Teaching on the South Side: So, You Wanna Quit Too?
So, You Wanna Quit Too?
I went to dinner with Lisa, Anne and her boyfriend, Brendan, last night. Anne teaches at a high school on the East Side. The moment we sat down, she looked at me and said: “So do you want to quit, too?” I smiled. Then I told her how I had submitted a resume to Chicago Public Radio for the position of assistant editor of the arts desk, and if they offered me a job (something I’ll admit I’m not all that optimistic about, as I have no experience in radio) I would probably take it.
Basically, Anne and I are hitting the wall of frustration common to all first-year teachers, which is exacerbated by conditions in the inner city. You know what they conditions are. You listen to the radio. You read the news. You watch movies like Dangerous Minds.
Anne and I will probably make it through this first year, if for no other reason than we have to. Who’s going to hire anyone with a degree in English?
But it’s comforting to know we are not alone. According to a study done by the Chicago activist group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, 39 percent of first-year teachers in Chicago Public Schools never come back for a second year. And teachers will less than five years experience have a 35 percent attrition rate. To read more about this study, click here: http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=322
I went to dinner with Lisa, Anne and her boyfriend, Brendan, last night. Anne teaches at a high school on the East Side. The moment we sat down, she looked at me and said: “So do you want to quit, too?” I smiled. Then I told her how I had submitted a resume to Chicago Public Radio for the position of assistant editor of the arts desk, and if they offered me a job (something I’ll admit I’m not all that optimistic about, as I have no experience in radio) I would probably take it.
Basically, Anne and I are hitting the wall of frustration common to all first-year teachers, which is exacerbated by conditions in the inner city. You know what they conditions are. You listen to the radio. You read the news. You watch movies like Dangerous Minds.
Anne and I will probably make it through this first year, if for no other reason than we have to. Who’s going to hire anyone with a degree in English?
But it’s comforting to know we are not alone. According to a study done by the Chicago activist group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, 39 percent of first-year teachers in Chicago Public Schools never come back for a second year. And teachers will less than five years experience have a 35 percent attrition rate. To read more about this study, click here: http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=322
posted by Christopher at
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