The president of the union that represents teachers and public employees in North Dakota said a new poll shows teachers are burning out.
North Dakota United has released the results of a poll that Nick Archuleta said shows significant drops in teacher morale.
"There was one question that said, 'As and educator, do you feel appreciated?'" Archuleta said. "Forty percent of the educators said no, and 55 percent said sometimes yes, and sometimes no."
Archuleta said when asked the question, "What could be done to make you feel appreciated?"
"Better pay and better benefits was near the top, as you might imagine," Archuleta said. "But more time is what they're crying out for as well."
Atchuleta said teachers' workloads have increased, and there's so much on their plates right now.
"Those are very big issues," Archuleta said. "And if we could help with those, it would go a long way."
Archueta said teachers are frustrated that schools can’t find substitute teachers, or classroom aides, to help with the workload. And he said they’re also getting frustrated about political controversies concerning what’s taught in North Dakota classrooms.
"Nobody went into education for any other reason than they wanted to do what's right for kids across the state," Archuleta said. "They wanted to be a positive influence on children's lives. It's not to become a political football."
Archuleta said teachers don't want to be involved in such things as the harsh political discourse that surrounds such things as "Critical Race Theory" — which he said is not being taught in North Dakota schools.
"That was an eye-opener," Archuleta said.
Archuleta said if you look at the "cross-tabs," that feeling is transcendent among Democrats and Republicans. He said teachers, school board members, parents and the community at large need to talk about this – and try and come up with some solutions.
