I just got called into the principal’s office because over half of my students have a D or lower. I refused to compromise for students who are clearly not interested in learning the content. Principal: “Why does this student have a 39%?” Me: “They have 9 missing assignments.” Principal: “Why does this student have a 27%?” Me: “They’ve been absent for 70% of the class periods since the start of the semester, and for some reason doesn’t check Google Classroom where I post videos going over our assignments step by step.” Principal: “Are you grading them on responsibility or whether or not they reach TEKS standards?” Me: “…. I can’t grade their bike riding skills if they refuse to even get on the bike.” These are high school students, at some point you have to take responsibility for your own learning, and I hate how the onus always falls back to teachers to come up with ways to pass students who shouldn’t. Going back to my bike riding analogy this is akin to me putting training wheels on the bike, holding the handles for them the entire way and “grading” their bike riding skills. However as soon as I let go of the handles they fall, scrape their knee and everyone blames me: the student, parents, and administrators. I’m definitely quitting once this school year is over. The pay just isn’t worth the bullshit I have to put up with.
You're in Texas. Our state sucks for teachers. I retired in 2009 and nothing has changed. People clamor about how much they support public schools but there is so much wrong 10:01 going on. The system is broken.
I'm not coming back either . This is my first year ever teacher and my background was never Educated. I'm overwhelmed, stressed to the max . The workload is never ending , I don't have a normal life anymore . My health has even declined dealing with this . The behavior of children is beyond my comprehension and I teach in Elementary.
I had 2 students I saw all throughout the day, every day for over a week. But they were not coming to my class. Their teacher came to me asking if I was giving them passes to be in his class. I said no. He showed me the passes they were giving him. THEY WERE FORGING MY SIGNATURE. Wrote a discipline referral. Administration refused to do anything to discipline them.
I'm 35 and quit teaching 1.5 years ago and I'm now working as a UX designer. Best decision of my life. Best lesson taken: teachers are creative and good at decision making and can easily adapt in new fields. If you can do teaching, you can do (nearly) anything. Wishing you all the best!
"If you can do teaching you can do anything"? Surely this is a joke, right? You gonna put a teacher in the infantry? What a goofy virtue signal. If you're a teacher you're literally just some person that knows more about some useless subject than your average Joe. And I do mean useless. The education system is utterly broken and has been since I was a child (I'm 30).
Not to sound callous, I used to be a high school teacher early in my career, but at what point are we going to stop lying to ourselves. Public education is basically just state sponsored babysitting at this point, until all these problems are solved in public education, I feel like that's where it is at, just the free babysitting from the state, the education part is like 5+ on the list.
I would agree here, having been a sub teacher last year and for one month this year in Florida. I myself went through almost all private schools including a Catholic college prep high school in Chicago and the differences were so staggering to public schools I would have thought the schools were in different countries. Note at least in early 2000s Catholic prep schools taught at a very high level and were extremely rigorous, in some ways more so than my undergrad and graduate universities.
I disagree, some of the greatest influences on my life were teachers who actually broke the script a bit and gave us a perspective on life. It's not easy I understand. But don't ever think your drawing blank. You could be getting through to many
I get some of these in the work force where no one is "giving them a pass" and they get themselves fired by attendance alone. Or their ratings ("grades") are so low they are locked in an entry level position, act out, then get fired, or... unfortunately during any lay off, they cut from low performers first. Then there's the late 20s-late 30s crowd that WAS the younger idiot who went through a bunch of jobs just like the kids mentioned above. After getting reality jammed in their face, with no parents--who did them zero favors--to bail them out... They all of a sudden become good workers and "get it..." Their parents and school system sis them a disservice--but better late than ever.
It's not fair to blame the parents, the children, or the teachers. The whole system is toxic and to blame. School is an unnatural institution. The parents likely spent most of their formative yrs in school. School is showing that it is not created well rounded, intelligent, balanced people. Everyone is to blame for buying into this sham of a culture.
@@purpleglitter9596I agree. I’m a parent and a teacher. It’s a battle at home and at school. It’s Culture of society. I think about the tv shows and movies on when I was a kid vs now. Post 2000 parents and adults are always portrayed as clueless idiots and disrespecting them is seen as good and moral. Any rule or standard is made to look mean and oppressive.
You probably hear this a lot! School was not like this when I grew up in the 70's. The worst behaviors were kids chewing gum, passing notes, whispering in class, running in the halls, and being late for class. No one ever talked back to the teachers. Kids were nervous about parent teacher night! And facing the vice principal😵💫I am so sad for teachers these days.
Dang idk where yall live but the students here at high school are petrified of the thought of getting trouble while we have teachers that reuse lessons from a decade ago and talk about stuff that has nothing to do with the class and if we start getting too loud all they have to do is shout and the students will listen instantaneously (this is in California btw, where parents are supposed to have no control over their kids at all). I see like one or two kids talk back but that’s about it so I wanna know where yall at because if it ain’t cali it definitely isn’t in the south.
I hear you - but I will say from the other side too (and admittedly maybe this is more of a problem in charter and private schools), but I’m not that old and the real bullies were the teachers. They abuse their power. Based on all the stories I hear from boomers I feel like back then the teachers were the biggest bullies as well We have to figure out a way to balance the power with teachers so that they are able to take the difficult students out of the classroom to let the students that actually want to try have a place to learn, but not so much that they can get petty with students that are actually trying just because they don’t like some aspect about them
High School teacher. The amount we do and then the absolute disrespect. It's wild how this society will step on you to reach its' goal and then tell you you're the problem.
Man, it sounds like school has completely done a 180 since I was a young student. Back in the 80s, a majority were decent students, maybe one or two weren’t. Parents and teachers worked together. It was a pretty simple system that seemed to work. Of course, we didn’t have cell phones, social media and we didn’t have the same type of access to news kids have now. For better or worse, unless it were major like the Challenger shuttle explosion or Berlin Wall coming down, I hadn’t a clue what was going on in the world. We did have Nintendo but nobody played all day every day, we still went outside all day in the summer. God, I feel like an old dude, but I guess that was 35 years ago haha. But I feel ya man, you gotta go with your gut, if you feel like you can’t do what you love to do properly then it’s a good move to get out. There may be other districts or private schools that may have a different structure and be more conducive to teaching and learning. There are still good districts out there. Keep your head up
Adults should not be in school that long. It's not working and never will. Adults should be working and discovering new interests. Teenagers is a term that is made up to extend childhood. It's not disrespect you or any other teacher. It's the system that doesn't work.
I agree th teachers are working very hard. We are disrespected by both students and administration. To complete our jobs we need to work after school and weekends. I teachers stope doing this and spending our own money the system would collapse.
Amount is quantity. Quality is what is lacking. The teachers who study “education” as a major should perhaps study an actual subject before they decide to “teach”.
I'm a teacher in Argentina, with 11 years experience teaching in high school. I relate to everything you say. Yet, in my case, I've made decision some years ago to avoid working outside school hours. I don't correct anything at home or devote a single hour of my weekend to planning classes. I do what I can AT school. Yes, that's lowering standards but it's the only way to continue in the system without suffering from burnout. My own motto now is : I do what I can with what the system allows me to do. I need to pay my bills so I can't quit and need a stable income.
How do you manage to correct hundreds of exams while having to teach students what they're supposed to learn? I tried doing that and went crazy (that's when I used to be a high school teacher, now I do something else). By the way, saludos desde Brasil, neighbour
Hermano, hable recien en otro comentario del estado de nuestra educacion. Es muy loco ver que pasa en otros lugares que uno cree tan distintos del nuestro. Ser docente en Argentina para muchos se ha convertido en una pesadilla, y me entristece muchisimo tener cada vez menos esperanza de que algo mejore. Un abrazo enorme!
I hope teachers develop class consciousness in the coming years. A lot of propaganda goes into education by valorizing it as a noble profession that workers should consider a "calling" as you say and thus willingly suffer highly exploitative labor practices and starvation wages. In truth, the capitalist education system serves two purposes: 1. Conditioning children to enter the workforce as an indoctrinated proletarian workforce, and 2. Free childcare for workers so they can show up and make profits for the ruling class. If teachers go on strike it GRINDS the gears of capitalism to a halt. If teachers realize that this is not some social evil but just a fair way for workers to use their labor for their own class benefit it could lead to profound changes in our entire system. Solidarity!
There's still a large push back from the education community about how things like strikes will negatively impact students and families. Unfortunately, until educator needs are met, children and families are already being negatively impacted because they're not getting the best version of their teacher. We were in that position last year due to some budget issues in our district and we were unable to come together in solidarity for better treatment. It's frustating.
@@TheMidlifeDropout Don't agree with this person! They are a Marxist. Marxists want to abolish Capitalism, the nuclear family, and any society with enviable freedoms.
It's much more complex than demanding improvement. What is the source of the problem? kids using unlimited phones? schools that wont back their teachers because of risk of lawsuit? gentle parenting that never tells kids no, creating children who expect instant gratification and no cost? a society that doesn't value teachers and doesn't know what they're going through? a massive exodus of the "good" teachers, exacerbating the problem? curriculae creators/idealogical pushers that are more interested in a cheap dollar than quality (this piggy backs on your number 1, which is very valid)? greedy politicians and unions with too much lining in their pockets? complex problems require more than picket signs. other than teachers being underpaid (because society doesn't value them like they should), which of the above problems are solved by free childcare?
I have friends who have a five year old in kindergarten. Several days ago, their kid snuck over to the teacher's desk when the teacher wasn't looking, picked up the teacher's phone and was trying to play with it, and then dropped it and shattered the screen. My friends were appalled when the teacher called them about it and told her to punish their kid and offered immediately to do whatever it took to get her phone fixed. My friend showed me a text she got back from the teacher saying, "thank you guys for actually caring, thank you for believing me and being OK with showing your daughter consequences for this". Seeing that text, it was obvious that the teacher was used to dealing with parents who don't care about her as a person and an administration that doesn't either.
Good parents there. The last parent teacher meeting I went to was an absolute 💩 show. The math teacher was talking about how there is a difference between a student struggling and not trying at all. The parent of the kid yelled at the teacher and was so nasty the teacher was in tears. 😢
@christopherleubner6633 The percentage of adults in society who operate with such a false sense of entitlement has gone WAY up, in my opinion. It's astounding how many people believe they are entitled to a lack of accountability for their own behavior (or the behavior of their children). It doesn't feel like it was this way 20 years ago when I was a young adult. Maybe it was a little, but it seems to get worse and worse in this society over time. Rampant individualism breeds selfish behavior and avoidance of accountability. It's so disheartening.
Dang where yall live my high school has teachers who are authoritarian and students who are petrified at even the possibility of getting a “bad grade” on an assignment and this is all in cali mind you!
I refuse to ever teach in the USA again. I was teaching in other countries for a while and I loved it. I now work for the public library and there's a lot of people who are former teachers who also work there.
That's something I've considered. I really love education still - I'd like to still be in educational spaces. Just not as a general education teacher anymore.
I taught in South Korea. It’s getting pretty bad there too. Two Korean teachers recently committed suicide because of threats from the parents of students that were causing problems at school. It seems less and less parents want to take responsibility for how their children behave.
I’ve been a school psychologist for the past 20 years now. I empathize with all of what you brought up. It’s so freakin hard to be a teacher right now. 😢❤
Why are you blaming liberals? I’m a conservative but I still don’t blame an entire party for parent behavior? It’s clear parents are spoiling their children and not disciplining them at home, which is why they act insane at school, but i don’t blame politics. That’s just irresponsible parenting.
@@user-lt1jd1ye3v Because it is literally their French/German enlightenment that has took over the curriculum, lol. We are people of the Scottish enlightenment. The left has rejected the very principles of our nation.
As a mom, I am shocked at how hard teachers work. The amount of nonsense you poor people have to deal with is TOO much! Teachers and healthcare workers are hit the hardest by our ridiculous administrative class. But also, there’s a strange relationship between teachers and parents/students. Parents need to recognize that teachers are their partners, not their employees. We aren’t the “boss”. Teachers should be treated with the utmost respect and seen as the experts in education. They care so much about our children. Support them! Not with class parties or gifts, but with RESPECT
Teachers quitting jobs is a global trend. Many teachers who love teaching apologize for leaving their jobs in videos, feeling as though it's their fault or failure. But everything you said in this video is true. I believe the main issue is bad parenting, as even principals are afraid of children nowadays. In my opinion, we can blame this on "child psychologists" who always take the child's side, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. Despite parents' or teacher's efforts, they are always blamed for everything. Whenever you try to teach children something, you're accused of child abuse, causing stress, or putting pressure on them. However, life is filled with stress and pressure, and we need to learn to cope with it rather than avoid it. Nowadays, children don't take responsibility for their actions, which will affect their ability to be responsible adults. Children are given many rights without understanding that every right comes with equal responsibility and consequences.
As a Christian parent, I’m unable to parter with public school because they “don’t want Jesus there.” Therefore, they don’t want proper, Biblical values/morals taught by parents to students or teachers to students. It’s a cultural problem = moral relativism/ no right or wrong. If there’s no standards of right or wrong, how can behavior be properly managed?
@@saraz9017normal, well adjusted people don't need the threat of eternal torture to not murder people. If you can't see how people teach values without that then maybe the problem lies with you
@@saraz9017A Christian would still partner and try. Additionally, morals are not intrinsically linked to religion. It sounds like you are making excuses.
