How Stressful Is It Being an Elementary School Teacher?

Early childhood educators add significant value to any society. But, while teaching elementary school children is personally rewarding, it is also highly demanding. If you’re considering a career as an elementary school teacher, you might want to know just how stressful it is.

Being an elementary school teacher is a highly stressful job. A large proportion of elementary school teachers would declare that they are overworked, underpaid, and operate in a challenging work environment. They consistently report some of the highest rates of work-related stress.

The rest of this article will provide an overview of how taxing teaching elementary school students is and describe some of the factors that make it so stressful.

Table of Contents

How Do We Know Elementary School Teachers Are Stressed?

We know elementary school teachers are stressed because ample statistical and anecdotal evidence suggests this. Numerous surveys of teachers and reports by organizations representing teachers show that elementary school teachers are some of the most stressed workers.

News reports indicate that burned-out teachers are leaving the workforce in record numbers, leading to the possibility of a teacher shortage in the near future. For more on this, watch the following interview with Becky Pringle, the President of the National Education Association:

There have also been strikes and walkouts in several states across America demanding better pay and working conditions for educators.

The Rand Corporation’s State of the U.S. Teacher Survey, a comprehensive survey of K-12 teachers, reports that nearly a quarter of all teachers surveyed were considering leaving their jobs by the end of the school year.

For a survey focused on elementary school teachers, in particular, look at a University of Missouri study published in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. This study finds that a staggering 93% of elementary school teachers report experiencing a high level of stress.

These numerous sources suggest that teachers and elementary school teachers, in particular, face alarmingly high levels of stress at work.

What Makes Teaching in Elementary Schools So Stressful?

Teaching in elementary schools is stressful because:

Teachers need to create their own lesson plans.
Managing a classroom can be highly challenging.

Workloads are high, and hours are long.
Teachers are paid poorly.
Schools are underfunded.

Managing parents and administration can be tough.
Teachers are demoralized.

The following sections will explain each of these factors in greater detail.

Teachers Need To Create Their Own Lesson Plans

While many elementary schools have a set curriculum, teachers still need to create their own lesson plans. This can be a demanding task, especially for newer teachers who have not developed plans over many years.

And since elementary educators teach a range of subjects, the task of creating good-quality lesson plans for every subject is extremely time-consuming.

Managing a Classroom Can Be Highly Challenging

Managing a classroom full of students is always tricky, but dealing with younger children can be particularly tough and emotionally demanding. Elementary school teachers work with children aged five to 11 every day. The mental and physical toll this takes on teachers is well documented.

An underappreciated aspect of the challenges they face is how often problems outside the classroom intrude into it. In working with a class, elementary school teachers have to manage all the children in it. And each child brings their own issues with them, often relying on the teacher to counsel and support them through their difficulties.

Workloads Are High, and Hours Are Long

The workload of elementary school teachers is exceptionally high. Because they are constantly engaging with small children, their work is emotionally challenging in a way that others could not even begin to comprehend.

Students in the US are in class for around six and a half hours each day. And the majority of that time, if not all of it, is spent with one teacher delivering the learning. Besides the time spent on the primary responsibility of teaching students, teachers also have a long list of tasks that need to be addressed once the students have left class.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that elementary school teachers often find themselves taking their work home. They have to grade work, prepare lesson plans, update display boards, and constantly develop exciting projects to keep their young students engaged.

School teachers can find it hard to make time for themselves and their own families. They also do not get the necessary downtime to stay fresh on the job.

Teachers Are Paid Poorly

According to the Economic Policy Institute’s Perfect Storm in the Teacher Labor Market Report, school teachers are paid poorly, in both absolute and relative terms. Not only are they paid less than other equally educated workers, but their pay is also too low to support a middle-class lifestyle.

Low pay means that many school teachers work a second job to make ends meet for their families. Financial issues are a significant contributor to the excessive stress teachers experience.

Schools Are Underfunded

Elementary schools, especially in poorer neighborhoods, often lack funding. This can lead to overcrowded and understaffed classrooms, putting tremendous pressure on individual teachers and contributing to high levels of burnout.

A lack of resources also means that elementary school teachers do not get the support they need for additional staff, teaching aids, and classroom resources.

It is not uncommon for teachers to use their own money to get supplies for the classroom, putting further financial strain on themselves.

Managing Parents and Administration Can Be Tough

Not only do school teachers have to deal with students, but they must also deal with their parents and perform a range of administrative duties.

In their eagerness to ensure their children get the best education possible, parents of young children can be alarmingly pushy with the demands they make on school teachers. Alternately, parents can be uncooperative when teachers need their collaboration to affect changes in a child’s behavior. Either of these situations makes the teacher’s job harder.

Similarly, school administrations have a range of conflicting demands placed on them and must deal with severe resource limitations. They often place unreasonable demands on their staff. These factors make the elementary school teacher’s job extremely stressful.

Not to mention the pressure that comes from being observed by school administrators.

Teachers Are Demoralized

In her book, Demoralized (available on Amazon.com), Doris Santoro, an associate professor of education at Bowdoin College, suggests that teachers are not only burnt out, they are also facing a loss of the moral rewards of teaching.

Santoro uses the individual stories of 23 school teachers to argue that aspects of education policy in recent years have made teachers disillusioned with their profession and prospects.

Faced with standardization, high-stakes testing, and a reduction in autonomy, teachers today find it hard to see purpose in their work. This may be the most devastating factor in the rising stress reported by teachers.

Conclusion

Elementary school teachers have to deal with alarmingly high degrees of stress at work. While their work is rewarding in many ways, you should also carefully consider the many challenges involved in teaching elementary school children if you are thinking of a career in early childhood education.

Sources

YouTube: Scripps National News: Teachers shortage impacting classes