26 | May | 2015 | Literacy Teaching and Teacher Education

The Washington Post recently reported on a survey conducted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) of approximately 30,000 teachers. Survey results reported teachers felt high levels of stress and low levels of autonomy. The rise of government initiatives such as the Common Core Standards were identified as a source of stress for teachers. The article reported: “Teachers said they feel particularly anxious about having to carry out a steady stream of new initiatives — such as implementing curricula and testing related to the Common Core State Standards — without being given adequate training, according to the survey. “

The AFT website reports some key findings from the survey:

Only 1 in 5 educators feel respected by government officials or the media.
Only 14% strongly agree with the statement that they trust their administrator or supervisor.
More than 75 % say they do not have enough staff to get the work done.
78% percent say they are often physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of the day.
87% percent say the demands of their job are at least sometimes interfering with their family life.
Among the greatest workplace stressors were the adoption of new initiatives without proper training or professional development, mandated curriculum and standardized tests.

Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, noted stress could be a result of teachers wearing multiple hats in the classroom:

“We ask teachers to be a combination of Albert Einstein, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr….We ask them to be Mom and Dad and impart tough love but also be a shoulder to lean on. And when they don’t do these things, we blame them for not being saviors of the world. What is the effect? The effect has been teachers are incredibly stressed out.”