I drilled into my teenage son to always be extra respectful to his teachers even if and when he feels they are being unfair and I have to say I get emails from his teachers every year praising how wonderful and respectful he is. I wish everyone did that to make teachers lives a little easier.
The worst part of leaving teaching is the guilt you feel for leaving your "calling". I greived the students I left for a year. I was told the kids need me, l'm a good teacher, but I relate to all the reasons you gave for leaving. Now I have a corporate job with a great work-life balance and I get treated like a competent adult! I can take sick days without guilt
Yes! I can go to the restroom whenever I want without having to call the office to get permission and an assistant to come to my class. The office doesn't always say yes, either.
Sixth Grade student acting up, rudely interrupting a school gathering, not recognizing us three teachers trying to get her attention. I, being closest, tap her on the shoulder, whispering in her ear to have her regain control. In the Parent-Teacher conference in the next week I am threatened with violence, to be waiting for me at my car, by her loud, large and aggressive father. I had been confused for months about continuing as a teacher. He made my decision so easy.
@@VonLuhv it must hurt to know the truth and deny it. If they were white it would be easy to say it and undoubtedly they would not be Asian. Sterotypes exist for a reason and it's not racism.
Well you probably should have used better judgement and not touched her. It’s easier to just assume that the parents are being ridiculous, than to acknowledge it’s unclear how aggressively you acted, despite the fact you touched his daughter at all.
High school teacher here! I think a huge problem is that people on the outside view teaching as a "calling," which makes them justify overworking and underpaying teachers because it's a calling! We should sacrifice for this and suffer for this. When it comes down to it, it's a job. It's how we provide for ourselves and our families. Also, as a high school teacher, there is something very different about teaching now vs. prior to the pandemic. Kids have changed and rhe expectations parents and students (and possibly admin) have about what a teacher's role is has changed. All this is combined with advances in tech (namely AI) that make behavior issues and cheating so much more prevalent, and it makes teaching so much less fun.
I agree completely. I just retired, but the last few years of teaching, after the pandemic, were a very different experience. The level of disrespect of students and parents toward teachers increased exponentially. It's so very sad. You're so right - that it drains any fun from teaching.
I work at an elementary school. The kids are in control and admin allows it. When you try to give a direction to a student, I've heard kids say "my mommy told me I don't have to do that, and if you have a problem to call her." Parents' response to their bad kids is "my kid doesn't act like that at home, so that's your problem at school". Admin's response to violent students that verbally and physically attack/ threaten staff is to let them come to the office to "de-escalate" by playing games and then sending them back to class. Kid might get sent home for half a day and return the next day to wreak havoc all over again. It's actually very shocking to see what public school has become.
Oh my. I know this story all too well. Do you mean going to the office and getting a bag of chips/cookies/game playing to regulate isn't an effective consequence?
@@TheMidlifeDropout Exactly! Apparently the classroom calm down corners aren't enough, so let's take the kid who just bit the teacher, down to the office to play Legos and have a treat. I find myself almost at a loss for words everytime I walk in the school.
Everything you say is the same in my school except students don’t go to the office. We aren’t allowed to “exclude” students from “education.” I put “education” in quotes because what’s then happening is the rest of us are held hostage to the screaming, yelling, etc. kid who is not allowing their classmates to be educated. It’s awful. All we teachers can seem to do is keep complaining through our union and hope that the rest of the kids’ parents finally complain enough mass to the news media, because the school board is deaf to public comments.
From the students perspective, yes, you're absolutely right. The "good" students see this and feel helpless, because we go into a classroom wanting to learn and we are constantly interrupted by the misbehavior of other students, which then makes us dread going to class, which then makes us have no motivation to do anything, and suddenly we too are one of the "bad" students because there is only so much we can take. This is obviously an oversimplification but the point remains; it's a vicious cycle. I'm afraid the problem lies much deeper and until people no longer need to worry about whether or not they'll make this month's rent (cost of living crisis) the education system will continue to be put on the back-burner. I hope this makes some semblance on sense, and thanks if you've read until the end.
No this is about respect, not cost of living. Also it’s a numbers issue. Used to be in a class of 25 you had 5 kids that caused trouble/ don’t care. Now it’s reversed. This is a system that is failing, don’t confuse it with “Cost of living”. It’s also a society that is failing. Ungrateful and godless. Slaves to material items and food. Best education we could give kids now is physical activity and purpose. Oh and parents. I’m 33 the writing was on the wall of all these issues looking back. The phones, social media accelerated the change to warp speed. I’ll see myself out. Hang in there and know eventually you will be a free adult. Choose your path wisely.
@matthewadams8294 I agree to an extent. Cost of living is only one piece of the problem, it happened to be the one that I thought of while writing my original comment. There are obviously many more complexities and more problems that are causing education to be treated as low priority. However, many of the problems you mentioned are values that one may hold as opposed to tangible societal/systematic issues. I should also mention I am not from the USA so my experience is likely very different in some regards, that being said cost of living problems is something I believe is quite widespread at the moment.
@ Fair enough. Things have never, ever been fair. Poverty or living wage ect are for another discussion. None of that explains how children are taken more seriously than the teachers, or that they don’t have any interest in learning. Or that they are disrespectful. Ect ect. That’s a sign of a society that is sick. Here in the US the food supply is poison, physical activity is a myth and our God is material wealth. Half the nation is on pills and overweight. I would say those things have much more of an impact. The media pushes this idea that everyone is a victim and it’s never your fault. BOTH sides. Personal accountability? Why do that when you can blame the teacher? Or blame the cops? Or blame a race? Ugh. Just ignore me lol. I’m grumpy today. I would be dead right now if I allowed myself to blame my Alcoholism on a lack of a father, crappy mom, death everywhere in childhood. Did those factors help? No…. But blaming them gets in the way of your own personal journey, your weaknesses, what actually matters. I dunno it certainly did away with a lot of my ego. A parent that takes their child’s side, over a competent teacher is blatant ego issues going from parent to child. Okay now I’m done.
@_itsnotstella. Thank you so much for sharing your experience as a student! I value your voice and your opinions! When I was a teenager, teachers could throw things at students, like staplers, pick on and bully certain students mercilessly, tell dirty jokes all day, and pretty much teach for five minutes and sit down for the rest of the hour. That was a long time ago, but like you, I wanted to learn but that opportunity was very teacher dependent. There were some good teachers but they were few and far between, so for a brief year, like you shared, I went over to be with the bad, burn out kids and got into some trouble until at the end of the year, the leader wisely advised me to go back to being a good student while I had the chance bc they were all going to juvie or military school or dropping out. I realized how important a teacher was for the students so I decided to become one. To my great surprise, the roles had reversed and students were allowed to be very abusive and take over the whole classroom. If I sent a student out, they were sent back with candy and a pat on the head, laughing as they returned from the VP’s office. Admin took a students word over mine even when there were threats of violence or even actual attacks. I broke up a fight in my room and got hit in the face, but admin could care less and didn’t even bother to see if I needed help. I had 35 students but only 24 chairs, but somehow I was supposed to have great classroom management. There were no supplies at all, we were given $50 a year for supplies, which doesn’t even buy a ruler for each of the classes. So we teachers all had to buy everything with our low paychecks. Our books were wildly out of date, so I spent a lot of time researching and creating up to date materials and activities for the classroom. But there was often a few students who would try to hijack the lesson, and my heart ached for the students who were really interested in learning. It was always a dance, do I send the student out, ignore them, talk over them, risk having them come back laughing from the VP and becoming even more disruptive than before. Teachers were treated so badly that I decided to take on becoming an administrator. My hope was that I could support teachers in supporting students. But some of the admin warned me that you think you can make a change, but now you have to answer to the next level of higher ups, and it’s the same situation all over again. And sure enough, we all took horrible abuse from angry, sometimes drug addicted parents screaming at us, and even the regular parents blaming admin for their child seriously beating up another child. And even though we had the violent attack on tape, because you are suspending them for the violent attack, they’re screaming that we’re biased. And if we didn’t do what they wanted, they would file a complaint with the superintendent and then we had to write up a detailed report, both verbally and written, in 24 hours to justify why we felt it necessary to suspend the student. And you know the superintendent didn’t like getting complaints from the parents, so again, their word was taken over our word as admin. So before you suspended a student, we had to be ready for to justify every action on our part. I tried to put support staff in the classroom to help with challenging students, but my boss pulled them all out and said I was coddling the teachers. I knew how hard it was to handle a room full of students of some with severe behaviors and challenges without any support or resources. We were in a very high poverty area that comes with all the challenges of high poverty (homelessness, domestic violence and child abuse, drug addiction, and so on) but expected to act like we were the same as areas without these challenges. Most of our day was filled with these situations. I actually got to spend a lot of time with the troubled students. And underneath, they wanted to be fairly held accountable. They wanted to do “good” but didn’t know how. I had a student thank me for suspending him for drugs. I tried to find creative ways to support them being able to sit in the classroom without acting out. I learned of the pain and abuse that they were experiencing on a daily basis and school was their haven, but they didn’t know how to get through the day without misbehaving. There are no easy answers, but we can all start holding each other accountable for our own actions and create a wonderful safe space to grow and learn. The future is ours to create.
@@leilaninelson-riley1212 I totally agree. I went to an alternate school for a while and it's honestly intresting to see how well the "bad" kids can do when they are given the proper resources. Kids would come into a class and have lots of issues, alcohol use, behaviour issues, etc. But they were given the opportunity to work to change those things and in a year or two they were graduating high-school when they thought for so long they would need to drop out. I believe alternate schools have a sort of negative connotation in the USA, but in canada (where I'm from) they are just treated as a different option for those who need it, and I honestly believe just a few simple changes can make a world of difference for some students.
I feel like the kids are still just amplifying the behaviors of the adults they look up to just like we did. Unfortunately, with parents not in the picture or apathetic, the adults end up being social media influencers instead of people the children know personally and are pushed on them by an algorithm. It's not the best way to find role models. Most of them have narcissistic tendencies to put it lightly. It's affecting even adults. I see behavior in general getting worse and I really worry for the future. Education isn't the only institution falling apart.
I recently retired after 30 years of teaching social science in high school. I left early for some of the same reasons that you did. Pay and benefits were pretty good because I was in a strong union (CTA). My main problem was with student behavior and overall apathy. Computers, phones, and social media have caused great harm. Some parents are partially to blame, but many are struggling to raise their kids. Your mental and physical health are more important than the hard work and sacrifices that you have made for others. I have had great years with great kids, but at 59, I can no longer power through the rigors of the classroom and the sleepless nights of constant stress. I hope you find happiness.
@@howareyou857I don't even know what that means? Imagine how my students feel? The ones actively telling me they don't care about education and it's pointless and you never need to know how to read or do basic math? Their "feelings" are the issue. I don't care how they feel about math. They have to learn how to do it I dotn care how they feel about reading.they have to do it. Caring about how the kids "feel" is rhe issue. Education isn't fun.im sure your last job orientation wasn't a riveting show full of entertainment. It was information needed to complete your job. That is most of school. They have to get over it.
@@robingalbraith323 well, as an ex teacher and now mental health clinician with 2 children who have SEND dx, I can tell you that understanding student needs and emotions is vital to academic success. If you don't understand this thank goodness you are leaving education.
@@curtiswilson137 Both my kids excelled BECAUSE I insisted their educators attended to their needs appropriately. And yes education should be motivating. No wonder you have experienced difficulties with attendance in your classes.
I’m a teacher assistant for first grade at my tribes private school for Native American students. It’s been a rough couple years and I definitely feel you on the pay part. I’m only going to do one more year then I’m going to school because I can’t survive like this. Living paycheck to paycheck for a job that requires your ALL and you don’t get the support you need from the school or most parents just doesn’t make it worth it in the end. I’ve experienced burnout these past 2 years. Hoping the best for you mate ✨
I’m glad more teachers are coming and speaking up like this. I just resigned my first teaching job. I didn’t even make it the quarter. I dealt with so much toxicity and disrespect. For me, the attacks from kids and their parents were about my gender. I won’t go into detail but all of the stuff you mention resonates coming from a middle school classroom. Administration is bogged down by other things, it’s almost like teaching isn’t the primary thing schools are supposed to do. Now I’m out a career and it feels like I’m mourning this huge aspiration I had built myself towards. I’m also feeling lost and like I’m starting over in my mid-thirties. Thx for sharing your story.
My sister completes her teaching degree at the end of the year (mid-thirties also, with a full law degree in hand). I _hope_ she resigns from her first job in the first year, and stays resigned. This industry does not deserve her gifts, which are considerable. Of course, I know that’s ultimately for her to judge.
We have a very similar story. I quit after a little over a year a week before my 34th bday. I went back to school this fall to get a paralegal certificate. It feels liberating to have a fresh start, but I also know it’s not easy to start over. Having said that, lots of places are hiring former educators from a variety of backgrounds. There’s definitely something out there for you ❤.
Seems you and I are very similar on a lot of the things you said. I didn't finish my final year of teaching due to immense toxicity, and i find myself floundering in my mid 30s while mourning a career that went nowhere while also continuing to have to pay it off.
For those getting out of education, look into "Instructional Design" jobs or college programs. It's where you can teach adults instead of K-12, and still use your teaching skills after leaving K12.
This is my 4th year teaching and I've experienced everything you have talked about. Out of all the things you mentioned, student disrespect is the number one reason why I want to find another career. A lot of these kids are just plain rude, disrespectful, and extremely unappreciative. You can buy brand new supplies or fun things to do for the class, and they will complain about it and/or destroy your materials. The disrespect is off the charts.
