Teacher morale at lowest point in 25 years

Teacher satisfaction is at the lowest in a quarter century, according to the latest MetLife Survey of the American Teacher released last week.

Just 39 percent of teachers said they were satisfied, down from 62 percent just five years ago. More than half said they felt under "great stress" several days a week.

We wanted to discuss teacher morale after last week's Friday Roundtable about education. We received an email from a Minneapolis teacher about the topic:

It is exhausting working at a city school, and these days even more so. The kids need a lot, which is why we are there, but then the pressure from above (and it does feel like it is coming down on us, not at all collaborative) and the amount of time we spend talking but not doing it makes it feel like a pressure cooker. I want to work in a city school, but it is becoming harder and harder to and still be happy. Morale is really low.

Ryan Vernosh, the 2010 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Peer Assistance Review teacher in the St. Paul school district and a teaching ambassador for the U.S. Department of Education, joins The Daily Circuit Monday Feb. 25 to talk about teacher morale.

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