(upbeat music) - Hello, welcome to another edition of 10thirtysix here on Milwaukee PBS, I'm Portia Young.

In this edition, we'll hear from more teachers, as we focus on the growing teacher shortage and the stressors teachers are facing in the classroom.

Plus, an American Dream story from the son of the founder of the Oak Creek Sikh Temple, who was killed in a mass shooting almost 10 years ago.

We begin with our continued focus on the teacher crisis; one that impacts our education system and our democracy.

Those in the teaching profession say, the nationwide shortage and stress factors have been building for some time, even before COVID; though the pandemic is taking its toll.

Very recently however, there has been a movement to improve the situation.

Just last month, the Wauwatosa School District promised teachers a 3% pay raise to prevent teachers from quitting.

UW Madison is extending a pledge program designed to get more teachers into Wisconsin schools.

The program pledges to pay the equivalent of in-state tuition and fees, testing and licensing costs for all teachers in education; who will then work in Wisconsin schools for four years.

But is that enough?

The head of the education department at Mount Mary University talked with 10thirtysix producer, Maryann Lazarski, about teaching, the crisis and the solutions.

(gentle music) - Everything in education is complex.

I tell my students that teachers, and that research shows this, teachers make about 1500 decisions a day.

I'm Deb Dosemagen, and I'm chair of the education department at Mount Mary University and a member of the faculty as well.

I started about 40 years ago as a high school math and psychology teacher.

And then after about 23 years at the high school level, I also did some administrative work there in the last few years.

But after about 23 years, that's when I made the transition here to Mount Mary and working with students in the education department; both graduate students who are teachers and undergrads who are planning to be teachers.

(gentle music) I really appreciated the people in my life who were teachers, my own teachers.

I think that was really the first draw that I thought more about them as people and that I admired them; and the work that they did was almost secondary initially when I was thinking about that.

But I thought if I could be that kind of person, I would like to do that.

And then it was, if I could be that kind of teacher, is almost a secondary thing, but that's really what appealed to me.

I tell my students now, particularly the undergrads who are uncertain about their future as teachers, that if they learn nothing else from me, and I hope they learn all kinds of other things from me; but if they learn nothing else, they know that I loved what I was doing.

And that as a teacher, you can really feel fulfilled and a feeling of accomplishment and just have fun because it was so enjoyable for me to work with the students.

(gentle music) - [Maryann] So 40 years later, we're in a teacher crisis.

- It's not the only one I've seen in 40 years.

I have to say, I was thinking about that in terms of, what is a generation about 15 years?

And so every 15 years, there's some sort of crisis in teacher preparation or teachers in schools.

I'm definitely saddened by it because I found it so enjoyable as a profession.

I can't say that I'm surprised by it, and I think society has changed in all ways since I started teaching; that somebody with a 40-year career in one industry, whatever that industry or profession would be, is probably very unusual in this day and age.

(gentle music) I think right now a lot has to do with coming back after the pandemic and the change in schooling during that period of time.

I think there's always been a range of student performance within a classroom.

I think that range is larger now because of inconsistency in educational experiences of the kids during the pandemic.

I think that outside pressures have intensified and those come from a variety of different places; parents, governing bodies, state legislators, just a wide variety of places that make it more difficult in a lot of ways to manage what's going on inside the classroom and what's going on outside of the classroom, I think.

(gentle music) I'll admit there's a balancing act between potentially scaring them away and being honest with them and preparing them.

- [Maryann] Have any of the kids been scared away?

Have you ever had to calm them down and say, oh...?

- Oh sure.

I mean, but I think that's true at any profession that somebody gets to a certain point and says, "Oh, that's not really what I thought it was going to be."

(gentle music) What the research says is that, if you lower the class size, but then teach in exactly the same way, there's not gonna be any difference.

So the smaller classes won't matter in that context.

But if you lower the class size and then change how you interact with the kids, that has a positive impact.

- [Maryann] Should teachers be paid more?

- Oh, of course.

And I say that in what sounds like a flippant way, but I think something I said earlier has to do with that with the 40-year career.

