Why Great Teachers Quit: And How We Might Stop the Exodus [Paperback]

Katherine (Katy) Farber (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1412972450 | ISBN-13: 978-1412972451 | Edition: 1

Featuring clear analysis and concrete suggestions for administrators and policy makers, this book takes you to the front lines in the fight to keep great teachers where they belong: in the classroom.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a must-read for every principal, school board member, and policy maker concerned about teacher turnover. Farber does an excellent job framing the problems. Now the question is: What are we willing to do to stem the exodus of great teachers from our schools?" (Tom Israel, Executive Director 20090518)

“This book is for every parent who has had their child’s teacher leave in the middle of the year, every administrator who marvels at the difficulty of teacher retention or team spirit, every policy maker ready to walk the walk, and anyone who has invested years in preparation for a career in the classroom only to be faced with the thought of cutting his or her losses.” (Esmé Raji Codell, Author of Educating Esmé 20100506)

“In this lively and interesting book, Katy Farber makes public the real reasons why inexperienced teachers rarely stay long enough or get the support they need to become good, why good teachers don’t become great, and why great teachers quit.” (Deborah Meier, Educational Reformer, Writer, and Activist 20100208)

"A timely book about a major crisis affecting our schools and real solutions to keep our best teachers in the classroom." (Anthony J. Mullen, 2009 National Teacher of the Year 20100528)

"Finally, a book written by a practicing teacher who really understands what it is like to teach in today's schools: the demands, challenges, and rewards. Joining her are the voices of teachers from all over the country who have come together to share their stories and wisdom. Written with passion and insight, this is an excellent resource for anyone vested in improving education and keeping quality teachers in the classroom. This book should be required reading for every administrator and school board member." (Julie Smart, Special Educator 20090701)

"This book can remind those who teach why we do so, not only reconnect us with our core beliefs, but also to motivate us to speak up beyond our individual classrooms on behalf of the well-being of our students and the ultimate success of public schools." (Kenneth J. Bernstein 20111012)

About the Author

Katy Farber is a fifth and sixth grade teacher at Rumney Memorial School in Middlesex, Vermont. Prior to that, she taught fifth grade at Twinfield Union School, and environmental education at the Taconic Outdoor Education Center in Cold Spring, New York. She has a master’s degree in teaching, with a specialization in science, grades seven through nine, from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

Katy has served as a teacher mentor, service learning consultant, and teacher leader in her district. A documentary film by Noodlehead Network was created about the place based, service learning projects completed by her students in 2002. Katy wrote a teacher’s guide to accompany this film. She is also a contributor to the book, Reading to Learn, a Classroom Guide to Reading Strategy Instruction, published by the Vermont Strategic Reading Initiative and the Vermont Department of Education in 2004.

In the fall of 2009, Katy received an Earthwatch Educator fellowship to participate in a 10 day science research expedition to Louisiana to survey swamps and cypress forests for the effects of climate change and extreme weather. She had the opportunity to communicate with her students via blog posts and internet video, to engage them in real life science research and field based learning.

Katy is married to Kurt Budliger, a professional photographer, photography teacher and former public school teacher. They have two daughters and live in Vermont.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Corwin; 1 edition (July 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412972450
• ISBN-13: 978-1412972451
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #900,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katy Farber is a teacher, author and blogger from the mountains of Vermont. She has a master's degree in teaching, with a specialization in science, grades seven through nine, from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. Katy has taught in a public elementary school in central Vermont for over a decade and writes regularly about education, children's health, green living and the environment. Her first book, Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Stop the Exodus was released by Corwin Press in 2010. Her second book, Change the World with Service Learning was published by Rowman Littlefield Press in 2011.

Katy is also the author of the popular green parenting blog, Non-Toxic Kids. She writes about how to keep children safe from chemicals and toxins, how to live a greener lifestyle, and covers current news stories about parenting. Katy Farber and Non-Toxic Kids have been featured on the CNN School of Thought blog, Fox News Opinion, The Washington Post, , the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Toronto Star, Enviroblog, Terrain Magazine, the Huffington Post and on many green and educational blogs and websites. She has a growing following on both twitter and Facebook and regularly interacts with readers online.

Katy has appeared in numerous radio interviews about her books, and has written many articles for magazines and websites. Katy is available for interviews and pubic speaking engagements to talk about teacher sustainability, green living, environmental issues, blogging, and the need for chemical reform. She is also available for select writing projects and social media support for environmental, health, and feminist non-profits and green small businesses.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Great Teachers Quit October 26, 2010

By David J. Wilson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Farber does an excellent job of describing why the professional mortality rate in public school teaching is so high, and why many of the casualties are just those teachers whom we can least afford to lose. The list of reasons is formidable: abuse of standardized testing; teachers powerless to control violence and chaos in the classroom; dilapidated, miserably maintained schools; ever-increasing expectations that must be met with ever-decreasing resources; an inept bureaucracy that is more interested in shifting blame and finding scapegoats than in addressing the problems; compensation that is far less than that available in fields making similar demands for intelligence, training, and skill; parents who micromanage their child's education; parent who don't give two hoots about their child's education; schools and teachers blamed for a host of socioeconomic ills (poverty, family breakdown, etc.) over which they have no control whatsoever. As one who has mentored school science and math projects for years and done a lot of volunteering in the schools, I was not surprised by Farber's extensive and accurate indictments. One of the results I've seen as a university prof has been the tendency of the brighter students to avoid careers in education as if they were the plague. Who wants a job (no longer a profession!) that is viewed with such contempt by our society?

I am less happy with Farber's proposed solutions to these problems. While her solutions are very reasonable, by and large, I fear the chances of their being implemented in America as it exists today are absolutely zero. In the long haul, this breakdown of our educational system will turn the U.S. into a second-rate or third-rate country. American politicians and the American people seem to be very much more interested in finding scapegoats and remaining in denial than in dealing with our badly broken public school system.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A manual for rebuilding relationships September 9, 2010

By M. Hunt

Format:Paperback

By compiling stories from teachers across the nation, Katy Farber identifies the consistent problems which follow the profession. While the stories may scare some from becoming a teacher, they provide solace to those who have remained in education and provide a base of mutual understanding among teachers, administrators and board members. Why Great Teachers Quit should be read by all groups and used as a workbook to bridge the frustrations and help fix the situations that often send the best into other occupations.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars don't buy the kindle version January 16, 2011

By D. G. Van Velsen

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Don't buy the kindle version as the tables and some of the written sections are too small to read and you can't enlarge them as you can with regular text.