By FRED KRONER
Teachers – and by extension, school administrators – are dealing with a growing number of issues and problems that make their chosen profession less desirable.
Some disputes can be traced back to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has altered life and lifestyles now for almost two years. Others are related to degenerating societal values. Some are the result of a preponderance of social media options and the ability for anyone to voice opinions instantaneously.
During the Christmas Break, the Mahomet Daily contacted three Mahomet residents who currently have connections with three separate school districts: Mahomet-Seymour, Champaign and Rantoul.
They shared what they are seeing now, how it compares to the past, and what the outlook could be as they look ahead.
The views are from Gay Cabutti, a veteran first-grade teacher in Savoy at Carrie Busey Elementary School who will retire after the 2022-23 school year, Chris Forman, the fourth-year principal at East Lawn Elementary School, in Rantoul, and Ryan Martin, the third-year principal at Middletown Prairie Elementary School, in Mahomet.
They harbor, collectively, feelings of optimism, concern, and frustration.
Martin remembers the first message he delivered to staff prior to the start of the 2019-20 school year, his first year as principal at Middletown Prairie.
“I told the staff that there is one thing that we have control over and that is our attitude,” Martin said. “I am choosing positivity, and I encourage everyone else to as well.
“This still applies today. If we can stay positive and focus on why we all got into education, then we can do anything … even teach through the obstacles educators face today.”
Forman was a third-grade teacher in Mahomet-Seymour (and subsequently the district’s technology director) before turning to administration in Rantoul.
He has witnessed a significant change in the past decade.
“The level of disrespect the kids have, the disregard for authority and rules, the lack of follow-through with parents has risen considerably,” Forman said. “I taught in Mahomet and it was less prevalent.
“More and more people (now) blame the teachers, blame the schools. We’ve had to warn more and more parents (this year) about behavior and language.
“It’s a very small minority, but the minority is so vocal and out of control, it becomes grating and wearing.”
Sometimes, people throw their hands up and say they can’t take it anymore. For more than a month, Forman has been looking for a kindergarten teacher to finish out the school year.
The opening came about prior to Thanksgiving when a second-year teacher abruptly resigned.
Sometimes, those who have studied and trained to be in the classroom environment don’t even make it that far.
“We’ve had great student teachers, but they see what the teachers have to go through every day, the amount of time and energy it takes,” Forman said. “A (college) kid who is 22 sees that and thinks, ‘it’s not worth $40,000.’ We had two who completed their student teaching here and then left education.
“We’ve had to go out and recruit for openings. If Mrs. (Michelle) Ramage (former Rantoul superintendent who now works for the district in Human Resources administration) was not beating the bushes, we’d be really hurting. A kindergarten teacher, you won’t find one mid-year.”
Forman expects to fill that position with subs.
Cabutti knows of one person interested in the teaching profession – and following both of her parents into education – who ultimately decided against it.
“My own daughter wanted to go into education, but had a change of heart because the fun is slowly being taken out of the classroom – test score pressures, social-emotional needs, curriculum changes, teachers losing their voice in decision making – and I am still sad about that, but the requirements and demands that are placed on teachers right now is EXHAUSTING!!”
From her experience, Cabutti believes some aspects of the conduct of children are similar to the past.
“Children’s behaviors don’t change much, in my opinion, especially with first-graders,” she said. “They want to do their best, please the teachers, learn, make friendships, get attention, and have fun.”
In one aspect, though, there is a difference.
“Children seem to be a bit more socially needy than kids in the past,” Cabutti said. “I think society has placed an emphasis on ‘everyone gets a ribbon’ and kids don’t really know or understand how to regulate their emotions when hearing the word ‘no’ or ‘wait.’
“Those behaviors have been evolving for quite some time, in my experience.”
What she is seeing this school year is understandable and can be attributed directly to the remote learning that took place during parts of both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
“This year my students are basically getting their first real classroom/school experience and so are the parents,” Cabutti said. “I have had many more parent contacts this year than in the past and I think it is due to all parties never experiencing school.”
Problems extend beyond arguments or scuffles between children.
“Kids don’t know when an accident occurs, and go home telling parents they’ve been bullied,” Cabutti said. “I am teaching social/emotional skills ALL DAY LONG as well as reading, writing, math, and science.
“Kids and parents do not know how to be together in a classroom setting.”
Since students returned to the classrooms following the remote learning pause created by the pandemic, Forman said Cabutti’s observations are astute and equally applicable in Rantoul at East Lawn.
“We see it in kindergarten and first grade,” Forman said. “They’ve not been in organized daycare or pre-care centers. Kids need to learn how to do school.”
Martin said he has noticed a greater disparity among students since they returned to the classroom this school year.