I don't think people are going to be able to afford to be teachers for many, many years.

(gentle music) Okay, I would actually like to sit down with a legislator.

I'd like to invite them all in to schools and follow a teacher throughout the course of a day.

Because I think they have a huge impact right now on not just the nuts and bolts of what schools get and what schools, what resources they have access to, but a little bit of the perception of the profession as well.

- [Maryann] Hear from Dosemagen's student teachers who are about to graduate from Mount Mary in next month's special; speaking of teachers in crisis; May 5th from seven to 8:00 PM, here on Milwaukee PBS channel 10 do.

- Dosemagen and the student teacher saw the story we first aired in February that began our concentration on the teacher crisis.

A high school English teacher in Ohio wrote a blog that went viral about all the questions a teacher's brain handles every day.

We want to share her story again with you.

(indistinct background chattering) - I am a high school English teacher.

This is my 26th year in the classroom.

I'll be honest, I have thought about not teaching anymore.

Leaving the profession is pretty daunting, I don't know what else I would do.

The energy level that it takes to do the job effectively, I don't know how long I can maintain that.

I had a day that I just had a hard time letting go of, and when I went home, I just kept thinking about all of the students that I had, the interactions I had, the decisions I made, and what I often do when have a date that I have a hard time letting go of, whether it's because of teaching or any other stressor, I write and I just kind of get it out on the page.

And that helps me kind of set it aside then so that I can move forward and not have it spinning around in my mind quite so much.

- [Woman] Am I becoming the old cranky English teacher who knit picks and lose the sight of the big picture?

Am I too tired for this job?

Am I becoming too cynical?

Are my standards too high?

Haven't I lowered them since I began teaching all those years ago though?

Should I have?

- Nobody goes into teaching thinking it's going to be easy, or thinking you're gonna get rich.

(indistinct) know what you're signing up for.

The challenges when I first started teaching were how to present a lesson in a meaningful way, how to adjust a lesson on the fly.

Like I said, when you're teaching and you realize, man, this isn't quite landing.

- [Woman] Should I work through lunch or head to the workroom?

Will I feel better if I have half an hour of adult conversation, or if I get more of these papers graded?

Do I need to make any hard copies for the handout next period?

Do I remember to upload the video in the Google doc to Google Classroom for the kids who are absent?

- I think what has changed the job in the last few years prior even to COVID, there's been a lot more criticism of teachers.

If I may be frank, I feel that when I first started, the attitude was, well, they're professionals and they know what they're doing, and they're doing the best they can.

And they have my child's best interest at heart.

And there was a lot of trust.

The society is starting to question teachers, starting to question, do we know what's best?

And are we teaching what we should be teaching?

A little more tug between teachers and communities and parents.

- [Woman] Will I be accused of teaching divisive concepts if I lead a discussion about why we're not going to use the N-word out loud in class when we read of mice and men?

Will kids go home and tell their parents what we talked about?

Do kids still do that?

Do parents still ask?

Is this book worth the battle it might lead to, or should I just teach Farenheit 451 instead?

Wouldn't that be ironic?

And isn't that exactly what those who scream about CRT being taught want?

For teachers to fear the repercussions and give in to temptation to just teach safe material instead?

So that the status quo will keep on keeping on and generations of kids will continue to grow up in the dark about so much of the ugly side of America's history?

Is this worth the fight it might bring?

Well, obviously it's worth a fight, but am I mentally and emotionally up for this battle, this year especially?

More importantly, will my Black students be uncomfortable if their White teacher leads this discussion in class?

I know enough not to ask a Black student to speak on behalf of an entire race, but would it be okay to privately ask a Black student how they would feel about this discussion or that book?

- I recognize the fact that I'm a middle-aged White woman, I can't relate to what it's like to be black in this country and certainly not a teenager.

So those conversations have always been important to me and yet not necessarily comfortable.

But recently with the racial dissension, I guess in our country, we've had some protests, which some people look (radio interference drowns out speaker) protests.

That's not unique to the country, that comes into the schools.

