Beleaguered? Not Teachers, a Poll on ‘Well-Being’ Finds

This article resonates with me as a school administrator. Having left the classroom 2 years ago, I have not forgotten how challenging and difficult teaching is all about. You have a class full of students and you are trying to meet their academic, social, and emotional needs. You differentiate instruction and assessments in order to reach each learning as "one size does not fit all". Very rewarding teaching and reaching students. As a school administrator, I see myself as advocating for students and supporting my teachers. Teachers need to be respected, supported, and valued for the work they do. I have never laughed so much as when I was in the classroom! Students kept me young as a classroom teacher!


Beleaguered? Not Teachers, a Poll on ‘Well-Being’ Finds

By MOTOKO RICH

Published: March 27, 2013

Recent battles over school funding, performance evaluations and tenure have given rise to public perceptions of a beleaguered teaching corps across the United States.

But a new analysis of polling data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that examines “well-being” as measured by a number of indicators, including physical and emotional health, job satisfaction and feelings of community and safety, found that teachers ranked second only to physicians.

In addition, teachers ranked above all other professions in answers to questions about whether they “smiled or laughed yesterday,” as well as whether they experienced happiness and enjoyment the day before the survey.

The findings initially may seem surprising given widespread reports that teachers are unhappy and demoralized. Just last month, the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher grabbed headlines when it showed that job satisfaction had dropped to a 25-year low among teachers.

The results of the Gallup poll, which was based on telephone interviews last year of nearly 172,300 people — 9,370 of whom were teachers — are actually not inconsistent with the MetLife findings. Although the MetLife survey showed that 39 percent of teachers were “very satisfied,” down from 62 percent in 2008, an additional 43 percent were still “somewhat satisfied,” leaving only 17 percent somewhat or very dissatisfied.

The Gallup poll certainly found challenges among teachers. Teachers were second only to physicians in reporting having felt stress, and when asked, “Does your supervisor always create an environment that is trusting and open, or not?” teachers answered “yes” less frequently than respondents in any other profession, including workers in sales, construction and mining, and service occupations.

With regard to overall job satisfaction, teachers ranked fourth, after physicians, business owners and nurses.

Brandon Busteed, executive director of Gallup Education, said that while certain lifestyle factors like longer vacations could contribute to teachers’ job satisfaction and sense of well-being, the actual work clearly drove their sentiments. In answer to the question, “At work, do you get to use your strengths to do what you do best every day, or not?” 91.5 percent of teachers polled answered “yes.”

“The mission and purpose of teaching and the rewards they get on a daily basis, such as happiness and laughing and learning a lot, is definitely driving well-being,” Mr. Busteed said.“The only thing that is keeping them back from being off the charts in well-being,” he said, “is that they are not being well managed.”

In a blog post about the study, Mr. Busteed and Shane Lopez, a Gallup senior scientist, note that about two million teachers will retire in the next decade, making recruitment vital. The key, they wrote, is “finding better school leaders.”

A version of this article appeared in print on March 28, 2013, on page A3 of the New York edition with the headline: Beleaguered? Not Teachers, a Poll on ‘Well-Being’ Finds.