Mental Health in Educators

Educators are experiencing a mental health crisis, with 70% intending to leave the field due to stress. Factors like managing student behavior, low salary, lack of support, and long hours contribute to their emotional and physical well-being. Teachers can improve their mental health by building strong relationships with colleagues, seeking mental health care, and receiving support from administration. However, additional interventions are needed to address the overall well-being and retention of teachers. Hello. Welcome to my podcast. Today I'm going to talk about the mental health crisis that is far too prevalent among our educators. According to the Centers for Disease Control, mental health is the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of a person. Sadly, we are seeing that those in teaching are finding that maintaining a healthy mental status has become more challenging. In the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey by the RAND Corporation, it reported that 70% of teachers are intending to leave the field due to stress. It is further reported that 46% of teachers felt their job-related stress was due to managing student behavior. Other notable statistics reported from this 2023 survey found factors such as low salary, lack of support, and the number of hours worked outside the school was affecting the emotional and physical well-being of teachers. So, we obviously have a profound challenge that teachers are facing when it comes to mental health and happiness while working in the field. The question is, what can we do about it and what is easily available for immediate attention to this problem? First, an additional statistic from the 2023 RAND survey that was referenced earlier revealed that 67% of teachers say that having a strong relationship with other teachers in their community would help maintain their well-being. We can do this by having teachers check in on each other. They need to have the freedom to talk about their feelings. They need to make sure that self-care is a priority for themselves and their coworkers. And lastly, teachers need to know how much they are appreciated. Second, teachers should not be afraid to utilize mental health care services that are available to them. Mental health is part of life. There is no shame in seeking help in maintaining one's mental health. And lastly, administration needs to support their teachers. This can be done by supporting teachers with appropriate decisions that are made regarding student behavior in the classroom. You can support teachers with difficult parents. And administration also needs to support their teachers in seeking solutions to challenges that they come across in the classroom. Support from coworkers and administration are solutions that could take place tomorrow. Start building a supportive community one step at a time. Of course, there are other factors affecting the well-being and retention of teachers that will require administrative and possibly government intervention, and hopefully these will be addressed soon. Teachers have the delicate task of helping to mold the next generation. Teachers are dedicated individuals that enter this field of service with a love for helping others succeed despite the hardships that they may face.