It's gotten more challenging in recent years because there's been a growing movement among some state legislators who are concerned that schools might be teaching critical race theory.

We are not, I can assure you.

That is a higher level (indistinct) taught in law schools.

What we are teaching is the history of America.

And I think we're trying to teach honestly what has happened and it is uncomfortable, it's unpleasant.

America hasn't always made the best decisions.

America is made up of a whole lot of people and no person is perfect, we are complex.

- [Woman] Should I grade these 45 quick 10-point responses first or tackle the 25 longer essays?

Go back and forth between the two?

Am I fair to every student when I don't grade an assignment all at once?

Do I grade the first essays harder or easier than the last one?

Why do I feel guilty when I take points off for not capitalizing I or proper pronouns?

Why don't they click on the squiggly lines and fix their typos and spelling and grammar errors when the computer's literally marking them for them?

Why are they still making these basic mistakes we've gone over them so many times?

Do they just not care about their grades?

Do they even go back and read my comments and look at why they've lost points?

Is this an academic issue or a motivation issue or a self-worth issue?

Do we need to do more lessons on catching these mistakes or do I need to talk with them about the importance of the impression of themselves that they put out into the world?

Is it unfair for a student to earn a C for a grade when the content of their work is probably at a B or even at A level, but their spelling and grammar mistakes are so ubiquitous and egregious that they lose points on every assignment?

Is it asking too much of them to click on the dang squiggly lines?

- Teachers aren't afraid of accountability.

I can defend what I teach and how I teach to anybody who would like me to do so.

But it makes it a little more stressful because that's where you start to second guess everything that you do and everything that you teach and how you interact with your students.

And that puts a burden, I think, on the job that didn't use to be there.

- [Woman] Does that kid who just smiled at me and said, "Hey, Ms.

H!"

Have any idea how much I needed that friendly smile right now?

- I'm a parent, so I have a student, a senior in high school.

And so I'm nearing the end of my school days with her.

I've tried to show appreciation for her teachers, but looking back on it, I recognize I probably haven't done enough.

- [Woman] Why is the office calling down that long list of kids?

Are they getting quarantined and sent home?

Wait, they don't have to stay home anymore, but they have to wear a mask now, right?

So will I get a list of kids who are supposed to be wearing masks for two weeks?

How am I gonna keep track of that?

How many more times can I say, pull your mask up over your nose, before I start inserting curse words into that sentence?

Do I have time to run to the bathroom between classes?

Risk someone being in the single-stall teacher bathroom, or go to the student bathroom further away?

Is that crying in the next stall?

Hey, are you all right?

Do you need to talk?

Which class do you have right now?

Can I walk you down to the guidance office?

Will my class of freshman be okay if I get there a little late?

Can we settle down and get started, please?

Where's your Chromebook?

Why isn't it charged?

And where's your charger?

Why didn't you borrowed one from the library then?

Is that yelling in the hallway?

What's going on?

Did one of you just call the other a bitch?

Why are the kids behaving like this, this year?

Is it COVID-related?

Or just the stress of COVID plus all the other division and dissension in society that we're all contending with?

Is Michael acting off today?

Is he tired or just depressed?

Should I pull him out in the hall and ask him if he's okay, or would it be worse to draw attention to him?

Should I call home?

How has grades been slipping?

Did he do the assignment that was due for me today?

- I do think that maybe people don't quite understand that it's stressful.

I don't think outside of teaching, a lot of people realize how you do get to know the students.

And that makes it very difficult to set school aside.

Because you go home thinking about those students, you worry about those students.

You worry about the kid who didn't seem quite right today.

You can't just walk away from it.

We know we're preparing these students to go off into a world that is tricky at best, treacherous, maybe even at worst.

And so we want them to be prepared academically and socially and emotionally.

- [Woman] Does Becky have her cell phone in her lap?

Why isn't it in the slot with the others?

Is it worth calling her out on it right now or later, privately?

And either way, do I want to risk setting her off when she's been doing so well and you seem to be forging a tentative relationship?

Is it a big deal if she isn't actually using it?

Or has she been using it and I just haven't seen it happen?

