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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 OPINION 
16

Why Millenials Are Quitting Teaching

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(Newser) – Sarah Fine arrived to teach at an inner-city school 4 years ago, ready to “‘give back’ after spending 22 years in a suburban, Ivy League bubble,” she writes in the Washington Post. Now, like so many other young teachers, she’s leaving—not just because she’s burned out, but also because she’s frustrated with how her profession is seen. In today’s ambitious generation, “it's unfathomable that anyone with real talent would want to stay in the classroom for long.”

“We are not used to feeling consistently defeated and systemically undervalued,” Fine says of her fellow Millenials, and until society considers teachers on par with doctors and lawyers, it’s the students who will suffer. “A teacher with experience is not always a good teacher,” she writes, “but a good teacher is always better after a few years of experience.”

Students at KIPP DC KEY Academy in Washington are rewarded on Fridays for behaving well, doing their homework or making academic gains. Rewards include wearing jeans on Fridays.
Students at KIPP DC KEY Academy in Washington are rewarded on Fridays for behaving well, doing their homework or making academic gains. Rewards include wearing jeans on Fridays.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Davon Holmes, second from right, raises his hand to answer a question during his Spanish class at the KIPP DC KEY Academy in Washington, Friday, May 30, 2008.
Davon Holmes, second from right, raises his hand to answer a question during his Spanish class at the KIPP DC KEY Academy in Washington, Friday, May 30, 2008.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Davon Holmes, left, reads during his Spanish class at the KIPP DC KEY Academy in Washington, Friday, May 30, 2008.
Davon Holmes, left, reads during his Spanish class at the KIPP DC KEY Academy in Washington, Friday, May 30, 2008.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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My generation does seem to care a lot about Important Stuff ... We volunteer like our hair is on fire. When it comes to teaching, however, this fire only burns for so long. - Sarah Fine

Teaching is a grueling job, and without the kind of social recognition that accompanies professions such as medicine and law, it is even harder for ambitious young people like me to stick with it. - Sarah Fine

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16 comments
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Derni
Aug 9, 09 1:14 PM CDT
Teaching is not a profession for everyone-angry aprents-upset administrators-schools not meetingstandards-expecting all students to achieve set standards (evenr Sp Needs)-education and the way we teach needs to change or the system will not attracy enough talented professionals-many leave within 3-5 years of starting-are we having fun yet.. Reply
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Aug 9, 09 7:25 PM CDT
WTF? Is that one sentence? Is there even a sentence there? Derni, I can't understand what you're trying to say. Have you never had an English teacher? Why don't you make sentences -- using periods and commas, etc.? You write stream-of-consciousness with hyphens indicating a pause in your thought, I guess. It might make sense to you, but your writing would be MUCH better if you simply re-read it and cleared some parts up before clicking the "Submit" button.
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0
IN RESPONSE:
Snarfeh
Aug 9, 09 10:43 PM CDT
I had no problem understanding her point. Some people write as if they are speaking rather than composing. Why must Derni meet your writing standards or those of anyone else? Will she be banned if she doesn't? It's not as if this is a business forum. It is merely a comments section and perhaps Derni is in a hurry. Perhaps she types with one hand. Perhaps she has Parkinson's. Perhaps she feels she does not have to meet someone else's expectations, especially in a COMMENTS section of a news site. Others may either read her comments or not. It's that easy.
Vote up! Vote down!
+5
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Aug 10, 09 4:58 AM CDT
So, Snarfeh, what's your problem with my question? It appears quite obvious that he/she does not re-read before hitting the "Submit" button. There are just too many typos to assume otherwise. Nothing else you write makes sense. Banning? I said nothing of the sort. "My" standards? I didn't make up the rules of writing. Standards, or rules, are what makes us able to communicate to each other. "Perhaps... perhaps... perhaps..." I'm *asking* why. You seem to have no clue, so why are you even guessing? And it is a pattern for his/her posts. You've only read this one? It was bad enough this time for me to feel like pointing it out.
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-1
IN RESPONSE:
Snarfeh
Aug 10, 09 5:21 PM CDT
Everything I said makes sense. I know you are pretending otherwise because I have called you out on your elitist, bullshit bullying of someone who does not meet your criteria for being allowed to post here. No, I don't have a clue why she types and/or writes like she does and I don't care. You are not so stupid as to be unaware the "perhaps" list was to make the point that you don't know why she types and/or writes as she does, either, therefore, you should just move on to the next comment. Personally, I had no problem understanding her point and have never had a problem following her gist in other posts. Don't read her comments if you cannot comprehend them.
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+1

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