Anyone concerned about education in our country is going to get more concerned after reading Education Week’s article, DATA: 5 Key Insights Into America’s Teachers.

The results in the text box at the top of this blog is only one the big challenges our schools are facing.

Here’s another one:

Only 21 percent of teachers would recommend a career in K-12 teaching to their own children or to a child of a close family member or friend, significantly less than 42 percent of school leaders who would do so.

And then there’s:

Professional development is ‘irrelevant’ for nearly half of teachers.

Ed Week has also created a “Teacher Morale Index.”

Of course, none of this is really new to anyone who has been paying attention.

A big report came out last year finding that teachers are more stressed than they’ve been in fifty years.

And the cluelessness of many district leaders also comes as no surprise – check out my piece, Thirteen things that should happen in schools now — but most probably won’t.

Things can change, of course.

Take our district, for example.  Two years ago, we had an incredibly dysfunctional district led by a superintendent who couldn’t organize himself out of a paper bag (and who had never taught).  Then, our union led a nine-day strike, which resulted in a completely changed board, followed by the Supt’s resignation, and the hiring of an experienced educator to replace him.

Now, our district is financially healthy, compensation has risen, as has morale.

And, I believe, the strength of our union has been the primary reason for these positive changes.

You might also be interested in The Best Resources For Learning Why Teachers Unions Are Important.