The Great Move
Educators everywhere are doing something they have not traditionally done—they are moving.
They are moving buildings, grade levels, to other school districts, and out of the profession all together. These teachers are on a hunt and seeking change. The Great Move has begun, and we have to ask ourselves why and what will the end results be for our kids.
Educators are retiring early, looking to lift themselves out of the burden of stress. That stress comes from a number of places—including kids experiencing anxiety, angst, anger, and depression in a world that has unleashed adult anger, impatience, and polarization, as well as what is rarely discussed — administrators not supporting their teachers. They, themselves, may be burdened with the weight of paperwork designed to validate a bureaucracy that does nothing to actually support the learner or the teacher, and can fall short of creating a culture of support. The very best and rarest administrator I ever worked for compared himself as an assistant principal to the position he played for Penn State—offensive lineman. He explained that he trusted his teachers, like he had trusted his quarterback, so his job was to support them in any capacity he could, to clear the path of any infringement to their teaching and student learning.
We can speak of a number of infringements these days—cell phones, schedules set for the operation of a farm vs. the circadian rhythms of the modern teenager, deteriorating infrastructure. But, if you want to know why educators are moving, leaving, and ultimately costing districts and universities millions of dollars spent retraining new personnel, it’s because educators are looking for respect. Not just verbal platitudes, but actions that both free educators to teach to the best of their abilities and provide a cheerleading section that encourages them to greatness.
The Great Move is the journey to reclaim agency in a profession that has drained them of all of it—even down to when they can eat and use the restroom, or if they can use their scheduled prep time to actually prepare. From top down and bottom up, educators have been squeezed and pulled, left unsupported and alone, and frightened to say or do anything to encourage critical thinking in their students because critical thinking demands challenging the status quo. Now, teachers have decided to do what never needed to be done before—move. In the short run, the move will cost schools millions for retraining new employees or in paying a more competitive salary to recruits. In the long run, it will change the landscape of education forever. Perhaps the words public and state no longer appear in their school’s name. The Great Move of Educators is like the rising temperatures of our world’s climate—we have such little time to address the dangers and make course corrections, and if we don’t, a new world will appear—one that does not support all of us, but will certainly impact all of us.