Episode: 372

Episode Title: Trapped in a Vicious Cycle

Students need a human connection, but many teachers are too overworked and burned out to create it. It’s a vicious cycle, coming up next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 372 show:

Hello and welcome—you’re now in The Perna Syndicate! Today we’re digging into the vicious cycle that is burning out teachers and hurting students. And it’s simply the lack of human connection in schools today. 

In order to reach and teach students effectively, teachers must forge a human connection with them. Today’s younger generations simply will not move forward in their education and career journey without that connection. The need for connection is non-negotiable; it’s just who they are. 

The vast majority of teachers truly want to forge that meaningful connection with students. In fact, for many it was the driving force behind their decision to enter the profession. 

But, understaffed and overworked as they are, many teachers simply have no time to show students that they see, hear, and care about them. These teachers have been living in survival mode for the past two years. And there’s not a lot of bandwidth for relationship building when you’re just trying to survive. 

This creates a vicious cycle. Students aren’t performing, so more burdens are placed on teachers to help students hit the mark, thus decreasing teachers’ time to forge a human connection with students that is the basis for all learning. 

Teachers’ legs are cut out from under them, yet they’re still expected to carry their students across the finish line. It’s a gridlock—and we’ve got to break it. 

Tomorrow, what happens long term if we fail to forge a human connection with students? We’re going to look at some scary things we can expect to see if this gridlock isn’t broken. See you tomorrow on the next episode of The Perna Syndicate!