Yes, same here. Oh, I've got issues with the workload as well and educational policies that keep changing where I'm from, causing teachers to constantly start their planning from scratch. But the students are the main issue. The disrespect for me and for the subject is crazy. I don't feel like the amount of time, energy, and stress I go through is worth it at all. But I've been looking for another job for months without luck. It's tough to switch to some other career for some of us. I feel stuck in the abyss 😢
Funny, in my experience most students have the exact same complaints about the teachers. Except we don't get to escape from the abuse like you can :) Hard to feel sorry for you, considering you're the one in the privileged position. Worst thing a student can do is hurt your feelings. You can fuck up their life if you want.
@@DaveGrean I teach elementary school so I hardly consider myself privileged. What exactly are your teachers doing to abuse you? I'd really like to understand why you say that because at my school if a teacher was truly abusing a child they would be arrested and fired from their job. I'm sure there are some bad teachers out there, but most of us are nice people who try to build relationships with the students and see them succeed.
@@DaveGrean I second the question. How are teachers abusing you, exactly? I'm also wondering in what ways do you think teachers are privileged? And how do you think we "escape abuse"? To make your claim that teachers give a harder time to students than students to teachers, you need a good grasp of the condition of teachers as opposed to students. I'm not sure you have it.
You seem like such a kind soul. You deserve better. I quit teaching back in 2009 for all the same reasons as you! Parents and administrators not supporting me with discipline, parents reprimanding me bc their child said they didn’t do anything wrong. Tons of paperwork and not enough time to finish everything. Going on heart medication from the stress. No personal life. Not enough pay. Stayed at school working so late most days I would leave with the janitors at midnight! I loved teaching and working with kids but I also felt like that was “what I did on the side” as I had so much else on my plate. Now I have my own children and homeschool them. I am blessed I experienced the horror of public schools so I could know in the future not to send my children there. And I met some amazingly special children along the way that I will never forget. I had a negative experience in public school as a child but thought I could make it better for my students. The system is way too corrupt and teachers have no power to make a positive change with all the restrictions we work under. I pray you find a more fulfilling career. You definitely have a lot of skills from teaching. Police officer, therapist, secretary, event planner, curriculum planner, etc…. Good luck to you!🙏🏻
I am with you. I taught for 20 years and last year I had a major breakdown. I am a stage 4 cancer patient, was harassed by a guy students and was bullied by the whole class of students just bc one of the students disagreed with me regarding her grade. instead of empathising with me or supporting me, my management took away my job and forced me to resign. I went to the principal to complaint. He said I was being sick too often that the school lost trust in me. He gave me an admin job n I had to prove that I was not insane to get back my job. I had no choice bc I need money to pay for my rent, medical bill and I am a single mother . I was not able to get another job so I stayed . I am counting down the days when my son finished Uni so that I can quit. Prior to teaching I was a cancer researcher and was never treated this bad. I won’t recommend anyone to teach right now.
Excellent video! I'm quitting before I even begin. I had thoughts of making the transition into teaching...and then I started subbing. There's no way that i can keep up with the workload/manage behaviors/do small groups/fill out paperwork/give students with special needs adequate attention etc etc. Like you said...teachers are expected to be cops, social workers, therapists... it's not working! None of it works. From the way that it's funded to the insane testing... it's pretty much awful and giving COLLAPSE. These kids aren't learning. They don't WANT to learn. They can barely use their imaginations. I subbed for a 2nd grade class for two weeks and half of these kids couldn't even sound out letters. It's really the saddest thing. And then they just get passed on anyway 😢 How does a kid move up when they can't even write a sentence!?! It's not even their fault but they'll end up paying for it dearly. I didn't think that the future would look like this at all. So despite having a gift for teaching...I've abandoned my plans to go into the field. I'm going to put my energy into becoming a reading interventionist, sign up with an agency to do contract work, and call it a day.
"They can barely use their imaginations." The presumptuousness is just embarrassing. How do you know, buddy? Have you ever considered that maybe they just don't want to use their imagination in the way you want them to? Maybe they just don't care about what you have to teach? Or maybe you don't have as much of a 'gift' as you seem to assume. It sure is funny how this never seems to happen to good teachers that the students like. Must be a coincidence, surely. Or must be the students' fault, right? Lmao
@@DaveGrean And I did say that it's not their fault because...why would it be? They've only been on this planet for 7 years. They are being failed by the SYSTEM!
Oh, I don't think you have a gift for teaching, based on your comment. If the kids don't WANT to learn, the kids aren't the problem, you are. All kids WANT to learn. That's how human adaptation has made us, it's hardwired. I agree that there are issues around funding, testing, restricting subject matter, etc, but to say kids don't want to learn shows a fundamental lack of perspective required for teaching.
@@DaveGrean It's clear that your comprehension skills need work because I said that it's not their fault. Why would it be? They are the product of the society that WE created for them! So yes...they lack imagination, they lack critical thinking, and they lack a willingness to learn because look at the world they've been brought into. The system has failed them.
I quit 3 years in. Taught 11th grade English. It sucked my soul and wrecked my wellbeing. I loved my students, but they also could be extremely disrespectful and there was no accountability from admin. Teachers were treated guilty until they could prove themselves innocent if students accused us of anything. It was terrible. Edited to add: I only made $42,000. And it was a private school.
I've noticed similar trends teaching college. The abuse of passionate people by administration is so distressing and the apathy of students is heartbreaking. K-12 teachers are fucking heroes, and I'm glad you're taking steps to make a life that you can feel good about living.
That's because the college students coming right out of high school just got years of the administration encouraging entitled, narcissistic behavior. I keep hearing about K-12 teachers being forbidden from giving "negative consequences." Any negative consequences. The kids aren't allowed to be even mildly embarrassed for the way they behave. They get to college thinking the teachers there are going to treat them the same way....give them good grades just for coming in the room and sitting there, let them sit there on their phones, let them sit there and chat with friends.
Teacher here from Canada and unfortunately it's the same for us teachers here. I've been teaching almost 18 years and the burnout is real! I feel exactly as you do. As you've mentioned more keeps getting added to our load but we are never given any grace
I have a middle schooler and it's just heart breaking to hear that caring teachers like you are going through this. I think that as parents we need to demand systemic change because our children's future is at stake. God bless 🙏. (We also have cats, we have four:)
High school teacher here. I feel ypur pain and totally empathize. I heard some students hurling expletives at each other on the corridor today in the presence of teachers and I really had to ask myself if this is the kind of environment I want to be in every day. Like you said just the widespread disrespect and disregard that teachers endure in addition to the poor work life balance.
My father recently was a public school teacher at one of the lower ranking schools in my city. It’s also notorious for the bad behavior of the students. My dad, who went into it FINALLY having achieved his goal of teaching, left after 2 weeks. The children acted borderline barbaric to him. Endless days of abuse towards him and other children nearly broke him
So sorry to hear that. No doubt, your father has a big heart, and I commend his intentions in going into teaching. I'm recently retired, but shocked at the types of behavior that take place in classes. Shout out to your father! What a good hearted guy! Those kids likely missed out on having a great teacher.
This video came at exactly the right time. I needed to hear someone else say all the things out loud. In addition I’m sacrificing my own children to this mess. It’s not worth it. I hate it so much and life is too short to wake up and hate every day.
I'm a school psych in a European country. I make less at school than a teacher but I also have three more part time jobs and a struggling private practice to make up the difference and to be able to live on the public sector salary. This year I was also asked to teach one lesson a week since I was the only adult at school who knew German and there's a huge shift from teaching Russian as the third language instead of Russian (because of Russia's war with Ukraine - I'm in Latvia which is a neighboring country and very threatened by Russia). So for the first time I can experience first hand what a teacher goes through. Your video is so poignant and so disarmingly honest that I'm completely captivated. It seems shocking to me - the similarities teachers go through in opposite corners of the world. Your video makes me hasten up with all the side hustles and other jobs in order to leave school. I thank you for making the video.
HELLO FROM THE SOUHTERN USA !! RETIRED TEACHER , DUE TO ABOVE PODCASTER BUT IT WAS MUCH WORST , IN 1970'S I HAD A FRIEND FROM AUSTRIA, HE GREW UP AND WAS FRIENDS WITH ARNOND SWEZZNEGGER ( SP? YIKES ), USED AS INTRO, BUT HE WAS A MASTER SCUPTOR AND TOLD ME ABOUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND AT ABOUT AGE 12 OR 13 TESTS WERE GIVEN TO DETERMINE THE BEST DIRECTION FOR THE STUDENTS , SO HE WAS APPRENTICED TO A MASTER , AND SO WAS ARNOLD ( LOL, WATCH ME I WILL BECOME FAMOUS MAN IN HOLLYWOOD , REALLY DUDE CALM DOWN AS THEY SMOKED SOME WEED , IT WAS THE 1960'S ) , SO I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS , AND THEN OVER YEARS NOTICED A PATTERN, YOU ARE SOCIALISTS AND HOW CLING TO THAT CLASS SYSTEM , SO IT SEEMS THAT USA HAS A SOCIALIST SYSTEM FOR TEACHERS ONLY , WE WORK AS WOMEN WANT TO GIVE SO MUCH FOR FREE, NO WE DO NOT , NEVER LISTEN TO ONE WORD ABOUT AMERICAN WOMEN BY SOME AMERICAN MEN/WOMEN OR ANY MAN , WOMEN IN AMERICA ARE BEYOND ANGRY AND MEN TAKING OVER TEACHING AND NURSING THE ONLY FIELDS ONLY TO MY BOOMER GENERATION OF WOMEN , SO NOW THE MEN , WHO BTW SHOULD NOT BE AROUND YOUNG CHILDREN IN FIRST DAMN PLACE , THEY ARE XY;S AND MEN AND XY'S AND SEX SEX SEX AND THEY WILL DO IT !! SO NOW YOU HAVE MEN EVERYWHERE IN THE FEW POSITIONS OPEN TO AMERICAN WOMEN BUT NEVER THINK WE ARE NOT GOING TO KICK THE BOYS OUT !! SO WELCOME TO ITS A MAN'S WORLD AGAIN AND DO THEY NOT WHINE AND CRY MORE AND GOSSIP MORE AND WANT WANT WANT MORE AND MORE AND NEVER THINK MARGARET ATWOOD'S A HANDMAID'S TALE IS NOT TRUE, LOOK AT THE WORLD OF MEN ! SO NOW YOU BEST GET PREGNANT , MEN WILL DO ANYTHING TO DESTROY US EVEN THAT BOY DOING THIS PODCAST WITH A MILLENIAL CAP ON IS SILLY BALDING HEAD, HE IS JUST GETTING A DOSE OF WELCOME TO WOMEN;S WORLD !! SO I GET IT AND I AM SORRY BUT THE MEN ARE USELESS NOW AND ALL OF THE ARE BECCMGING HOMOSEXUALS ??? SO BOYS IN EUROPE GOT MAMA ISSUES ??? THEY ARE XY;S AND INCOMPLETES AND NOT REALLY HUMAN , WOMEN ARE XX MEN ARE XY SO MEN ARE INCOMPLETES AND GETTING MORE AND MORE DANGEROUS AND WATCH YOUR MENSES AS TELL NO ONE , TELL NO ONE , I SURE HOPE YOU LISTEN TO ME, NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT YOUR MENSES , THE MEN WHO ARE IN CHARGER AND GOVT ARE KEEPING RECORDS , TELL YOUR WOMEN FRIENDS TO GET ON WITH OHTER WOMEN AND FIGHT THESE MEN !! MEN CREATED THIS MESS AND MEN WANT TO KEEP US IN THOSE HOUSEWIFE/MAMA / MAID/ SEX WORKER ROLES , MEN ARE THE PROBLEM AND OUR GREATEST DANGER AND WHY YOU ARE BEING USED AND WORKED ALMOST TO DEATH AND IT IS FAR WORST IN USA, YOU HAVE BEEN SOCIALIST AND NOW NO MONEY AND WHY SOCAILISM ALWAYS FAIL AS MEN ALWAYS FAIL !!
I am so sorry you're going through this, which must feel so conflicting and heartbreaking. I was a teacher for just 6 years and loved it until the last year, when I switched to a new school that was similar to how you are describing -- absolute lack of support from admin and depressingly low expectations for children's abilities to learn academically and socially. I always tell people who ask if I would go back to teaching that, if i lived a 72-hour day, I absolutely would. I would even consider it now if I did not have two young kids (because, truly, I don't know how people work less than 60 hours/week either!), but I'm not sure I thick enough skin for it. I want people to be teachers and to love it and feel that it loves them back. Or at least to feel respected and receive fair compensation. But so many districts have a lot to do to get their houses in order and keep teachers convinced that they are wanted there. (That being said I am still a million percent a defender of public schools and will always vote to keep them increasingly well funded!) Best wishes on the next career step, wherever it takes you.
