CINCINNATI — Teachers have been through a lot over the last two-plus years—teaching through a pandemic, school shootings and now the potential for teachers to legally carry a gun in the classroom. These are some of the many reasons teachers cited as to why they are leaving the profession.
What You Need To Know
- Due to many reasons, more and more teachers are leaving the profession
- According to a survey by the National Education Association, 55% of teachers are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than expected
- Olivia Hines left the teaching world one year ago after teaching high school Spanish for four years
- While Hines loved teaching, and said the compensation and ability to advance made her look elsewhere
Olivia Hines is celebrating one year as a realtor. But before she started showing houses and writing contracts for a living, she spent her time in the classroom. Hines said the two professions are more similar than different.
Picture Courtesy of Olivia Hines
“You’re doing the same thing,” Hines said. “You’re taking someone that doesn’t know how to do something, or maybe does, and you’re building those skills. So you’re taking someone to point A to point B.”
But there came a point that teaching just wasn’t for her.
Hines enjoys the freedom of her new job, which allows her to get out of the office. She also enjoys the pay.
“I think if teachers were given the respect that they deserve, the benefits they deserve and the pay they deserve, I think there would be a lot less people leaving the profession,” she said.
Hines isn’t alone. Between the pandemic, and bills and policies telling teachers what they can and cannot say about race, sex and gender, many teachers are leaving the profession. According to a survey by the National Education Association, 55% of educators are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than planned.
According to the U.S Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 600,000 teachers have left since 2020. Hines said for her, she was ready for a change.
“I got to the point where I just wanted more and I wanted to be my own boss and I wanted to make more money and I wanted more opportunities for growth,” she said.
But what needs to change to prevent this potential mass exodus from the teaching world? To Hines, she said there’s a lot.
“We’re not putting our money where our mouth is,” she said. “If we say that education is so important and a building block of society, yet the level of expectation is growing and growing and growing and compensation and support and understanding are not catching up, that gap is where people leave.”
