Hugs in the Market and Mangoes From the Heart: Stories From Veteran Teachers

• In Event: How to Live Teacher Education: Reparative Perspectives From the Pacific

Abstract

In the United States, 25% of teachers leave the profession before their third year in the
field and 40% leave within the first five years (Chang, 2009). This is sobering data for a country where education is considered a priority (Obama, 2011). Teacher attrition is of great concern to all of us in the field of education and particularly those of us in teacher education at the university. Understanding the data on teacher attrition leads one to wonder about teacher retention: What are some of the reasons that veteran teachers remain in the profession? What can we learn from them and their stories? The Leeward Coast, on the island of Oahu, employs a large percentage of the Department of Education teachers in Hawaii. With many families living on public assistance and with many
of the Leeward schools considered “under restructuring” by NCLB, there are many challenges facing this community. According to Dr. Paul Brandon’s report for the Hawaii Educational Policy Center in 2000, the Leeward District on Oahu had one of the highest rates of teacher attrition. How do we retain teachers in schools with many challenges such as those on the Leeward Coast? All of our children deserve the best educational environment. What can we learn from Leeward Coast veteran teachers? This paper examines the themes and stories that emerge from surveys of veteran teachers that have remained as teachers on the Leeward Coast of O’ahu. Themes from surveys will be discussed and follow-up individual interviews will be documented and analyzed. The teachers’ individual stories and experiences will be shared. What similar stories emerge from the veteran teachers’ careers on the Leeward Coast? What motivates them to continue teaching in this community? What treasured moments had an impact on their teaching experience on the Leeward Coast? Hugs in the local market and mangoes given from the heart are just a couple of the memories that have motivated Leeward Coast veteran teachers to remain in their schools. If we, as teacher educators, and those that affect teachers within schools have the
knowledge and insight about why teachers remain committed to their students, to their schools and to education over a great number of years, we will know how to better support our more novice teachers to continue on this important path.

References

Brandon, P. (2000). K-12 General-education teachers’ voluntary resignations from the Hawai’I department of education: deomographics, reasons for leaving, dissatisfactions, and suggestions for improvement. Retrieved from Hawaii Educational Policy Center
website: http://www.hawaii.edu/hepc/pdf/Reports/TeacherAttrition.pdf

Chang, M. (2009). An appraisal perspective of teacher burnout: examining the emotional work of teachers. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 193-218. doi: 10.1007/s10648-009-9106-y

Obama , B. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (2011). Remarks by the president instate of union address Washington, D.C.: Retrieved from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-president-state-unionaddress

Author

• Stephanie Furuta, University of Hawaii - Manoa