A new survey from a coalition of business, civic and philanthropic groups finds most Michigan teachers are satisfied with their profession...but few would recommend their choice of career.
The group Launch Michigan surveyed nearly 17,000 teachers and administrators about their career perceptions. The report compared the results with a similar study conducted in Tennessee, a state that’s widely regarded as a leader in K-12 education. The report found 64 percent of Michigan teachers feel appreciated for the work they do, as compared to 79 percent in Tennessee.
That’s one example in a series of benchmarks that saw Michigan trailing Tennessee in every category.
Principal researcher Emma White says while Michigan teachers are generally satisfied with their jobs, only a quarter of those surveyed said they would recommend teaching as a career.
“One of the things that we saw is folks saying, I love the kids. I love what I get to do in the classroom,” White says, paraphrasing teachers. “This career has gotten harder and harder in various ways over time. More demands, more workload, more criticism. I still get a lot out of this, but it would be hard for me to tell other people to sign up for some of the burdens that I have taken on in this career.”
Officials with Launch Michigan say they’ll use the findings to draft policy recommendations for state lawmakers this spring.