“What I feel is consuming the teachers’ time is trying to meet each student at their level, which varies greatly and even more so due to the pandemic and interruption of the regular school schedule since March of 2020,” Martin said. “Teachers are collaborating to meet the needs of the students who are coming in with lower skills than what they are used to.
“Teachers are also taking individualized assessments to find where each student is at in math and reading. A lot more individualized instruction through small group work means more time planning on the teacher side of things.
“If I could give a gift to the teachers, it would be the gift of time.”
Martin understands the teacher’s challenges. He was a classroom instructor for 17 years, including 13 in Urbana at Leal Elementary School.
“I experienced behavior during all my years of teaching,” Martin said. “However, I strongly believe that relationships built inside and outside of the classroom greatly lowers the (bad) behaviors.
“This is something that I feel the staff at MPE does a wonderful job with.”
The biggest transition for Martin was moving from a classroom of approximately 25 students that he worked with on a daily basis to a school where there are 12 sections of kindergartners, 11 sections of first-graders and 11 sections of second-graders totaling nearly 800 students in all this year at Middletown Prairie.
With that number, Martin said, “of course, there are going to be behavioral issues that come my direction.
“I have found that a small selection of students can take up a lot of my time. However, I still focus on the relationship piece to help de-escalate a student who is displaying unsafe behaviors.”
The disruptions that the teachers face run a huge gamut. Teachers can be on their own to resolve the problems.
“Unfortunately, there are so many inappropriate behaviors that occur on a daily basis in the classroom, and teachers have been taught or have had to build their own ‘tool kits’ of how to deal with tough behaviors,” Cabutti said. “I have a VERY supportive building administration that will ‘jump in’ and assist with disruptive behaviors.”
There’s no way to predict what might take place.
“I once had a kid dial 911 from my classroom phone when I was dealing with another discipline issue,” Cabutti said. “That was a first.
“If districts would help train and support teachers, especially new ones, this could be very helpful.”
During his tenure at Middletown Prairie Elementary, Martin hasn’t seen a significant uptick in behavioral issues.
“I have noticed that the behavior I have dealt with has been comparable from year to year,” he said. “There have been some challenges, but I have felt very supported by all my co-workers to help put in proper interventions to help these individual students.”
Martin’s school, however, is not immune to situations arising.
“At MPE, we do have students who can throw tantrums and can be quite disruptive,” he said. “I try to be as responsive as possible to teachers in this situation.
“Our district trains administrators, special education teachers, and paraprofessionals in Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI). It is a system that helps us learn how to de-escalate students who are escalated by using non-physical strategies.”
Getting to know the students prior to conflicts and outbursts is an essential element in the process, according to Martin.
“Again, I will speak to how important it is to have a relationship with the students, especially those that have a hard time regulating their emotions at school,” Martin said.
“I find that sometimes these students need a break from the room to reset and get back on track. Once they are back in the ‘green zone’ we can have a conversation about how to fix the problem that was occurring in the classroom.
“Our Whole Body Health & Wellness class, taught by Mrs. (Kortny) Cox, has been instrumental in helping the students learn how to regulate their emotions and provide tools for their toolbox to resolve conflict.”
Cabutti believes parents have the right intentions, though sometimes their methods are less than ideal.
“All parents want what they think is best for their child,” Cabutti said. “Do they understand the complexities of what a school, teacher, classroom, can provide for all 20 kids, including theirs, at once?
“NO! We have created a society of ME, ME, ME, and don’t think about the classroom as a community of learners and how difficult it is for one teacher to address ALL the many social, emotional, learning, attention, and behavioral needs in one room.”
Though the current reality can seem grim, Cabutti said it doesn’t need to be that way. There are ways to help prevent the tone from advancing even further.
It can start with the teachers.
“I believe teachers DO have some solutions to some of these issues, but sadly, a teacher’s voice is not always heard,” Cabutti said. “We need every person hired in all the school districts to have HANDS-ON experiences with actual kids.
“Boards, directors, and top-level administrators need to come into classrooms on a regular basis to volunteer and really SEE and FEEL what is going on in the classroom.
“Coming in to walk through one time a week or month does not give anyone a real picture of what classroom life is like. All vested parties should HAVE to come in and get their ‘hands dirty’ so a teacher’s voice will be more valued.
“Sadly, it is not going to get better unless we really look at the systems in place and honestly act on doing something positive about them. If teachers don’t have a stake in the game, they will not be able to sustain this profession.”
Martin said if everyone can take a step back, and show appreciation and kindness rather than anger and rage, that would be the best path to follow.
“I think that teaching is extremely hard right now,” Martin said. “I encourage all community members, parents, and students to support the teachers they interact with.
“Teachers have been asked to completely change their pedagogy overnight from a result of covid protocols. These protocols are constantly being changed and teachers continue to adapt and excel. More positive comments, posts, etc., for our educators would be a good start.”
