The school year starts and teachers are already burned out.

On the first day school last week, an assistant principal at a Texas school was confronted by an out-of-control student who was screaming, hitting other students and throwing chairs at teachers. By the time an air ambulance landed outside the school, Candra Rogers had lost the use of her right eye after the 11-year-old boy hit her with a wooden hanger. Education officials say the woman’s ordeal is a graphic illustration of the stress facing the nation’s teachers and school administrators.  ABC News' Jim Ryan checks in w/Joe with a look at whats happening.  

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Satuck Anna's Morning News continues on news Radio eight forty
whas well, we're only a couple of weeks into the
school year and teachers are already facing stress and burnout
and more. Jim Ryan of ABC Radio News is here
to talk about that. Jim, thanks very much for joining
us today. Tell us the story of the woman in

(00:24):
Texas who is already experiencing it an awfully tough year.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, yeah, hers is a case of classroom stress taken
to the extreme. Joe. Her name is Candra Rogers. She's
the assistant principal at an intermediate school in course at
Canta Tacks, was about an hour south of Dallas. On
the first day of class last week, she was called
to a classroom where a student was said to be
out of control. She got to that classroom, a boy

(00:49):
was in there by himself, essentially tearing things up, throwing
furniture around. She entered the classroom tried to calm him down.
He first threw a chair at her. She managed to
deflect it. Then he threw a wooden hangar at her.
She couldn't deflect it. You'd hit her in the eye,
dislodged the eye from its socket. She was flown to
a hospital up in Dallas. Says that the loss of

(01:11):
that eye is likely permanent. They tried to do what
they could to fix that situation. They couldn't, and now
she says she's going to be blind in her right eye.
The eleven year old boy who threw that hangar is
facing a discipline juvenile court essentially. But yes, she says that,
and she blamed state lawmakers for not funding or increasing

(01:34):
funding for classrooms, for schools, for personnel, for mental health
services to students. That says that The result, she says,
is that she's collateral damage in this big fight.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Jim, we just seemed to see more and more of this,
and I think a lot of folks are saying, you know,
we never had this when we were in school. Why
is this exploding like it seems to be now.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, Well, of course we had some of this when
you and I were young, but we did not everybody
had a cell phone with a camera to capture that
and post it online. So certainly it seems that there's
more of this going on. Whether there is or not
isn't really clear, but a lot of it happens in
the Department of Education, says that as a result, only
forty two percent of teachers believe that their job is

(02:18):
worth the stress. Eight years ago that number was seventy
five percent. So, yes, classroom stress is leading to teacher
dissatisfaction essentially, or since at least that the job just
isn't worth the pressure and the hassle.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Well, I know, the retention level for teachers has not
been very good for a long time because you do
have the stress, and you also have there's plenty of
other opportunities, you know, for a lot of people. There's
a lot of teachers they'll teach one or two or
three years and they'll say, I've had enough, I'm burnt out.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, it used to be a lifetime career. Now it's
a short term job essentially until something else is it
comes up on the horizon. A lot of teachers are
leaving the profession. Some are burned out and having an
impact on how students are learning and your right show.
Schools are seeing this in the school districts. As a result,
they're finding trouble in recruiting teachers bringing them on board.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
We're all kind of ringing our hands here and understandably so,
but are there any solutions out there, are there any
things that we can point to that could seem to
make it better or things we could do well.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Certainly, you know, a teacher pay is a part of
the heart of the issue, and some schools and legislatures
around the country are dealing with that, trying to come
up with ways to fund raises for school teachers. Some
districts have done that, some haven't, some haven't been able to,
some simply couldn't afford to do so. In the meantime,
private schools are able to attract parents who are willing

(03:51):
to pay more to have their kids and are setting
where teachers are making more. So it's kind of a
double whammy on public education, if you will. Here in Texas,
course debate is about school vouchers, the ability of parents
to take what would have been spent on public school
their tax money and spending it on private school. So
that's another big part of the debate here at least.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Well, we have a big school choice initiative on the
ballot this year, and we've had tremendous problems in Jefferson
County here in the Louisville area with I mean, you've
had teacher burnout, can't get any teachers or can't get
enough teachers and bus drivers. Jim, we can't seem to
get any bus drivers either. That's a whole other issue here.
Jim Ryan from ABC Radio News bringing us up to speed.

(04:33):
It's Kentucky Hadas Morning News News Radio eight forty whas