Quiet quitting is a term burning up the internet and spreading across every social media platform. Commonly understood as "not going above and beyond, or working outside the work day," the subject has become a lightning rod for supporters and skeptics alike.

The once feared post-pandemic "great resignation" never fully materialized, and workers instead seemed to be opting towards keeping their familiar roles but approaching them in a different way. Vilified by some as creating a culture of laziness while hailed by others as a return to a better sense of work/life balance, the quiet quit is real and impacting the way America and the world operate.

A recent study showed that the trend that started during the latter stages of the pandemic has only grown. Currently, 32% of workers are actively engaged in their jobs, 18% are disengaged, and the remaining 50%? Well, they are just... MEH!

FIFTY PERCENT.

Perhaps even more alarming, but not surprising, is the fact that the trend of disengagement grows as the workers get younger.

Specifically, when polling workers under the age of 35, analysts discovered that:

The percentage of engaged employees dropped by six points.
From 2019 to 2022, the rate of actively disengaged employees increased by six points.
The rate of younger workers who believe their bosses care has dropped by 10 points.
Fully remote and hybrid young workers dropped 12 points in engagement.
Less than four in 10 young employees know what is expected of them at work.
Education is experiencing a similar issue, not just with struggling teachers considering leaving the profession, but with struggling students leaving school. K-12 education in America is compulsory, but post-secondary schools are experiencing an alarming increase in withdrawals and a significant decline in admission applications.

Is music education experiencing its own quiet quit? And, who is it impacting more, the teachers or the students?

Anecdotally speaking, I am hearing from many teachers that while many kids are functioning at pre-pandemic levels, a note-worthy portion of students are doing the bare minimum and not willing to go the extra mile.

Is it just the kids?

I am curious how many educators are working the same amount of hours as they did pre-pandemic? How many have the same rehearsal schedule and are driving just as hard? How many spent as much time this summer in the building as before?In short, how many teachers are teaching the exact same way, and putting in the same hours as they did pre-pandemic? And more importantly, should they be?

If we are different? How and why? And, are we and our students better off because of it? Is this adjustment a thinly veiled pass towards laziness, or is it a return to a better work-life balance and personal health?

Can it be both?

Is it possible that in all of the craziness of the pandemic, we were able to strip away the unnecessary and unimportant so we can do (work) less, but achieve the same or more?

Is it possible we learned that:

We don't need 107 pages of drill, 97 will achieve the same result.
Less time in the building during breaks makes for a better teacher for the students.
Notes and rhythms are the same in a grade 4.5 composition as they are in a grade 5, but the intensity of teaching it is different.
Kids can achieve the same results in nine hours a week that they did in 10.
Regardless of the level of demand, or difficulty of the source material, kids still smile, and laugh the same.

Most importantly, did we discover that we can be just as good, if not a better teacher, working 50 hours a week instead of 60? (And to be clear, 50 is still too much.)

Yes, the world is full of quiet quitters, and music education is no different. Similar to the workplace study, 32% of music teachers may have returned to full engagement and are embracing the grind.

Are they a martyr or masochist? You can decide for yourself.

Me? I don't want to be either.

Have a great week!

- Scott