Editorial roundup: Views from around Georgia

Published 8:00 am Monday, June 27, 2022

Brunswick News: Solutions needed to help teachers from burning out

Community leaders and elected federal, state and local officials receive a raft of studies and reports during the course of a year. They are so numerous, in fact, that one must wonder how much time — if indeed any significant time at all — is given to each new presentation.

There is only so much data and information the human mind can absorb and process at any given length of time. There are only so many pressing problems, so many urgent crises and so many essential pursuits an individual can deal with and maintain a reasonable level of productivity and personal sanity. Look in the comic books to find Superman and Wonder Woman.

That said, there is one study, one recently released report, where the findings should not really come as a knock-me-down surprise to anyone but which cannot be pushed aside. It must be addressed, and it must be addressed sooner rather than later.

The issue: the disturbing exodus of men and women from the field of education. The cause: burnout. In a survey conducted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, 31% of the respondents indicated they were either unlikely or highly unlikely to stay in the field of education for five more years.

The culprit is a combination of various factors that are beyond the control of educators. In addition to feeling pressured into teaching the tests from which student progress is annually viewed with a nationwide lens, they are getting this growing sense of belittlement by the unsolicited micromanaging of classroom lessons by state and federal politicians. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a major cause of frustration as well.

Then there’s discipline. Despite repeated cries for help, support for student disciplinary issues continues to receive the same response from policymakers that a deadbeat gives a debt collector: the check is in the mail. All of this and more takes away classroom time and adds hours to lesson-planning, which only intensifies fatigue.

There is no easy remedy, especially given the state of politics today. Teachers are caught in the middle of the left and right, between liberal and conservative philosophies. Barking dogs are in every direction.

Nevertheless, a cure must be found. Without one the difficulty of finding good teachers tomorrow will be more difficult than it is today. and who knows how hard it will be to recruit teachers in the days beyond tomorrow.

The losers, of course, will be the children and ultimately the state and nation. In other words, everyone.

Valdosta Daily Times: It’s going to get hot

It is going to be hot this week.

Really hot.

We all know just how hot it can get here in South Georgia but forecasters are saying by midweek daytime temperatures could be in the triple digits, and that is just the air temperature, not the heat index.

We encourage everyone to take some simple precautions.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Atlanta, says high temperatures kill hundreds of people every year with more than 700 heat-related deaths in the U.S. each year, many of them right here in the Deep South.

People 65 and older are at the highest risk for heat-related illnesses, as well as children younger than 2 and people with mental illness or chronic diseases, according to the CDC.

We encourage our readers to check in on the elderly and vulnerable during these heat waves.

Here are some specific recommendations from the CDC for those who are the most vulnerable when exposed to excessive heat for extended periods of time:

• Stay in air-conditioned buildings as much as you can. Air-conditioning is the number one way to protect yourself against heat-related illness and death. If your home is not air-conditioned, reduce your risk for heat-related illness by spending time in public facilities that are air-conditioned and using air conditioning in vehicles. Contact your local health department or locate an air-conditioned shelter in your area.

• Do not rely on a fan as your main cooling device during an extreme heat event.

• Drink more water than usual and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.

• Check on a friend or neighbor and have someone do the same for you.

• Don’t use the stove or oven to cook — it will make you and your house hotter.

Of course, we also caution the healthy and younger, especially those who might work outdoors or athletes who may be working out or practicing in the heat. It will be best to limit your outdoor activity in the middle of the day and make sure you drink plenty of water and stop your activity at the first sign of any heat-related stresses.

It should go without saying but unfortunately every year it seems somewhere tragedy strikes when a child is left in a vehicle. Others lose pets because they are left in cars during the hot weather.

Whether the engine is running or turned off, never leave a child or pet in a vehicle alone.

It is going to get hot this week — really hot.

Remember to check on the elderly and vulnerable and pay close attention to all heat-related news and warnings.