I asked for 50k due to my experience (3 years in special edk-12 art, 4 as an adult special ed art) as an art teacher for an elementary school. HR rejectected me. Told me next day I'm not worth that. Next day principal calls me up and is making negotiations because he didn't understand. I'm in the job now at 45k and it's definitely not enough plus 14% of my pay being taken out and im making the same as I did working at a grocery store while I spent 8 years on my degree. Not worth it. Then art is considered "special" and isn't respected and im running around doing other teachers things snd they alwsys wonder why I never have the art cart ready. I asked for my own classroom was rejected. Think about my why: Really hard to when I'm hired as an art teacher but I'm also doing every other job possible in the building. I've been been an algebra sub and I don't know advanced algebra 😵💫 my why is to educate on creativity not monitor gym or sub for someone whose sick an entire day on subjects I was never trained in or be the librarian.... it's too many hats not enough pay
The problem is not you, the problem is the culture has become toxic and the system is broken. If teachers can get past the guilt associated with leaving then there might be hope to completely revamp the Education system. If teachers continue to remain it will only extend the life of this monstrosity. The moment I left the education profession my anxiety attacks stopped. I remained within the school district as a custodian. My vacation days doubled, I have more floating holidays and I get paid more than I ever did. Please realize that this profession is not worth losing your health.
To your point about people saying "well just work contract hours". I always say what you said, which is you literally can't say you're doing your job if you DON'T take that extra time, because many of those tasks are integral to the work. But most importantly, after much reflection when quitting teaching in 2022, I realized this: I cannot in good conscience do a C+ effort at my work. It's not who I am. I cannot respect myself if I do that. And my work has to have purpose. I think a lot of teachers are built that way too.
Yup. I subbed at an elementary school recently where lunch is essentially 35 minutes and the "planning period" is 30 mins. There's no way teachers aren't bringing work home.
@@BeeGeeTee Wow. The teachers actually got their lunch time without students and a planning period! Some schools don't have planning periods. They are supposed to, but they are filled with grade-level meetings, Special Education meetings, etc.
I am also a teacher and I agree 100 %. However, a good alternative I took was TEFL, or teaching English as a foreign language. And in that realm, some of the things you mentioned actually change completely. For example: students interest in what you are doing in a class: you ultimately become a facilitator!!
Good advice. I switched from HS math to middle school special education. It's the same 7 or 8 kids all day in my room. The parents are generally very grateful that someone (anyone) would be brave enough to watch their kid all day. Admin never comes in my room, they're afraid of autism or something. 🥹
I have currently been looking into TEFL. Is that what you're doing currently? What is your country? Do you find the issues in the video to be prevalent in your country?
I agree with every single point in this video: every one. I also have two degrees, I taught middle and/or high school for 5 years, and I had to adapt to teaching during the pandemic: the only difference with me is I'm not sure I was that good a teacher, but that could just be self-doubt. 3 years ago, I was pink-slipped, and that turned out to probably the best thing that could have happened to me. Since then I've started second career path, and it is so much better it's unbelievable: just the work-life balance alone, to be truly off the clock when I'm off the clock, just makes my life so much more bearable. And everything that I've been hearing from my teacher friends, makes it sound like things have gotten even worse since then: it really feels like we're rapidly approaching a mass breaking point, where schools will have to undergo some massive overhaul/paradigm shift in order to keep functioning, instead of what feels like fixing a sinking ship with band-aids. There are things that I miss about teaching, of course: I've worked a bit as a tutor on the side since then, and have found that much more to my liking. I wish you luck, good sir, and you've earned yourself an immediate like and sub
Guys it’s not the parents. It’s the admin. You can be a great parent but if admin rewards your kids for undermining their teacher then they still become a nightmare at school even if they are good at home. Cause they know they can get away with it
Admin acts like that b/c all day it is their job to deal with crazy parents. They get worn down as much as teachers. As a teacher you might gave 2-3 crazy parents. Admin has that many crazies multiplied by number of classes.
I began my career at a residential facility for children and teenagers with disabilities. I found the work enjoyable, but since it was overnight, my body never fully adapted after three years. Because I loved working with kids, I decided to transition into teaching special education, enrolling in a graduate program in Special Education and becoming a paraprofessional. I already hold a degree in Psychology. However, my classroom experience led me to abandon that degree after working tirelessly for straight A's during my first and only year in the program. The lack of support from both administration and parents was striking. I had a student who frequently disrupted the classroom, and her mother only sent her to school to avoid dealing with her at home. This child had surgery on a Wednesday and returned to school by Friday. It was outrageous. We felt completely powerless to help her, and as a result, the other students' educational experience suffered daily. There was no learning occurring, only efforts to manage this child's behavior. I left for an office position and I no longer experience anxiety going into work.
I am a para. I quit being a classroom lead teacher because I needed to choose between my life and a job that "helped" my drinking problem. I am so sorry you went through all that. Your former school sounds more akin to what the norm is. My current assignment is in a pretty optimal environment, but will likely be made redundant due to enrollment forecast. I am leaving in June.
Brazilian educator here (learning English). Although I don’t work as a teacher (I’m a learning materials editor), I can tell you that all the problems you mentioned also exist in Brazil today. My brother is a math teacher in high school here in Rio de Janeiro, and he complains about the same issues. Besides the low pay for teachers (unfortunately a Brazilian reality), I believe the main points of this structural global problem are the lack of support and the way children are being raised these days. They often don’t know how to deal with denial and frustration because of the permissive education they receive at home, as well as the time they spend on screens. There is less respect from children toward adults; they treat adults as equals. I don’t know how to fix it, but I just wanted to express that you are not alone. I hope you find a way to enjoy your life, find motivation, and express your potential.
@Minimmalmythicist I think that it depends on the familys and social status. Rich familys usually are too conscious of the importance of education to mantein or increase your social condition. But, ironically, in poor and media class famillys, many children and teens dont put the attention they would should to do in education. Sometimes I think they just doesnt understand the power of learning. In a entire class of a public or low cost private school, you probably would see 2 or 3 excelente students and more than 40 withou any interess in learning. Besides that, the number of people wanting to go college is decreasing in the last years. I think that its a consequence of how the familys are rasing yours suns and of the economic and job market conjuncture. People see a lot of gratuated professionals unemployee or working informally and dont understaing how a university can be important to their lives. (sorry about grammatical mistakes, Im lerning english yet)
I’m so sorry. Teaching after the pandemic lockdowns WRECKED me. Last year was my last year. It was a tough decision but I share all the reasons you laid out as well as some others. Good luck to you! You will find a better path!!
Absolutely. It's hard to say why but teaching was NOT like this prior to the pandemic. It was chalelnging of course, but there's something different now.
"There's simply not enough adults in the building" is a terrifying statement, thanks for helping me decide homeschooling is right for us! I hope we fix the education system in time for my son to send his children, but nowadays I feel like it's almost the civic duty of parents who are able to homeschool to do so, to relieve some of that burden. I'm planning on joining a secular homeschool co-op. We're already doing phonics though! ❤🤓
Phonics is SO important. I have 4th graders who still do not have all their letter sounds. It hinders their enjoyment and ability to read because the cognitive load put on them to actively decode every word is so high. The earlier the better!
My 15 year old grandson was bullied so badly aged 9 that after getting nowhere with the young principal, explaining my grandson had had an asthma attack that nearly killed him, his mother pulled him from school. He had never learned to read. Now he reads, helps his online friends with reading, and is at the University of Life, as he is helping care for his mum battling cancer. I used to worry about his education, but knowing that Churchill, Einstein, and Eckhart Tolle had unusual educations and they have all done well, I no longer worry. School is an institution. Where are mad people kept? In institutions. Escape if you can.
My old man retired from teaching at a public school 20 years ago. He told me the students were bad during his last 2 years. If back then was bad I can’t imagine the chaos nowadays.
Shout out man. I know a lot of teachers, all really great people who are in it for the love of the work. Then society is just awful to them, so many people in the private sector are very rude about the profession.
It's one of the few things that almost everyone has done. Therefore, because everyone has gone through school, a lot of people think they could teach as well. It's incredibly hard to hear some of the discourse and perception of what teaching is/what it takes.
What you said is spot on and resonated with me. I have one more year after this until I can officially retire but don’t know if I’ll make it. The stress makes me physically sick. When I think of the joy I had when I started and where things are now it just makes me sad. I see young teachers coming in and they seem to just accept this because they don’t know anything else.
Get to retirement, it’s worth it. 25 years of semi hell but it’s s worth it at the end. Something decades ago was set on a path to ruin American culture and society. I don’t know why. Jealousy?
I was a teacher and now I am a Child Behaviour Specialist and parenting has changed so much. Technology is a huge hurdle. There is a wave of ‘gentle parenting’ sweeping that has morphed into passive parenting. This in my opinion has led to allowing kids to be disrespectful. Often the child’s behaviour is the authority in the house. I ask parents if they would accept this behaviour from anyone else and if not why do they accept this from their child. I am sad that many excellent teachers are leaving the profession. I hope you find yourself through this process. Kia Kaha (stay strong) from New Zealand.
I agree with you. The culture of the U.S. and UK is like this. Education is not valued. Entitlement, no respect toward authority. You don’t see this type of behavior so much in other countries. Other countries, teachers are valued and highly respected. .i think it will get worse before it gets better, because the failure to recognize there’s a problem and the concern to fix it.
9th year middle school teacher. 💯 agree. You’re speaking my thoughts. I’ve made the decision that I want out as well. Now I’ve been trying to figure out the exit strategy. Appreciate you sharing. You’re definitely not alone in this, there are many of us feeling the exact same way. Good luck!
I am happy that you are being honest with yourself and making the best decision for you. Once upon a time I was also an educator (high school math) but I quickly realized it was not right for my life and also left. These are tough feelings to parse and I am sure not everyone will understand, but you have to do what is best for you.
💯 facts about education. I was a teacher for three years and left teaching eight years ago for all of these reasons. This was my exact experience. I now am a nonprofit Founder & CEO and love the work I do. You are doing the right thing leaving teaching. You will be so much happier!
I was a public school teacher and was just getting started when I saw the writing on the wall. I didn’t actually have a bad day but I could see the burnout with those just 5-10 years older than I. So I left public education, got a masters degree and went overseas to work in a private university. Now, I’ve been in this university for 20 years, and intend to stay about 8 more. I have 8-9 weeks off a year, no report cards, never meet with parents , and have my own office with a budget for supplies and two computers. I go into work about 9:15-9:30 am and leave before it gets dark to get some evening light on the bicycle ride home. Needless to say I’m very very happy I left.
This is my 25th year teacher, in addition to two years before that as a sub. It’s definitely harder now than it was even 10 years ago. I’m actually too tired to go on at this time. I was at school for 12 hours both yesterday and today. And same as you, most of what consumes me doesn’t have to do which the actual teaching. The daily screaming in the halls, every single day, of kids with various needs, has gotten to me. I’m an elementary school librarian. There are so many kids with various needs, including behavioral, that we are all breaking. Many of my colleagues are looking for jobs outside education now. I am too tired to do anything besides work because my job depletes me.
The best thing I ever did was quit my teaching job!! Now I have a life like everyone else, and I am paid well for it. If you set boundaries, then the principal is on your case constantly by giving lectures on how you need to be committed, it's the job you signed up for, ad nauseam. Or, you get overwhelmed in the classroom by not having everything done. The pay is incredibly low, and teachers are treated like students. The schools need to hire other people to do bus duty, bathroom duty, lunch duty, before school duty, afterschool duty, recess duty, etc. Teachers are expected to pay for what they need in the classroom. This can include books, paper, pencils, classroom decorations, rewards for students, etc. Nurses never tell their patients, "Oh, no IV for you today because I need to buy my children shoes." The hospital administrators don't chastise nurses for not buying their patients drugs.
I used to be a high school teacher, but the job pushed me to a breaking point, leading to severe burnout, alcoholism, and depression. The constant pressure and lack of respect took a heavy toll. I’ll never forget the day a student broke my personal laptop, flipped my desk, and was back in class the next day without any real consequences. Leaving teaching was tough, but I decided to take control of my path by starting my own consulting company. I may not have hit all my goals yet, but the work I do now is infinitely more rewarding and fulfilling. I finally feel like I’m building something for myself, not just surviving another day.
Thank you for this video. I'm going to watch it with my young daughter to help her better understand the sacrifices teachers make (we talk about this often). I keep coming back to something though... I don't see the privilege. You kept yourself healthy, worked hard consistently, and achieved, which afforded you a job that you work even harder at and that, incredibly unfairly, under compensates you. There's no special right, advantage, or immunity that was granted to you here. What you have is only earned. In my opinion, adding privilege to the equation needlessly diminishes your feats. Best of luck to you and thank you for what you do.
As a Gen Xer who came of age in the Eighties in the American South, when our teachers told us to jump, we said, “how high?” Any troublemakers were dealt with swiftly by the administration. Also, and this is true of science and mathematics curricula - either you know the answer or you don’t. You studied and prepared or you F’d around and found out. If you wanted a good grade or even a passing grade, that was all on you. We made the magic happen - not our parents.
I taught substantially separate special education for 25 years. When I first started, I had four kids in a k-4 program and was told that these kids were very rare and we may have never have more than six in a class. When I stopped teaching, we were only teaching fourth and fifth and had 13 students. Our children are hurting and they are desperate for good teachers but the conditions are what enable teachers to be good. Yet being a teacher seems more disrespected than ever. This video brought back a lot of tough memories for me. Good luck in your next endeavor!
"Consumed." Great word to describe the world of teaching. You don't have to apologize: Your experiences are straight on; you're going to find a great job that fulfills you when you're ready to get back. Wishing you speedy, complete healing.
I wrote a note home to one of the parents saying their child was "extremely gifted" (he's two and doing activities on a kindergarten level) and the director told me I couldn't send the note because I'm not a psychologist-.-
@@lisamoag6548 I don't agree with this. Studies indicate the regular classroom teachers are not very good at all at identifying gifted and talented children. They identify teacher pleasers.
