How Do Teachers Losing Their Jobs Affect Students?

By Jessica Lipman
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Recently in Maryland throughout all counties, teachers have lost their jobs due to budget cuts. What does this mean for the teachers? Teachers who have lost their jobs are now in search for new schools and buildings to work in. What does this mean for the classrooms?

The teacher to student ratio is expected to increase overtime as less teachers will be teaching the students. Although school systems may think this is a smart idea for schools to save money, is it a smart idea for the welfare of the students?

In school during classes, teachers are expected to have time for all of their students and be able to help each one individually. Because of this increase, teachers will have to teach large classes and may not be able to help students more often individually. With this change, students will not be able to have the proper teacher and student bond and it may cause a decrease in students’ grades and more stress upon the teachers. Junior Carlie Olenick explained how she thinks this change will affect learning in schools negatively. Olenick stated that if there are more students in a classroom then she will expect “many students’ grades to drop significantly and more stress to be placed on students.”

This change might as well not only affect the grades of a student but it could also affect the well being of a student. With less time receiving individual help from their teachers, students may have more stress added onto them. With this mental issue, it could lead to students receiving failing grades and deprivation of sleep from late nights of homework, studying, and trying to understand the topics students are learning in school. The stress placed upon the students could also lead to more health concerns and create a larger increase in mental health problems. Junior Sam Cho also agreed with Olenick and said that “if this change affects all schools then there will be a tremendous decrease in students’ academic performances in their classes and create an even more stressful environment for the students.” The layoffs of these teachers are not only affecting the teachers, but they are affecting the mental health and grades of students and relationships between the students and teachers. As teachers have to focus on more students in their classes, this issue could create less class time and after school help from teachers and students not being able to feel comfortable with their teachers.  
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Ever since students have noticed teachers losing their positions in schools, students in the affected schools and even the unaffected schools are becoming worried how this will affect them, their grades, and the amount of stress and expectations that will be put upon them. With the new change of the teacher to student ratio, right now it is unpredicted how this will affect teachers and their students personally, but it is expected from the many students that the layoff of teachers will not benefit schools and the students’ education.