Editorial

Community leaders and elected federal, state and local officials receive a raft of studies and reports during the course of a year. They are so numerous, in fact, that one must wonder how much time — if indeed any significant time at all — is given to each new presentation.

There is only so much data and information the human mind can absorb and process at any given length of time. There are only so many pressing problems, so many urgent crises and so many essential pursuits an individual can deal with and maintain a reasonable level of productivity and personal sanity. Look in the comic books to find Superman and Wonder Woman.

That said, there is one study, one recently released report, where the findings should not really come as a knock-me-down surprise to anyone but which cannot be pushed aside. It must be addressed, and it must be addressed sooner rather than later.

The issue: the disturbing exodus of men and women from the field of education. The cause: burnout. In a survey conducted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, 31% of the respondents indicated they were either unlikely or highly unlikely to stay in the field of education for five more years.

The culprit is a combination of various factors that are beyond the control of educators. In addition to feeling pressured into teaching the tests from which student progress is annually viewed with a nationwide lens, they are getting this growing sense of belittlement by the unsolicited micromanaging of classroom lessons by state and federal politicians. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a major cause of frustration as well.

Then there’s discipline. Despite repeated cries for help, support for student disciplinary issues continues to receive the same response from policymakers that a deadbeat gives a debt collector: the check is in the mail. All of this and more takes away classroom time and adds hours to lesson-planning, which only intensifies fatigue.

There is no easy remedy, especially given the state of politics today. Teachers are caught in the middle of the left and right, between liberal and conservative philosophies. Barking dogs are in every direction.

Nevertheless, a cure must be found. Without one the difficulty of finding good teachers tomorrow will be more difficult than it is today. And who knows how hard it will be to recruit teachers in the days beyond tomorrow.

The losers, of course, will be the children and ultimately the state and nation. In other words, everyone.