@@flowerlass I don't completely disagree, I think personality plays into it a lot, but I don't think standardized tests analyzed by a passive person is necessarily identifying gifted and talented students either. I think the distinction is arbitrary. I say this as a former "gifted and talented" kid. I always scored high on tests even through college and early career but I dont think I'm actually smarter than anybody else Of course there are extreme learning disabilities but other than that intellect isn't a simple linear thing
Whenever I reflect back on my time as a contracted classroom teacher, I feel a sense of rage at all the crap I had to put up with from admin, parents, students, etc. to the point where I start to feel physically ill. Yup, I've got the teacher trauma. It's everything that you mentioned. Particularly the zero work/life balance, the blaming of teachers for everything (including poor parenting), the lack of respect and empathy for others that kids display, and the completely ineffective/zero consequences for their actions. Not to mention that not only do X% of kids just not want to learn because they're more interested in their stupid devices and social media crap, but some actively devalue learning and seem to view school and education as something that's beneath them. All of those things you said, and then some, led me to leaving education. I eventually got a job working in a museum (I'm a former social studies endorsed secondary teacher, so it's sorta still in my field), and my mental health (i.e. sanity) has improved drastically. I'm far less stressed, and I work with people who want to be there and care about each other. I'm not going back to education since I feel that the system is so broken and we just keep trying to nurse a dying system along.
I've been an adjunct professor for 6 years, and I feel so many of the things you brought up here. The pay is even worse, the students are also apathetic (though I feel for them because we are all feeling this weird post-COVID societal burnout), and I'm noticing more and more that teaching feels like an uphill battle, and the hill keeps getting steeper. I'm teaching freshmen and graduating seniors alike who can't form proper sentences or use proper punctuation. I have to teach them grammar that I learned in 3rd grade. Many of them don't understand what satire is. I had them read an article titled "Teachers Should Be Paid Less" and they all took it seriously. Many days, I feel useless.
Adjuncts are not treated well across the board by colleges and universities in the US. I sympathize with you. My best friend is an adjunct, and she has to teach at multiple schools to make enough money.
Worked as a sub teacher for middle and high schools for 5 years. Would not wish that job on anyone. And my district was actually one of the best in the state! I can't even imagine what teachers and subs have to put up with in other districts 😢
I hear you....I used to teach at a private school and the parents + lack of interest made my life hell. Not even AI to make classes more interesting can get their attention....now I only teach adults. I'm an ESL teacher from Brazil. Here we have the same problems.
Male elementary school teacher here in CA. I just retired in June after decades in the profession. I will have to watch your other videos and get a sense of your situation(s).
It broke me too, my guy. I went into it for the same reasons that everyone does-- a deep love and care for children. I came out of the career after two years emotionally mangled. In my personal life, few people understood what I was going through. For me, that was the hardest part. I'll sacrifice for children any day... It's when adults think of me as a wastebin... That's too much. We teachers spend all day teaching morals and values to children and come home to adults that have forgotten their own. For example, an ex-boyfriend used my low salary as a reason to never marry me. It didn't matter to him that I saved 10 percent every month and lived within my means. It didn't matter to him that I taught disadvantaged children how to speak and read. He saw no value in any of it. He did not consider it a career, a future, or even a skill. He grew up and forgot his morals. Many parts of the job are dehumanizing. I could list several instances of being attacked and spit on, but I try to remember what Jesus said "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Even on rough days, I still tucked in my students at nap time and told them that I loved them every single day. In this profession, it's very easy to forget who you are because you spend the majority of your headspace thinking about the progression of others. I was raised to think that type of sacrifice was noble... "Love your neighbor as yourself" and whatnot... We don't love our neighbor anymore. We love ourselves and no one else. It makes me very sad, overall. God Bless you, sir. Thank you for sharing your reasons for leaving. It was cathartic for me. Especially the part about wearing 6 hats. I applied to be a lead preschool teacher and ended up being a speech pathologist and behavioral analyst. I was not getting paid or respected for the incredible job that I was doing. It's a shame because the people who lose out are the children. They need a lot of help.
My experiences as a primary class teacher are the same as yours in London ,UK and therefore have not been teaching for the past two yrs..I have not decided whether its worth going back to it..! The only thing I missed about my teaching yrs is being witness to their learning ie. improving their literacy ,numeracy skills and having lots of fun during PE lessons... The low pay and not getting any support from the head or the assistant head with regards to misbehaving kids is exactly the same...! Only God knows when was the last time the head was in a class of 30 kids alone , teaching ... 20 or 30 yrs ago !!!🤣 You need to make a decision that will depend on your own circumstances ! I wish you all the best ! Be strong and do not take it personally as all of the teachers are going through very similar experiences !🥰
You are 100% right on with everything you said!!! I can no longer keep up with the impossible work load. Since covid, there are so many disruptive and disregulated kids with no boundaries, that it has become impossible to give the rest of the students in my class a proper education. The cost of our health insurance is sky high. Due to the rising cost of health care, my take home pay is approximately the same as it was when I started teaching 23 years ago. I am also going to quit teaching this year. It's not worth sacrificing my mental health and I can piece together other jobs to make ends meet.
The trouble is feeling like your job is a duty, that the kids 'need' you specifically. This power dynamics puts teachers willingly into a toxic situation, The only duty is to yourself, to get a paycheck, any teacher can be replaced by a new graduate, admin know this, its not a good job, because your not respected, there are better paths, I left teaching 11 years ago And It was worth it.
I just had a baby, and I appreciate teachers speaking out. It gives me a helpful perspective. I do not want my child to grow up behaving in the way teachers describe.
I talked to a friend in highschool, and thanked her for helping me realize I never wanted to teach kids. We had English together and I saw how she acted in class and I realized if I was the teacher and she was in my class I’d be so disheartened even if I faked motivation every day. She stopped acting up so much when I said something that rude to her. It’s been 10 years she’s fine today.
I'm a 4th and 5th grade music teacher (think band and orchestra more than rhythm sticks), and my district has me serve 8 schools a week. The lack of support or acknowledgement is killer, especially as an educator who functions exclusively in shared spaces. The time necessary to set up and tear down for an instrumental lesson is not only a lot of moving and lifting, but I also have to transport all of my teaching materials around as well. While students do get to choose to register for my classes, many have a severe disconnect after COVID about how to treat the adults in their lives, regardless of role. I have to constantly remind them that they do get grades from me. That I'm a person with feelings and trauma, just like them. When admin don't follow through on promised supports and then yell at me for being a pest about asking for things is deeply alienating. The hypocrisy of how the educators are treated versus how we are expected to be for the kids is one of the biggest sources of distress in my life.
Parents actually raise your kids, stop drinking, using, gambling, cheating, having airport freakouts on camera. Maybe? But hey blame the kids they ARE raising themselves. 😅
Thank you for sharing. I was in the school system last year as a paraprofessional last year and know some teachers across a few states. Your feelings and thoughts are totally valid. You are amazing! Best of luck in your new journey.
I am a paraeducator in a special education classroom. I witness all of these things that you mentioned. The teacher I help has been teaching for 12 years and he is patient and obviously cares about his work. I am in this line of work because I would like to teach art at some point, but I am reconsidering this path due to horror stories I hear about and witness. It's gratifying and I love it but I already feel myself getting tired. I don't want to find myself in a mix of being severely under-paid, disrespected by students and their parents, drowning in loads of work and expected to fix students emotional and behavioral issues. Something has to be done about this. I plan on getting a nice gift for the teacher I work with before my company makes me switch schools. It's the least I can do for how patient and resilient he is. I would say I look up to him.
My daughter absolutely loves learning and it’s just because she has been that way since she was little and I hope she keeps that! She unfortunately has dealt with a ton of bullying since kindergarten and is now in 2nd grade and it’s slowed down. The parents never think it’s their child that’s the problem either and it’s super sad. 😢
Wow….what an eye opening video so interesting to hear your views and reading all the comments from other educators. I don’t work in this field but understand many aspects of what you are saying working in social care. Honestly…….part of my choice not to have children in this day and age is because of what you’re saying. It’s impossible to bring a child up in the correct way these days when they are part of a society that is so broken. I have many neices and nephews who I adore but I see all the time they have no attention span whatsoever, no passion for learning anything new and don’t get excited about anything but their phones. It’s incredibly sad and too big a cultural problem to change. I was incredibly lucky to have some wonderful teachers at school and hands down I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for their guidance and belief in me, as I didn’t get this at home. I think of my old teachers often and have even reached out to them as an adult to thank them for what they did for me. So sad to hear so many of you feeling this way but completely understandable. I wish you all the very best in your future careers as you deserve so much more than this.
Your colleague from Russia here. We have the same set of problems. I am lucky to have a decent atmosphere in my workplace set by the administration and fellow teachers, but as for the rest of your points - I guess they’re universal. The salary is there to just help you get by, and the amount of mind-numbing bureaucratic work most of us have to do is insane. I got so worn out with the extra responsibilities of keeping an eye on a whole class of restless 12/13 year olds for 2 years straight during the pandemic and the formalities behind it that now it’s been 2 years that I’m doing the bare minimum of just teaching and nothing else (thank God it’s possible in my situation, not everyone has the luxury to make this choice) even though I’ve lost some money on that decision. But no money can buy the peace of mind.
I managed a restaurant for 20 years and just walked away one day because of the work/life balance issues as well. (Life is too short) Work to live. Don't live to work. 🎉 I hope so very much you find your happy 😊
Absolutely everything you have said is true. I have been a school social worker for 20 years now. I have seen such a decline in students’ attitudes, behaviors, self-control, problem solving, and as you said, lack of motivation/curiosity to learn. In addition to that, parents make us the enemy, when it’s really their precious little Johnny who is the little jag off. And despite the fact that it’s their lousy, preoccupied, or absent parenting that has caused little Johnny to be as he is, everyone looks to the school to fix him. I really should work three more years before I retire, but I’m so done. You speak the truth, my friend, sad as it may be.
I gave elementary education a shot right out of college in 1970. Taught 6th grade kids for three years. I left after three years. My nerves were shot. After leaving, it took two years for the panic attacks to subside. If you have the gift, go for it. You may come out of it shell shocked. I hear ya brother.
It's a tough decision to make but in hindsight, I wish I hadn't bought the snake oil I was being sold. It's my own fault but I really believed in what I was doing at the time. Now, not so much.
Just working on myself at the moment and taking some time to try and live my core values. I'm lucky enough that I have no children - just kitties to take care of. I've got a little bit of savings and am working on restoring a van at the moment to do a bit of travel. I don't really know what I'm doing, but I suppose that's the point.
I just got called into the principal’s office because over half of my students have a D or lower. I refused to compromise for students who are clearly not interested in learning the content. Principal: “Why does this student have a 39%?”
Me: “They have 9 missing assignments.”
Principal: “Why does this student have a 27%?”
Me: “They’ve been absent for 70% of the class periods since the start of the semester, and for some reason doesn’t check Google Classroom where I post videos going over our assignments step by step.”
Principal: “Are you grading them on responsibility or whether or not they reach TEKS standards?”
Me: “…. I can’t grade their bike riding skills if they refuse to even get on the bike.”
These are high school students, at some point you have to take responsibility for your own learning, and I hate how the onus always falls back to teachers to come up with ways to pass students who shouldn’t.
Going back to my bike riding analogy this is akin to me putting training wheels on the bike, holding the handles for them the entire way and “grading” their bike riding skills. However as soon as I let go of the handles they fall, scrape their knee and everyone blames me: the student, parents, and administrators. I’m definitely quitting once this school year is over. The pay just isn’t worth the bullshit I have to put up with.
You're in Texas. Our state sucks for teachers. I retired in 2009 and nothing has changed. People clamor about how much they support public schools but there is so much wrong 10:01 going on. The system is broken.
Funny how the Principal is the one trying to prevent you from educating the children properly.
True. It's VERY hard to defend grade integrity without Objective Assessment or an Exam Board.
I'm not coming back either . This is my first year ever teacher and my background was never Educated. I'm overwhelmed, stressed to the max . The workload is never ending , I don't have a normal life anymore . My health has even declined dealing with this . The behavior of children is beyond my comprehension and I teach in Elementary.
I had 2 students I saw all throughout the day, every day for over a week. But they were not coming to my class. Their teacher came to me asking if I was giving them passes to be in his class. I said no. He showed me the passes they were giving him. THEY WERE FORGING MY SIGNATURE. Wrote a discipline referral. Administration refused to do anything to discipline them.
I'm 35 and quit teaching 1.5 years ago and I'm now working as a UX designer. Best decision of my life.
Best lesson taken: teachers are creative and good at decision making and can easily adapt in new fields. If you can do teaching, you can do (nearly) anything. Wishing you all the best!
I gotta check out UC design
I gotta check out UX design
Congratulations! What is a UX designer?
Wondering what the training and pay for this kind of work is?
"If you can do teaching you can do anything"? Surely this is a joke, right? You gonna put a teacher in the infantry? What a goofy virtue signal. If you're a teacher you're literally just some person that knows more about some useless subject than your average Joe. And I do mean useless. The education system is utterly broken and has been since I was a child (I'm 30).
Not to sound callous, I used to be a high school teacher early in my career, but at what point are we going to stop lying to ourselves. Public education is basically just state sponsored babysitting at this point, until all these problems are solved in public education, I feel like that's where it is at, just the free babysitting from the state, the education part is like 5+ on the list.
You don’t sound callous, just rightfully jaded. Hopefully things can change in the future, though.
