Photo by KAL VISUALS on Unsplash
Teachers are tired. Uninspired. And exhausted. Many are leaving the profession, and schools will be left in the lurch come August. Truly dedicated to their work through passion, not profit, teachers are worn to the ground. The pandemic rollercoaster continues. What will it take to rejuvenate and reinspire teachers to remain in the profession?
Schools should consider sabbaticals as one of the solutions. Years ago, sabbaticals were common practice particularly in higher education. Academics would take a year off to write, travel, or research. Salary and benefits would remain in place as would their position at the institution. Essentially the time was used for professional and personal growth.
Such benefits have fallen by the wayside in our hamster wheel economy. Why would an institution or company pay for someone to take a year off? Why would a company save your job for you if you took off for a year? Many would laugh at the idea these days.
However, more and more companies are beginning to see the benefit of offering a sabbatical to its employees. Adobe, for example, offers a four week sabbatical after only five years of service. Adobe’s plan increases as you remain with the company. Employees can use the time as they please for personal growth.
What are the benefits to the company? Loyalty and stability for certain. Adobe will retain its employees. With less turnover and attrition, costs will be lower. Healthy employees are more dedicated workers and more engaged. Teams are more stable, and employees build long-lasting relationships.
Think about it, if you knew you would have a month to explore the Caribbean and still get paid your salary, would you stay with the company? Or what if you could design that invention, or write that book? Would you feel more committed to the company and more engaged when you return?
According to Forbes and Glassdoor, many companies have established sabbatical opportunities for their employees in recent years. Patagonia, REI, Cheesecake Factory, Intel, and Zillow are among those offering time off for personal growth. Why not offer this benefit to teachers? We are in a moment when schools are struggling to retain teachers, and this benefit may help. It also may enable schools to attract teachers.
What, you say, teachers already have summers off each year, isn’t that a sabbatical? Realistically, most teachers hold second jobs during the summer. Financially, a sabbatical is not realistic due to the low pay in the profession. In addition to second jobs, teachers are often researching, writing, and planning for the upcoming year as they have little time during the school day to look forward and plan ahead. Some teachers take the summer to care for their own children. Paying for summer camps and daycare is not a financial possibility when your children also have this time away. Summers are not “off” as most people believe.
What potential would a sabbatical offer?
What if a teacher interested in traveling visited schools abroad? What if that teacher created an international connection they could take back to their classroom or school for the following year?
What if an arts teacher visited museums across the world? What if they brought the experience and impressions back into the classroom
What if a teacher created a museum inside the school during their sabbatical?
What if a teacher wrote a young adult novel and had it published? What if they came and ran students through a protocol of the process? What if they met editors who were interested in chatting with students about their profession?
What if a teacher is inspired to create a new course in the school? What if they attend an international cooking school and create an entire curriculum to bring back for students?
What if a teacher trained for the Iron Man? Imagine what experiences and tools they could bring back to the classroom.
Being a classroom teacher is taxing in normal times. After three years, many are worn out. Taking a year to imagine, create, and innovate would not only support teachers’ mental health, it would support school growth.