Teachers Have Too Many Extra Responsibilities to Be Effective. Some Ways to Help

Summer break offers a timely moment to take a step back and check in with teachers, to ask: “How are you really doing?” We posed this question to 1,000 teachers in our April 2023 annual survey of educators from across the country, and their responses align with our own everyday experiences: Teachers are not doing well. 

Their ever-increasing range of responsibilities has left teachers burned out, reconsidering the profession and warning the teenagers in their lives to steer clear of education as a career path. Fewer prospective educators are pursuing certifications and enrolling in training programs.

Keeping teachers from leaving and prospective educators interested means rethinking the role for the 21st century.

During the pandemic, the challenges teachers have confronted for decades magnified. Schools scrambled to ensure students could access meals and grappled with a mental health crisis. Districts struggled to close the digital divide and provide access to internet and technology devices so students could continue learning. Teachers worked longer and more difficult hours as they learned new technology-based platforms, pivoted their lesson plans and tried to reach every student.

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