Forman said East Lawn Assistant principal Jayme Bajer has introduced some concepts that accentuate the positive and show support and appreciation to the staff.
Taco Tuesday was a success as is another novel idea.
“Root beer floats for teachers with a note, thanks for keeping us afloat,” Forman said. “The (student and/or parent) behavior is so extreme and everyone is so stressed, those catchy things keep the team spirit going.”
The ongoing issues are not unique to one school or even one geographical area.
“Everybody faces the same problems, behavior (issues), and burnout from the teachers,” Forman said. “When it’s just kids, and you have a support team, you can do it.
“When you add parents who are not supportive and are so extreme in their behavior, the cussing and the threatening…”
One solution – albeit temporary – to a shortage of teachers is to hire permanent subs. They are persons who have a bachelor’s degree, but not necessarily a background in education.
A permanent sub allows the students to see a familiar face in their classroom every day, rather than someone who fills in for a day or two. Forman describes those subs as “a random person, the kids don’t respect,” which does little for encouraging them to return to the building when another opening occurs.
There is one permanent sub at Carrie Busey School and Cabutti said she is a godsend.
“We have one AMAZING permanent sub in our building this year and when she isn’t pulled to cover another assignment, she has a schedule and comes in to co-teach with me during first-grade writing,” Cabutti said. “First-grade writing is a form of fun, torture, exhaustion, and madness.
“If we had more co-teaching in classrooms, I think MANY, MANY positive learning, social and emotional experiences could evolve.”
Forman has helped change the learning environment at East Lawn, which was one of the lowest-performing schools in the state of Illinois when he arrived in the fall of 2018.
“We took it to commendable in one year,” Forman said. “We jumped over the middle designation. We’ve stayed commendable the last two years.”
Though he was new to the role of principal, Forman said he wasn’t totally inexperienced.
“I like to say I played principal when I subbed for Mark Cabutti and Jeff Starwalt (at two Mahomet elementary schools), but that was like being a grandparent, being that fun person.
“When you’re the person where the buck stops every day, when teachers are struggling, you try to use all of the carrots and sticks to get them motivated. I’m just thankful they’re still showing up.”
Gay Cabutti recognizes that there is a myriad of reasons for the problems school teachers must deal with, but she directs some of the responsibility to what society condones and emphasizes.
“I do think that in the past, parents were more willing or able to work with their kids at home, read with them, play with them, talk to them,” she said. “I think we have such hard-working parents now that those important parental interactions have suffered.
“I send home reading logs for kids and parents to track the minutes spent reading or listening to reading, and I am positive that 10 years ago, those logs were used by the majority of students. Now, sadly, only a handful participate.
“We have created such a ‘busy’ life with all the games and practices, lessons for this or that, that we have over-scheduled our kids and some of the most important aspects of growing up are being neglected.”
The internet – which can be a terrific resource for research – can also be a tool to promote negativity.
“I think social media has impacted the school-parent relationship,” Martin said. “So many people in this day and age go to Facebook or another social media outlet to vent or get answers rather than come to the direct source.
“Overall, I truly believe that the parents in Mahomet have been great and supportive.”
Martin contends that a major factor in the lack of teachers can be traced to a change that has been implemented.
“It is no secret that there is a shortage of educators,” Martin said. “One of the biggest contributing factors to this is that teachers who are just starting out in this amazing career are being asked to teach until they are 67 before reaching full retirement.
“That is a problem that is out of my control, but this needs to be addressed.”
Until recently, teachers could retire – with full benefits at age 55 – when they had put in 35 years. Teachers hired after Jan. 1, 2011, must work until 67 to receive full benefits.
According to a September 2021 report issued by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 22,000 openings annually for teachers across the nation.
“I certainly hope that the climate of education improves in the near future for all schools across the country,” Martin said. “We need good teachers.
“They are the most important resource we can offer our students, parents, and community. We need not only good teachers in the classroom, but also good paraprofessionals and substitute teachers as well.”
Martin said the demand exists and he hopes the interest among current non-teachers will help to meet it. He is offering to start the recruitment process.
“MPE and the other three buildings in Mahomet-Seymour are in need of substitute teachers and teacher aides/paraprofessionals,” Martin said. “If there is someone who is qualified and wants to help the schools, I would encourage them to reach out to one of the four principals.
“The past 2 ½ years have been very challenging for everyone in education. Teaching is a hard profession without all the obstacles that have been presented through Covid.
“The stress of following correct protocols and the divide in our society right now have been highlighted through social media. Teachers did not sign up to do this job for extrinsic reasons. It is a highly rewarding job to be able to work with children and families to make a difference.
“If teachers are not receiving the intrinsic reward that teaching has to offer, then we are in trouble. I encourage everyone in education to find their ‘why’ and let that shine this second semester.”
