Statewide Survey Shows Michigan Teachers Are 'Demoralized' And 'Exhausted'

DETROIT (WWJ) -- A survey of 11,000 school employees in Michigan revealed widespread disappointment, demoralization and discontent.

American Federation of Teachers Michigan and the Michigan Education Association posted the results of the survey online on Monday, which provide a chilling picture of the state of education in Michigan, revealing low morale, exhaustion from needless testing, high job insecurity and disgust with policies from Lansing, saying they hurt rather than help student achievement.

Steven Cook, President of the Michigan Education Association, was not surprised by the results.

"If there were any surprises, it was the depth of feeling how strongly they felt about a number of issues," Cook said. "That was a little surprising, but the overall results weren't."

80 percent of school employees said they are under-compensated for the job they do, while only seven percent of teachers thought changes to the evaluation system over the past several years have had a positive impact on their teaching.

The survey was conducted over a one-week period last spring. Participants included PreK-12 teachers and support staff, higher education faculty and support staff, and retirees of all groups.

Just over 50 percent of respondents answered "no" when asked whether they feel they would be able to comfortably retire.

"What this survey result confirmed for me is that teachers don't enjoy teaching as much as we perhaps thought we did," Cook said. "Some are very happy, but that's a minority."

More information about the survey can be found HERE.