I would agree here, having been a sub teacher last year and for one month this year in Florida. I myself went through almost all private schools including a Catholic college prep high school in Chicago and the differences were so staggering to public schools I would have thought the schools were in different countries. Note at least in early 2000s Catholic prep schools taught at a very high level and were extremely rigorous, in some ways more so than my undergrad and graduate universities.
I disagree, some of the greatest influences on my life were teachers who actually broke the script a bit and gave us a perspective on life. It's not easy I understand. But don't ever think your drawing blank. You could be getting through to many
@@robertpirsig5011 Have you ever worked before in the education sector?
I get some of these in the work force where no one is "giving them a pass" and they get themselves fired by attendance alone. Or their ratings ("grades") are so low they are locked in an entry level position, act out, then get fired, or... unfortunately during any lay off, they cut from low performers first.
Then there's the late 20s-late 30s crowd that WAS the younger idiot who went through a bunch of jobs just like the kids mentioned above. After getting reality jammed in their face, with no parents--who did them zero favors--to bail them out... They all of a sudden become good workers and "get it..."
Their parents and school system sis them a disservice--but better late than ever.
It's a soul destroying job within a crumbling system.
Amen to that!
Caused my mental health to decline
@@barbaras5874 soul crushing
Most jobs r soul crushing, just saying
especially within an ungrateful society
Parents need parenting education.
It's not fair to blame the parents, the children, or the teachers. The whole system is toxic and to blame. School is an unnatural institution. The parents likely spent most of their formative yrs in school. School is showing that it is not created well rounded, intelligent, balanced people. Everyone is to blame for buying into this sham of a culture.
@@purpleglitter9596I agree. I’m a parent and a teacher. It’s a battle at home and at school. It’s Culture of society.
I think about the tv shows and movies on when I was a kid vs now. Post 2000 parents and adults are always portrayed as clueless idiots and disrespecting them is seen as good and moral. Any rule or standard is made to look mean and oppressive.
More “teachers”??
No.
@@purpleglitter9596School is not an unnatural institution. It is a universal social institution
@@purpleglitter9596 then why does every culture have a form of schooling if its unnatural? What do you purpose?
You probably hear this a lot! School was not like this when I grew up in the 70's. The worst behaviors were kids chewing gum, passing notes, whispering in class, running in the halls, and being late for class. No one ever talked back to the teachers. Kids were nervous about parent teacher night! And facing the vice principal😵💫I am so sad for teachers these days.
Children’s rule the school, we basically live in lord of the flies or children of the corn. Yep
Dang idk where yall live but the students here at high school are petrified of the thought of getting trouble while we have teachers that reuse lessons from a decade ago and talk about stuff that has nothing to do with the class and if we start getting too loud all they have to do is shout and the students will listen instantaneously (this is in California btw, where parents are supposed to have no control over their kids at all). I see like one or two kids talk back but that’s about it so I wanna know where yall at because if it ain’t cali it definitely isn’t in the south.
We were reared not peered by our parents.
I hear you - but I will say from the other side too (and admittedly maybe this is more of a problem in charter and private schools), but I’m not that old and the real bullies were the teachers. They abuse their power. Based on all the stories I hear from boomers I feel like back then the teachers were the biggest bullies as well
We have to figure out a way to balance the power with teachers so that they are able to take the difficult students out of the classroom to let the students that actually want to try have a place to learn, but not so much that they can get petty with students that are actually trying just because they don’t like some aspect about them
High School teacher. The amount we do and then the absolute disrespect. It's wild how this society will step on you to reach its' goal and then tell you you're the problem.
Absolutely!
Man, it sounds like school has completely done a 180 since I was a young student. Back in the 80s, a majority were decent students, maybe one or two weren’t. Parents and teachers worked together. It was a pretty simple system that seemed to work. Of course, we didn’t have cell phones, social media and we didn’t have the same type of access to news kids have now. For better or worse, unless it were major like the Challenger shuttle explosion or Berlin Wall coming down, I hadn’t a clue what was going on in the world. We did have Nintendo but nobody played all day every day, we still went outside all day in the summer. God, I feel like an old dude, but I guess that was 35 years ago haha. But I feel ya man, you gotta go with your gut, if you feel like you can’t do what you love to do properly then it’s a good move to get out. There may be other districts or private schools that may have a different structure and be more conducive to teaching and learning. There are still good districts out there. Keep your head up
Adults should not be in school that long. It's not working and never will. Adults should be working and discovering new interests. Teenagers is a term that is made up to extend childhood. It's not disrespect you or any other teacher. It's the system that doesn't work.
I agree th teachers are working very hard. We are disrespected by both students and administration. To complete our jobs we need to work after school and weekends. I teachers stope doing this and spending our own money the system would collapse.
Amount is quantity.
Quality is what is lacking.
The teachers who study “education” as a major should perhaps study an actual subject before they decide to “teach”.
I'm a teacher in Argentina, with 11 years experience teaching in high school. I relate to everything you say. Yet, in my case, I've made decision some years ago to avoid working outside school hours. I don't correct anything at home or devote a single hour of my weekend to planning classes. I do what I can AT school. Yes, that's lowering standards but it's the only way to continue in the system without suffering from burnout. My own motto now is : I do what I can with what the system allows me to do. I need to pay my bills so I can't quit and need a stable income.
Agree
How do you manage to correct hundreds of exams while having to teach students what they're supposed to learn?
I tried doing that and went crazy (that's when I used to be a high school teacher, now I do something else).
By the way, saludos desde Brasil, neighbour
Hermano, hable recien en otro comentario del estado de nuestra educacion. Es muy loco ver que pasa en otros lugares que uno cree tan distintos del nuestro. Ser docente en Argentina para muchos se ha convertido en una pesadilla, y me entristece muchisimo tener cada vez menos esperanza de que algo mejore. Un abrazo enorme!
Yep. Sometimes you can even have a couple of high-achieving students who want to help grade papers and will do a good job
I hope teachers develop class consciousness in the coming years. A lot of propaganda goes into education by valorizing it as a noble profession that workers should consider a "calling" as you say and thus willingly suffer highly exploitative labor practices and starvation wages. In truth, the capitalist education system serves two purposes:
1. Conditioning children to enter the workforce as an indoctrinated proletarian workforce, and
2. Free childcare for workers so they can show up and make profits for the ruling class.
If teachers go on strike it GRINDS the gears of capitalism to a halt. If teachers realize that this is not some social evil but just a fair way for workers to use their labor for their own class benefit it could lead to profound changes in our entire system.
Solidarity!
There's still a large push back from the education community about how things like strikes will negatively impact students and families. Unfortunately, until educator needs are met, children and families are already being negatively impacted because they're not getting the best version of their teacher. We were in that position last year due to some budget issues in our district and we were unable to come together in solidarity for better treatment. It's frustating.
@@TheMidlifeDropout Don't agree with this person! They are a Marxist. Marxists want to abolish Capitalism, the nuclear family, and any society with enviable freedoms.
I'm convinced red states will implement high school graduates supervising kids learning on iPad within the next 10-20 years.
Solidarity! ✊🏾
It's much more complex than demanding improvement. What is the source of the problem? kids using unlimited phones? schools that wont back their teachers because of risk of lawsuit? gentle parenting that never tells kids no, creating children who expect instant gratification and no cost? a society that doesn't value teachers and doesn't know what they're going through? a massive exodus of the "good" teachers, exacerbating the problem? curriculae creators/idealogical pushers that are more interested in a cheap dollar than quality (this piggy backs on your number 1, which is very valid)? greedy politicians and unions with too much lining in their pockets? complex problems require more than picket signs. other than teachers being underpaid (because society doesn't value them like they should), which of the above problems are solved by free childcare?
I have friends who have a five year old in kindergarten. Several days ago, their kid snuck over to the teacher's desk when the teacher wasn't looking, picked up the teacher's phone and was trying to play with it, and then dropped it and shattered the screen. My friends were appalled when the teacher called them about it and told her to punish their kid and offered immediately to do whatever it took to get her phone fixed. My friend showed me a text she got back from the teacher saying, "thank you guys for actually caring, thank you for believing me and being OK with showing your daughter consequences for this". Seeing that text, it was obvious that the teacher was used to dealing with parents who don't care about her as a person and an administration that doesn't either.
Good parents there. The last parent teacher meeting I went to was an absolute 💩 show. The math teacher was talking about how there is a difference between a student struggling and not trying at all. The parent of the kid yelled at the teacher and was so nasty the teacher was in tears. 😢
@christopherleubner6633 The percentage of adults in society who operate with such a false sense of entitlement has gone WAY up, in my opinion. It's astounding how many people believe they are entitled to a lack of accountability for their own behavior (or the behavior of their children). It doesn't feel like it was this way 20 years ago when I was a young adult. Maybe it was a little, but it seems to get worse and worse in this society over time. Rampant individualism breeds selfish behavior and avoidance of accountability. It's so disheartening.
@@mosaicowlstudiosit was not this way 20 years ago.
Dang where yall live my high school has teachers who are authoritarian and students who are petrified at even the possibility of getting a “bad grade” on an assignment and this is all in cali mind you!
I refuse to ever teach in the USA again. I was teaching in other countries for a while and I loved it. I now work for the public library and there's a lot of people who are former teachers who also work there.
That's something I've considered. I really love education still - I'd like to still be in educational spaces. Just not as a general education teacher anymore.
Do it! I teach internationally. The benefits are better and the quality of life is great! @@TheMidlifeDropout
I taught in South Korea. It’s getting pretty bad there too. Two Korean teachers recently committed suicide because of threats from the parents of students that were causing problems at school. It seems less and less parents want to take responsibility for how their children behave.
@@Envy28496 Wow 😧!
@@Envy28496 I'm also very surprised because it's an entirely different culture. Social media must have something to do with it.
I’ve been a school psychologist for the past 20 years now. I empathize with all of what you brought up. It’s so freakin hard to be a teacher right now. 😢❤
Yet, you keep voting liberal, I bet while promoting John Dewey and Paulo Freire.
Why are you blaming liberals? I’m a conservative but I still don’t blame an entire party for parent behavior? It’s clear parents are spoiling their children and not disciplining them at home, which is why they act insane at school, but i don’t blame politics. That’s just irresponsible parenting.
Do to in find it easier being a school psychologist?
@@user-lt1jd1ye3v Because it is literally their French/German enlightenment that has took over the curriculum, lol. We are people of the Scottish enlightenment. The left has rejected the very principles of our nation.
How many kids did you encourage to embrace gender disphoria?
As a mom, I am shocked at how hard teachers work. The amount of nonsense you poor people have to deal with is TOO much! Teachers and healthcare workers are hit the hardest by our ridiculous administrative class. But also, there’s a strange relationship between teachers and parents/students. Parents need to recognize that teachers are their partners, not their employees. We aren’t the “boss”. Teachers should be treated with the utmost respect and seen as the experts in education. They care so much about our children. Support them! Not with class parties or gifts, but with RESPECT
Experts? No.
Thank you, thank you thank you❤❤❤
Teachers quitting jobs is a global trend. Many teachers who love teaching apologize for leaving their jobs in videos, feeling as though it's their fault or failure. But everything you said in this video is true. I believe the main issue is bad parenting, as even principals are afraid of children nowadays. In my opinion, we can blame this on "child psychologists" who always take the child's side, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. Despite parents' or teacher's efforts, they are always blamed for everything. Whenever you try to teach children something, you're accused of child abuse, causing stress, or putting pressure on them. However, life is filled with stress and pressure, and we need to learn to cope with it rather than avoid it. Nowadays, children don't take responsibility for their actions, which will affect their ability to be responsible adults. Children are given many rights without understanding that every right comes with equal responsibility and consequences.
As a Christian parent, I’m unable to parter with public school because they “don’t want Jesus there.” Therefore, they don’t want proper, Biblical values/morals taught by parents to students or teachers to students. It’s a cultural problem = moral relativism/ no right or wrong. If there’s no standards of right or wrong, how can behavior be properly managed?
@@saraz9017 No Christianity = no moral standard. Typical of Christians... 🙄
@@saraz9017normal, well adjusted people don't need the threat of eternal torture to not murder people. If you can't see how people teach values without that then maybe the problem lies with you
@@saraz9017A Christian would still partner and try. Additionally, morals are not intrinsically linked to religion. It sounds like you are making excuses.
@@maiteleyour comment proves my point.
I drilled into my teenage son to always be extra respectful to his teachers even if and when he feels they are being unfair and I have to say I get emails from his teachers every year praising how wonderful and respectful he is. I wish everyone did that to make teachers lives a little easier.
Thank you!
As a newly retired teacher, who LOVED her career, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
What a great parent you are!
All the best to you and your family!
The worst part of leaving teaching is the guilt you feel for leaving your "calling". I greived the students I left for a year. I was told the kids need me, l'm a good teacher, but I relate to all the reasons you gave for leaving. Now I have a corporate job with a great work-life balance and I get treated like a competent adult! I can take sick days without guilt
What do you do?
@@Rockerlady I work for a customs broker
What did you teach?
@@macbird-lt8de most recently, 4th grade. I've taught 1st/2nd, 7th and subbed in middle school
Yes! I can go to the restroom whenever I want without having to call the office to get permission and an assistant to come to my class. The office doesn't always say yes, either.
Sixth Grade student acting up, rudely interrupting a school gathering, not recognizing us three teachers trying to get her attention. I, being closest, tap her on the shoulder, whispering in her ear to have her regain control.