Why isn't the Chromecast working?

Why would it work last period and not this period?

Is the internet down?

Why are we either freezing or frying?

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to regulate the heat in our own rooms?

Is this email for real?

Are they kidding with this?

Another meeting, another book study?

This year of all years, don't we have enough to do?

Can't they just give us more time to plan or collaborate with each other on the actual work that needs done?

- We need to be concerned because teacher mental health affects the students.

And I know teachers who are taking mental health days that never would've done that before.

For I, I started doing yoga, which I had done off and on prior to COVID hitting.

But when we went remote, I figured out very quickly I needed to do something to relieve stress because it was just an almost unbearable situation.

- [Woman] Am I getting sick or am I just exhausted?

Is my throat sore from talking so much today, or because I'm coming down with something?

Will they be able to find a sub if I stay home tomorrow?

What am I teaching tomorrow?

Is it something I can adapt easily for a sub or will I need to come up with something new?

And how much will that impact my plans for the rest of the week?

- We lower the qualifications necessary to be a substitute because we're so desperate.

The teaching will suffer and there's a lot more technique and skill involved than just reading books.

- [Woman] Why can't I be more of a type B teacher?

Isn't it just easier to suck it up and go to school with a cold?

But what if it's COVID ?

Is that an email from a parent?

Do I have the energy to deal with that tonight?

Why are they emailing me so late?

- So we should be very concerned.

There's the stress of COVID, there's the societal stress, there's the not feeling that we are respected, given that no other profession comes out of anywhere except teachers, right?

I mean, in my classroom right now, in some classroom right now in this country, is future president of the United States.

- [Woman] Where is that info about that poetry contest?

When was the deadline?

How did I not know until now what a great writer Jane is?

Oh no, Michael didn't do the assignment; is it too late to call home tonight or should I wait and call from school tomorrow?

Do his parents work during the day?

Do they support his use of he/him pronouns?

Do I need to refer to him as Michelle when I talk to them?

Why am I watching the news?

Oh my God, another one?

How many school shootings does that make this year?

Is the legislature seriously going to try to pass that?

Do they have any clue how that will impact teaching and learning?

Why do the people with the power to address some of the problems always seem to arrive at solutions without asking educators for feedback?

Don't they realize that only leads to more issues?

- I think standardized tests have gotten out of control.

There's so much more to a student than what one particular test score is on one particular day.

And we've lost sight of that.

Students are judged on those scores, teachers are judged on those scores, and there are so many factors that play into how a student performs on a particular test on a particular day.

I think if we could eliminate or significantly decrease the standardized test and the pressure that is attached to them, if we could just get back to learning for the sake of learning, we'd have more time to do more creative activities to learn.

We would have more time in the elementary schools for play.

Having lower class sizes would be one really tangible, major way that could impact teaching in a positive way.

It's a bit terrifying to think about just immediately if we have fewer teachers, that doesn't mean we have fewer kids.

So the first thing that will happen is your class sizes will increase.

I have a class right now of 25 students, and I have a class of 16 students.

There is a big difference.

- [Woman] Are all teachers as overwhelmed and exhausted as I am?

- When the blog went out there into the world, I started getting some feedback and some comments online.

And so many of the comments were to the effect of, how'd she get into my head, or this is exactly what I deal with all day long, what I think all day long.

It was a bit sad for me to realize that so many other teachers were feeling that overwhelmed and weighed down, but it was also validating that I wasn't alone, it's not just me.

It's not just me getting too old for this gig that even the younger teachers, maybe even especially the younger teachers, are struggling with the demands of the job.

- [Woman] Does anyone care what teachers are going through in this country?

When is someone going to do something about it?

- We have asked for your reaction to Julie's blog and the teacher shortage in general.

Here are more of those comments.

- [Woman] A teacher from Milwaukee's French Immersion School writes; with the resources diminishing each year, more is put on teachers' plates where the expectation is for us to become experts in areas that we're not trained in.

The path that we're on now is not working for most of our students and exhausting and unsustainable for the teachers involved.

I am 50 years old, tired and counting down to retirement at 55."

