as well, stating: 

The issue of teaching in poor school districts is a feedback loop: lower pay and less support challenges even very smart and talented teachers, and fewer are motivated to work in such schools. 

Yet, the quality of the teacher affects a whole array of educational outcomes that are not narrowly defined by simple test scores. I suspect if we dig into the stats on teachers leaving the profession after five years or less, we’d find that the majority of those who left were working in the most challenged schools. 

Teachers are not paid enough, but that is not all they are facing. Teachers, dealing with the daily chaos in the lives of children from high poverty communities, are not set up to succeed. Sorohan tries to frame this problem using the lens of another profession. He asks readers to imagine if a health care professional was held accountable for the obesity rates or life expectancy of his or her patients. It is unimaginable. A doctor can make lifestyle suggestions, but he or she cannot actually control a community or home life. 

Ironically, this is often how our country expects teachers to operate. We ask them to “cure” the students who sit in their classrooms without considering the factors outside the school walls. Then, unable to do this, teachers feel exhausted and quit. So, how do we change the state of the teacher shortage? 

One way would be to address the effect of school district lines on the concentration of poverty. It is a well-known fact that American neighborhoods financially segregate along school district lines. Neighborhoods, left behind in concentrated poverty, lead to a lifetime of worse outcomes for children and their families. And this is when teachers are asked to enter into the situation. Teachers in these districts are not only paid less, but also their students are less prepared, less healthy in a laundry list of areas, and less likely to succeed overall.

By considering how neighborhoods affect what happens inside the classroom and working towards less financial segregation of communities, we could take the pressure off of teachers. One way to change the status of a neighborhood is to allow families to ignore the school district lines forcing middle-class families out to better school districts. 

If families, living in areas of high concentrated poverty, could send children to their district school or to private schools using an education saving account, more families would take a chance at living in higher poverty areas. With an opportunity to try the public school without it being the only option, more middle-income people are likely to buy or rent real estate in poorer communities. Creating more balanced classrooms is going to require changing neighborhoods. So, let’s lean into programs that will allow teachers to use their gifts and talents, and ultimately, let them thrive. Want to know how a program like this might work? Take a look!

Dear Readers, 

We will be taking a break from the blog on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. We are so grateful you keep up with us through the blog! We’ll be back in your inbox in January. Happy Holidays!

Sincerely, 

EEE Team