Page 8 - Tim Deegan News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

May 12, 2021 Share He scurries through his apartment, downing a quick mug of coffee, brushing his teeth, feeding his pet rabbit, Auggie, before leaving. Not so long ago, Bill Mathis would have headed to his high school classroom to discuss great literature like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Odyssey” with his freshman. It was his dream job, the one he referenced in a childhood journal he still keeps: “I would love to be a teacher,” he scrawled in pencil as a third grader. Now Mathis has taken a new job, in Michigan’s newly legalized cannabis industry. The pay is better...

Researchers found that about half of American public servants said they were burnt out compared with 20% over workers overall -- then the pandemic hit.

No longer feeling the love, Michigan public service jobs becoming increasingly thankless By Martha Irvine STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - Teaching high school was Bill Mathis' dream job, the one he referenced in a childhood journal he still keeps: "I would love to be a teacher," he scrawled in pencil as a third grader. Now Mathis has taken a new job, in Michigan's newly legalized cannabis industry. The pay is better, the hours more regular, the stress less, he says. No longer does he worry that he'll catch COVID-19. "What about us and our families?" he asked his school board in Romeo, Michigan, las...

Ultimately, the 29-year-old teacher felt few in the rural suburb north of Detroit understood. “Good riddance,” one resident said. His is but one story of the plight of the American public servant. Historically, jobs like teaching, firefighting, policing, government and social work have offered opportunities to give back to communities while earning solid benefits, maybe even a pension. Surveys still show public admiration for nurses and teachers and, after the terror attacks of 9/11, firefighters. But many public servants no longer feel the love. They’re battered and burnt out. They’r...