In the Parent-Teacher conference in the next week I am threatened with violence, to be waiting for me at my car, by her loud, large and aggressive father.
I had been confused for months about continuing as a teacher. He made my decision so easy.
What color was the student, don’t be shy
@@VonLuhv it must hurt to know the truth and deny it. If they were white it would be easy to say it and undoubtedly they would not be Asian. Sterotypes exist for a reason and it's not racism.
@@LucielStarz123yt more likely
Well you probably should have used better judgement and not touched her. It’s easier to just assume that the parents are being ridiculous, than to acknowledge it’s unclear how aggressively you acted, despite the fact you touched his daughter at all.
@@dynodyno6970 a teacher can tap a student on the shoulder to get their attention. There is nothing wrong with that
High school teacher here! I think a huge problem is that people on the outside view teaching as a "calling," which makes them justify overworking and underpaying teachers because it's a calling! We should sacrifice for this and suffer for this. When it comes down to it, it's a job. It's how we provide for ourselves and our families.
Also, as a high school teacher, there is something very different about teaching now vs. prior to the pandemic. Kids have changed and rhe expectations parents and students (and possibly admin) have about what a teacher's role is has changed. All this is combined with advances in tech (namely AI) that make behavior issues and cheating so much more prevalent, and it makes teaching so much less fun.
Schools are the buildings filled with the lowest-paid people with college degrees in the country.
I agree completely. I just retired, but the last few years of teaching, after the pandemic, were a very different experience. The level of disrespect of students and parents toward teachers increased exponentially.
It's so very sad. You're so right - that it drains any fun from teaching.
No most teachers are seen as obnoctious liberals.
I work at an elementary school. The kids are in control and admin allows it. When you try to give a direction to a student, I've heard kids say "my mommy told me I don't have to do that, and if you have a problem to call her." Parents' response to their bad kids is "my kid doesn't act like that at home, so that's your problem at school". Admin's response to violent students that verbally and physically attack/ threaten staff is to let them come to the office to "de-escalate" by playing games and then sending them back to class. Kid might get sent home for half a day and return the next day to wreak havoc all over again. It's actually very shocking to see what public school has become.
Oh my. I know this story all too well. Do you mean going to the office and getting a bag of chips/cookies/game playing to regulate isn't an effective consequence?
@@TheMidlifeDropout Exactly! Apparently the classroom calm down corners aren't enough, so let's take the kid who just bit the teacher, down to the office to play Legos and have a treat. I find myself almost at a loss for words everytime I walk in the school.
Everything you say is the same in my school except students don’t go to the office. We aren’t allowed to “exclude” students from “education.” I put “education” in quotes because what’s then happening is the rest of us are held hostage to the screaming, yelling, etc. kid who is not allowing their classmates to be educated. It’s awful. All we teachers can seem to do is keep complaining through our union and hope that the rest of the kids’ parents finally complain enough mass to the news media, because the school board is deaf to public comments.
@@BeMoreMdyep, the ‘peace corners’ are where the rest of the kids want to be when the raging kid is terrorizing the class.
You maybe have a lot of mixed races and backgrounds.
Diverse people behave diversely.
From the students perspective, yes, you're absolutely right. The "good" students see this and feel helpless, because we go into a classroom wanting to learn and we are constantly interrupted by the misbehavior of other students, which then makes us dread going to class, which then makes us have no motivation to do anything, and suddenly we too are one of the "bad" students because there is only so much we can take. This is obviously an oversimplification but the point remains; it's a vicious cycle. I'm afraid the problem lies much deeper and until people no longer need to worry about whether or not they'll make this month's rent (cost of living crisis) the education system will continue to be put on the back-burner. I hope this makes some semblance on sense, and thanks if you've read until the end.
No this is about respect, not cost of living. Also it’s a numbers issue. Used to be in a class of 25 you had 5 kids that caused trouble/ don’t care. Now it’s reversed.
This is a system that is failing, don’t confuse it with “Cost of living”. It’s also a society that is failing. Ungrateful and godless. Slaves to material items and food.
Best education we could give kids now is physical activity and purpose. Oh and parents. I’m 33 the writing was on the wall of all these issues looking back. The phones, social media accelerated the change to warp speed.
I’ll see myself out. Hang in there and know eventually you will be a free adult. Choose your path wisely.
@matthewadams8294 I agree to an extent. Cost of living is only one piece of the problem, it happened to be the one that I thought of while writing my original comment. There are obviously many more complexities and more problems that are causing education to be treated as low priority. However, many of the problems you mentioned are values that one may hold as opposed to tangible societal/systematic issues. I should also mention I am not from the USA so my experience is likely very different in some regards, that being said cost of living problems is something I believe is quite widespread at the moment.
@ Fair enough. Things have never, ever been fair. Poverty or living wage ect are for another discussion. None of that explains how children are taken more seriously than the teachers, or that they don’t have any interest in learning. Or that they are disrespectful. Ect ect. That’s a sign of a society that is sick.
Here in the US the food supply is poison, physical activity is a myth and our God is material wealth. Half the nation is on pills and overweight. I would say those things have much more of an impact.
The media pushes this idea that everyone is a victim and it’s never your fault. BOTH sides. Personal accountability? Why do that when you can blame the teacher? Or blame the cops? Or blame a race?
Ugh. Just ignore me lol. I’m grumpy today. I would be dead right now if I allowed myself to blame my Alcoholism on a lack of a father, crappy mom, death everywhere in childhood. Did those factors help? No…. But blaming them gets in the way of your own personal journey, your weaknesses, what actually matters. I dunno it certainly did away with a lot of my ego.
A parent that takes their child’s side, over a competent teacher is blatant ego issues going from parent to child.
Okay now I’m done.
@_itsnotstella. Thank you so much for sharing your experience as a student! I value your voice and your opinions! When I was a teenager, teachers could throw things at students, like staplers, pick on and bully certain students mercilessly, tell dirty jokes all day, and pretty much teach for five minutes and sit down for the rest of the hour. That was a long time ago, but like you, I wanted to learn but that opportunity was very teacher dependent. There were some good teachers but they were few and far between, so for a brief year, like you shared, I went over to be with the bad, burn out kids and got into some trouble until at the end of the year, the leader wisely advised me to go back to being a good student while I had the chance bc they were all going to juvie or military school or dropping out.
I realized how important a teacher was for the students so I decided to become one. To my great surprise, the roles had reversed and students were allowed to be very abusive and take over the whole classroom. If I sent a student out, they were sent back with candy and a pat on the head, laughing as they returned from the VP’s office. Admin took a students word over mine even when there were threats of violence or even actual attacks. I broke up a fight in my room and got hit in the face, but admin could care less and didn’t even bother to see if I needed help. I had 35 students but only 24 chairs, but somehow I was supposed to have great classroom management. There were no supplies at all, we were given $50 a year for supplies, which doesn’t even buy a ruler for each of the classes. So we teachers all had to buy everything with our low paychecks. Our books were wildly out of date, so I spent a lot of time researching and creating up to date materials and activities for the classroom. But there was often a few students who would try to hijack the lesson, and my heart ached for the students who were really interested in learning. It was always a dance, do I send the student out, ignore them, talk over them, risk having them come back laughing from the VP and becoming even more disruptive than before.
Teachers were treated so badly that I decided to take on becoming an administrator. My hope was that I could support teachers in supporting students. But some of the admin warned me that you think you can make a change, but now you have to answer to the next level of higher ups, and it’s the same situation all over again. And sure enough, we all took horrible abuse from angry, sometimes drug addicted parents screaming at us, and even the regular parents blaming admin for their child seriously beating up another child. And even though we had the violent attack on tape, because you are suspending them for the violent attack, they’re screaming that we’re biased. And if we didn’t do what they wanted, they would file a complaint with the superintendent and then we had to write up a detailed report, both verbally and written, in 24 hours to justify why we felt it necessary to suspend the student. And you know the superintendent didn’t like getting complaints from the parents, so again, their word was taken over our word as admin. So before you suspended a student, we had to be ready for to justify every action on our part.
I tried to put support staff in the classroom to help with challenging students, but my boss pulled them all out and said I was coddling the teachers. I knew how hard it was to handle a room full of students of some with severe behaviors and challenges without any support or resources. We were in a very high poverty area that comes with all the challenges of high poverty (homelessness, domestic violence and child abuse, drug addiction, and so on) but expected to act like we were the same as areas without these challenges. Most of our day was filled with these situations.
I actually got to spend a lot of time with the troubled students. And underneath, they wanted to be fairly held accountable. They wanted to do “good” but didn’t know how. I had a student thank me for suspending him for drugs. I tried to find creative ways to support them being able to sit in the classroom without acting out. I learned of the pain and abuse that they were experiencing on a daily basis and school was their haven, but they didn’t know how to get through the day without misbehaving.
There are no easy answers, but we can all start holding each other accountable for our own actions and create a wonderful safe space to grow and learn. The future is ours to create.
@@leilaninelson-riley1212 I totally agree. I went to an alternate school for a while and it's honestly intresting to see how well the "bad" kids can do when they are given the proper resources. Kids would come into a class and have lots of issues, alcohol use, behaviour issues, etc. But they were given the opportunity to work to change those things and in a year or two they were graduating high-school when they thought for so long they would need to drop out. I believe alternate schools have a sort of negative connotation in the USA, but in canada (where I'm from) they are just treated as a different option for those who need it, and I honestly believe just a few simple changes can make a world of difference for some students.
I feel like the kids are still just amplifying the behaviors of the adults they look up to just like we did.
Unfortunately, with parents not in the picture or apathetic, the adults end up being social media influencers instead of people the children know personally and are pushed on them by an algorithm. It's not the best way to find role models. Most of them have narcissistic tendencies to put it lightly.
It's affecting even adults. I see behavior in general getting worse and I really worry for the future. Education isn't the only institution falling apart.
People dont feel an obligation towards others anymore. My own parents were very dismissive of me when growing.
I recently retired after 30 years of teaching social science in high school. I left early for some of the same reasons that you did. Pay and benefits were pretty good because I was in a strong union (CTA). My main problem was with student behavior and overall apathy. Computers, phones, and social media have caused great harm. Some parents are partially to blame, but many are struggling to raise their kids. Your mental and physical health are more important than the hard work and sacrifices that you have made for others. I have had great years with great kids, but at 59, I can no longer power through the rigors of the classroom and the sleepless nights of constant stress. I hope you find happiness.
Well, think how your students feel. It's not just tech that is the problem
@@howareyou857I don't even know what that means? Imagine how my students feel? The ones actively telling me they don't care about education and it's pointless and you never need to know how to read or do basic math? Their "feelings" are the issue. I don't care how they feel about math. They have to learn how to do it
I dotn care how they feel about reading.they have to do it.
Caring about how the kids "feel" is rhe issue. Education isn't fun.im sure your last job orientation wasn't a riveting show full of entertainment. It was information needed to complete your job. That is most of school. They have to get over it.
@@robingalbraith323 well, as an ex teacher and now mental health clinician with 2 children who have SEND dx, I can tell you that understanding student needs and emotions is vital to academic success. If you don't understand this thank goodness you are leaving education.
@@curtiswilson137 Both my kids excelled BECAUSE I insisted their educators attended to their needs appropriately. And yes education should be motivating. No wonder you have experienced difficulties with attendance in your classes.
@@howareyou857THIS!
Exactly THIS! 👍
I’m a teacher assistant for first grade at my tribes private school for Native American students. It’s been a rough couple years and I definitely feel you on the pay part. I’m only going to do one more year then I’m going to school because I can’t survive like this. Living paycheck to paycheck for a job that requires your ALL and you don’t get the support you need from the school or most parents just doesn’t make it worth it in the end. I’ve experienced burnout these past 2 years. Hoping the best for you mate ✨
I’m glad more teachers are coming and speaking up like this. I just resigned my first teaching job. I didn’t even make it the quarter. I dealt with so much toxicity and disrespect. For me, the attacks from kids and their parents were about my gender. I won’t go into detail but all of the stuff you mention resonates coming from a middle school classroom. Administration is bogged down by other things, it’s almost like teaching isn’t the primary thing schools are supposed to do. Now I’m out a career and it feels like I’m mourning this huge aspiration I had built myself towards. I’m also feeling lost and like I’m starting over in my mid-thirties. Thx for sharing your story.
My sister completes her teaching degree at the end of the year (mid-thirties also, with a full law degree in hand). I _hope_ she resigns from her first job in the first year, and stays resigned. This industry does not deserve her gifts, which are considerable.
Of course, I know that’s ultimately for her to judge.
We have a very similar story. I quit after a little over a year a week before my 34th bday. I went back to school this fall to get a paralegal certificate. It feels liberating to have a fresh start, but I also know it’s not easy to start over. Having said that, lots of places are hiring former educators from a variety of backgrounds. There’s definitely something out there for you ❤.
Seems you and I are very similar on a lot of the things you said. I didn't finish my final year of teaching due to immense toxicity, and i find myself floundering in my mid 30s while mourning a career that went nowhere while also continuing to have to pay it off.
For those getting out of education, look into "Instructional Design" jobs or college programs. It's where you can teach adults instead of K-12, and still use your teaching skills after leaving K12.
This is my 4th year teaching and I've experienced everything you have talked about. Out of all the things you mentioned, student disrespect is the number one reason why I want to find another career. A lot of these kids are just plain rude, disrespectful, and extremely unappreciative. You can buy brand new supplies or fun things to do for the class, and they will complain about it and/or destroy your materials. The disrespect is off the charts.
