At a casual glance, the two articles may not appear to be closely related. The first article is about the national costs of teacher turnover, and the second is about a school in Southern Oregon where students are themselves responsible for the cleanliness and upkeep of their school.
On the surface, each story could easily turn on a question about money: where's it going, and why? Just under the surface, though, there may be a deeper question: who belongs?
As the first article suggests, teacher pay is likely not a predominating factor in the grand scheme of turnover. Many new teachers leave the profession because they feel they lack voice, autonomy, and/or empathetic support . . . because they feel detached from any sense of community and deprived of the many benefits a sense of community can (and should) provide.
Similarly, in the second article, the question arises: whose community is it? A perfunctory look at schools can show that their aesthetic qualities often correlate to their success. In a very general sense, successful schools tend to be well kept, and unsuccessful schools tend to be unkempt. People take pride in and relate to the characteristics of their communities, and it appears that a little autonomous responsibility might just go a long way:
Revolving Door Of Teachers Costs Schools Billions Every Year (Photo credit.)
Without Janitors, Students Are In Charge Of Keeping School Shipshape
What do you think?
Posted by Parker Fulton.