A middle school teacher in Waukesha County says, "I am currently retired from a 25-year teaching career as a special education teacher.

My current part-time hourly position is a reading interventionist.

My son's teachers were amazing and knew them well.

This was the inspiration for me to complete my teacher certifications and I began teaching at the age of 36.

The weight and responsibility of facilitating the education of all children assigned to me was overwhelming, and at times, seemingly impossible.

The highlight was always the children."

- Teachers, public, private, parochial administrators, those who can make a difference, we want to hear from you.

Please go to milwaukeepbs.org/teachersincrisis, and leave us your comments.

Pardeep Singh Kaleka, has been a valued member of the Milwaukee community and has served in the public arenas of education, law enforcement and social services.

Pardeep is also the son of the late Santwa Singh Kaleka, the Founder of the Oak Creek Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, where on August 5th, 2012, a mass shooting took place, that took the life of Pardeep's father along with five others.

Pardeep sits down with 10thirtysix producer, Emmy Fink, to share his thoughts on the American Dream.

(gentle music) - [Emmy] When you think of the term, the American Dream, do you look at what your dad did by coming over here with his family and wanting better?

- Yeah, I do think about my father and immigrants like him.

And I think those people that have been here and paved the way, those people that have essentially been the leaders on civil rights movements, there's been so many people who embody the American Dream.

And I think it's such a... when I think about it, I think about a promise.

And I think about this country, and again, the life that my father led was one where he left a homeland.

He left everything that was comfortable to him to come and make it here.

And he was a small business owner, he was a valued community member.

He essentially built this (indistinct), and built a sanctuary for other people to come to, when he didn't have one when he first came here.

So I think about all of that, just courage that is embodied in the human spirit for everyone that does come.

And I think about when we think about the American Dream of this promise of what we want to do as we go forward, how do we make this country much more loving, much more inclusive, welcoming?

How do we welcome in the refugees and the people who are looking for refuge?

How do we do that in a way that also respects the people that are here?

When we think about history of America, I think about all of the pain that has been felt, and we have communities that continue to feel this pain.

We have been facing two and a half, so many years of a pandemic that has revealed pandemics within a pandemic.

Inequalities and injustices that continue to plague us.

And when I think about the American Dream, I think about how we, as a country, as a collective, need to get better at listening to pain.

And when we think about listening to pain, not, again, traditional sort of mental health coping mechanisms of when we listen to somebody's pain.

Understanding and appreciating, and then doing something about it.

Not denial, not guilt around it, not the sense of like rationalization or minimizing that we traditionally kind of go towards, but this genuine acceptance of, here is what is going on, and here's what that looks like; in our adults, in our children.

Here's what it does to our neighborhoods.

Here's what it does to communities.

One time we called Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we used to call this a small village and a family.

And now we've gotten to a place where we don't redirect another person's child.

We don't really live as a community.

We live as individuals living in different houses and different neighborhoods and different zip codes.

And I think that at some point, this pandemic would've taught us one thing, is that we are all in this together.

- [Emmy] Pardeep shared with me that the American dream and its need for equality, is even found as a main pillar in the Sikh religion.

Equality among all races and religions, showing true compassion and love to all people.

(singing in foreign language) A tradition following a Sikh gathering is a free communal meal called, langar.

And this represents selfless service to all, a promise that the American Dream is still alive and well.

- And America still is very much, and I know over the years we have suffered a bit from what we thought America was, but outside of this country, a lot of people still do look at us as the beacon, as a place that you can say, "You know what, there's goodness."

And if there is injustices that exist in the world, then we can count on Americans and people in this country to be the ambassadors of goodwill.

But I think that we need to mean it internally, and we need to heal from the inside out.

And that means that we look at the past 500 years, the past 1000 years and say, "You know what, I hear your pain.

And now, since I've heard your pain and understood it, I'm gonna do something about it."

- Thank you Pardeep for sharing your story with us.

And thank you for joining us here on 10thirtysix.

Remember to check us out on Facebook and at milwaukeepbs.org.

We'll see you again in May, stay well.

(upbeat music)