Yes, same here. Oh, I've got issues with the workload as well and educational policies that keep changing where I'm from, causing teachers to constantly start their planning from scratch. But the students are the main issue. The disrespect for me and for the subject is crazy. I don't feel like the amount of time, energy, and stress I go through is worth it at all. But I've been looking for another job for months without luck. It's tough to switch to some other career for some of us. I feel stuck in the abyss 😢
Funny, in my experience most students have the exact same complaints about the teachers. Except we don't get to escape from the abuse like you can :) Hard to feel sorry for you, considering you're the one in the privileged position.
Worst thing a student can do is hurt your feelings. You can fuck up their life if you want.
@@DaveGrean I teach elementary school so I hardly consider myself privileged. What exactly are your teachers doing to abuse you? I'd really like to understand why you say that because at my school if a teacher was truly abusing a child they would be arrested and fired from their job. I'm sure there are some bad teachers out there, but most of us are nice people who try to build relationships with the students and see them succeed.
@@DaveGrean I second the question. How are teachers abusing you, exactly? I'm also wondering in what ways do you think teachers are privileged? And how do you think we "escape abuse"? To make your claim that teachers give a harder time to students than students to teachers, you need a good grasp of the condition of teachers as opposed to students. I'm not sure you have it.
@@DaveGrean You're being weird Dave. How old are you? Certainly not a K-12 student lol
You seem like such a kind soul. You deserve better. I quit teaching back in 2009 for all the same reasons as you! Parents and administrators not supporting me with discipline, parents reprimanding me bc their child said they didn’t do anything wrong. Tons of paperwork and not enough time to finish everything. Going on heart medication from the stress. No personal life. Not enough pay. Stayed at school working so late most days I would leave with the janitors at midnight! I loved teaching and working with kids but I also felt like that was “what I did on the side” as I had so much else on my plate. Now I have my own children and homeschool them. I am blessed I experienced the horror of public schools so I could know in the future not to send my children there. And I met some amazingly special children along the way that I will never forget. I had a negative experience in public school as a child but thought I could make it better for my students. The system is way too corrupt and teachers have no power to make a positive change with all the restrictions we work under. I pray you find a more fulfilling career. You definitely have a lot of skills from teaching. Police officer, therapist, secretary, event planner, curriculum planner, etc…. Good luck to you!🙏🏻
I am with you. I taught for 20 years and last year I had a major breakdown. I am a stage 4 cancer patient, was harassed by a guy students and was bullied by the whole class of students just bc one of the students disagreed with me regarding her grade. instead of empathising with me or supporting me, my management took away my job and forced me to resign. I went to the principal to complaint. He said I was being sick too often that the school lost trust in me. He gave me an admin job n I had to prove that I was not insane to get back my job. I had no choice bc I need money to pay for my rent, medical bill and I am a single mother . I was not able to get another job so I stayed . I am counting down the days when my son finished Uni so that I can quit.
Prior to teaching I was a cancer researcher and was never treated this bad. I won’t recommend anyone to teach right now.
That's heartbreaking! 💔 I'm so sorry you have had to go through all of that.
Excellent video! I'm quitting before I even begin. I had thoughts of making the transition into teaching...and then I started subbing. There's no way that i can keep up with the workload/manage behaviors/do small groups/fill out paperwork/give students with special needs adequate attention etc etc. Like you said...teachers are expected to be cops, social workers, therapists... it's not working! None of it works. From the way that it's funded to the insane testing... it's pretty much awful and giving COLLAPSE.
These kids aren't learning. They don't WANT to learn. They can barely use their imaginations. I subbed for a
2nd grade class for two weeks and half of these kids couldn't even sound out letters. It's really the saddest thing. And then they just get passed on anyway 😢 How does a kid move up when they can't even write a sentence!?! It's not even their fault but they'll end up paying for it dearly.
I didn't think that the future would look like this at all.
So despite having a gift for teaching...I've abandoned my plans to go into the field. I'm going to put my energy into becoming a reading interventionist, sign up with an agency to do contract work, and call it a day.
"They can barely use their imaginations." The presumptuousness is just embarrassing.
How do you know, buddy? Have you ever considered that maybe they just don't want to use their imagination in the way you want them to? Maybe they just don't care about what you have to teach? Or maybe you don't have as much of a 'gift' as you seem to assume. It sure is funny how this never seems to happen to good teachers that the students like. Must be a coincidence, surely. Or must be the students' fault, right? Lmao
@@DaveGrean It's not presumptuousness Dave. It's REALITY!!
@@DaveGrean And I did say that it's not their fault because...why would it be? They've only been on this planet for 7 years. They are being failed by the SYSTEM!
Oh, I don't think you have a gift for teaching, based on your comment.
If the kids don't WANT to learn, the kids aren't the problem, you are. All kids WANT to learn. That's how human adaptation has made us, it's hardwired.
I agree that there are issues around funding, testing, restricting subject matter, etc, but to say kids don't want to learn shows a fundamental lack of perspective required for teaching.
@@DaveGrean It's clear that your comprehension skills need work because I said that it's not their fault. Why would it be? They are the product of the society that WE created for them! So yes...they lack imagination, they lack critical thinking, and they lack a willingness to learn because look at the world they've been brought into. The system has failed them.
I quit 3 years in. Taught 11th grade English. It sucked my soul and wrecked my wellbeing. I loved my students, but they also could be extremely disrespectful and there was no accountability from admin. Teachers were treated guilty until they could prove themselves innocent if students accused us of anything. It was terrible.
Edited to add: I only made $42,000. And it was a private school.
I've noticed similar trends teaching college. The abuse of passionate people by administration is so distressing and the apathy of students is heartbreaking. K-12 teachers are fucking heroes, and I'm glad you're taking steps to make a life that you can feel good about living.
That's because the college students coming right out of high school just got years of the administration encouraging entitled, narcissistic behavior. I keep hearing about K-12 teachers being forbidden from giving "negative consequences." Any negative consequences. The kids aren't allowed to be even mildly embarrassed for the way they behave. They get to college thinking the teachers there are going to treat them the same way....give them good grades just for coming in the room and sitting there, let them sit there on their phones, let them sit there and chat with friends.
Teacher here from Canada and unfortunately it's the same for us teachers here. I've been teaching almost 18 years and the burnout is real! I feel exactly as you do. As you've mentioned more keeps getting added to our load but we are never given any grace
My wife is from Ontario. She's shared the same information - it seems like it's happening everywhere.
I have a middle schooler and it's just heart breaking to hear that caring teachers like you are going through this. I think that as parents we need to demand systemic change because our children's future is at stake. God bless 🙏. (We also have cats, we have four:)
High school teacher here. I feel ypur pain and totally empathize. I heard some students hurling expletives at each other on the corridor today in the presence of teachers and I really had to ask myself if this is the kind of environment I want to be in every day. Like you said just the widespread disrespect and disregard that teachers endure in addition to the poor work life balance.
My father recently was a public school teacher at one of the lower ranking schools in my city. It’s also notorious for the bad behavior of the students. My dad, who went into it FINALLY having achieved his goal of teaching, left after 2 weeks. The children acted borderline barbaric to him. Endless days of abuse towards him and other children nearly broke him
So sorry to hear that.
No doubt, your father has a big heart, and I commend his intentions in going into teaching.
I'm recently retired, but shocked at the types of behavior that take place in classes.
Shout out to your father! What a good hearted guy!
Those kids likely missed out on having a great teacher.
This video came at exactly the right time. I needed to hear someone else say all the things out loud. In addition I’m sacrificing my own children to this mess. It’s not worth it. I hate it so much and life is too short to wake up and hate every day.
I'm a school psych in a European country. I make less at school than a teacher but I also have three more part time jobs and a struggling private practice to make up the difference and to be able to live on the public sector salary. This year I was also asked to teach one lesson a week since I was the only adult at school who knew German and there's a huge shift from teaching Russian as the third language instead of Russian (because of Russia's war with Ukraine - I'm in Latvia which is a neighboring country and very threatened by Russia). So for the first time I can experience first hand what a teacher goes through. Your video is so poignant and so disarmingly honest that I'm completely captivated. It seems shocking to me - the similarities teachers go through in opposite corners of the world. Your video makes me hasten up with all the side hustles and other jobs in order to leave school. I thank you for making the video.
HELLO FROM THE SOUHTERN USA !! RETIRED TEACHER , DUE TO ABOVE PODCASTER BUT IT WAS MUCH WORST , IN 1970'S I HAD A FRIEND FROM AUSTRIA, HE GREW UP AND WAS FRIENDS WITH ARNOND SWEZZNEGGER ( SP? YIKES ), USED AS INTRO, BUT HE WAS A MASTER SCUPTOR AND TOLD ME ABOUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND AT ABOUT AGE 12 OR 13 TESTS WERE GIVEN TO DETERMINE THE BEST DIRECTION FOR THE STUDENTS , SO HE WAS APPRENTICED TO A MASTER , AND SO WAS ARNOLD ( LOL, WATCH ME I WILL BECOME FAMOUS MAN IN HOLLYWOOD , REALLY DUDE CALM DOWN AS THEY SMOKED SOME WEED , IT WAS THE 1960'S ) , SO I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS , AND THEN OVER YEARS NOTICED A PATTERN, YOU ARE SOCIALISTS AND HOW CLING TO THAT CLASS SYSTEM , SO IT SEEMS THAT USA HAS A SOCIALIST SYSTEM FOR TEACHERS ONLY , WE WORK AS WOMEN WANT TO GIVE SO MUCH FOR FREE, NO WE DO NOT , NEVER LISTEN TO ONE WORD ABOUT AMERICAN WOMEN BY SOME AMERICAN MEN/WOMEN OR ANY MAN , WOMEN IN AMERICA ARE BEYOND ANGRY AND MEN TAKING OVER TEACHING AND NURSING THE ONLY FIELDS ONLY TO MY BOOMER GENERATION OF WOMEN , SO NOW THE MEN , WHO BTW SHOULD NOT BE AROUND YOUNG CHILDREN IN FIRST DAMN PLACE , THEY ARE XY;S AND MEN AND XY'S AND SEX SEX SEX AND THEY WILL DO IT !! SO NOW YOU HAVE MEN EVERYWHERE IN THE FEW POSITIONS OPEN TO AMERICAN WOMEN BUT NEVER THINK WE ARE NOT GOING TO KICK THE BOYS OUT !! SO WELCOME TO ITS A MAN'S WORLD AGAIN AND DO THEY NOT WHINE AND CRY MORE AND GOSSIP MORE AND WANT WANT WANT MORE AND MORE AND NEVER THINK MARGARET ATWOOD'S A HANDMAID'S TALE IS NOT TRUE, LOOK AT THE WORLD OF MEN ! SO NOW YOU BEST GET PREGNANT , MEN WILL DO ANYTHING TO DESTROY US EVEN THAT BOY DOING THIS PODCAST WITH A MILLENIAL CAP ON IS SILLY BALDING HEAD, HE IS JUST GETTING A DOSE OF WELCOME TO WOMEN;S WORLD !! SO I GET IT AND I AM SORRY BUT THE MEN ARE USELESS NOW AND ALL OF THE ARE BECCMGING HOMOSEXUALS ??? SO BOYS IN EUROPE GOT MAMA ISSUES ??? THEY ARE XY;S AND INCOMPLETES AND NOT REALLY HUMAN , WOMEN ARE XX MEN ARE XY SO MEN ARE INCOMPLETES AND GETTING MORE AND MORE DANGEROUS AND WATCH YOUR MENSES AS TELL NO ONE , TELL NO ONE , I SURE HOPE YOU LISTEN TO ME, NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT YOUR MENSES , THE MEN WHO ARE IN CHARGER AND GOVT ARE KEEPING RECORDS , TELL YOUR WOMEN FRIENDS TO GET ON WITH OHTER WOMEN AND FIGHT THESE MEN !!
MEN CREATED THIS MESS AND MEN WANT TO KEEP US IN THOSE HOUSEWIFE/MAMA / MAID/ SEX WORKER ROLES , MEN ARE THE PROBLEM AND OUR GREATEST DANGER AND WHY YOU ARE BEING USED AND WORKED ALMOST TO DEATH AND IT IS FAR WORST IN USA, YOU HAVE BEEN SOCIALIST AND NOW NO MONEY AND WHY SOCAILISM ALWAYS FAIL AS MEN ALWAYS FAIL !!
Everything you said is spot on. It's year 27 for me, and I'm broken. My spirit and mental health are destroyed. 😢
Wish you the best
I’m so sorry! I literally and figuratively limped out in June.
I am so sorry you're going through this, which must feel so conflicting and heartbreaking. I was a teacher for just 6 years and loved it until the last year, when I switched to a new school that was similar to how you are describing -- absolute lack of support from admin and depressingly low expectations for children's abilities to learn academically and socially. I always tell people who ask if I would go back to teaching that, if i lived a 72-hour day, I absolutely would. I would even consider it now if I did not have two young kids (because, truly, I don't know how people work less than 60 hours/week either!), but I'm not sure I thick enough skin for it. I want people to be teachers and to love it and feel that it loves them back. Or at least to feel respected and receive fair compensation. But so many districts have a lot to do to get their houses in order and keep teachers convinced that they are wanted there. (That being said I am still a million percent a defender of public schools and will always vote to keep them increasingly well funded!) Best wishes on the next career step, wherever it takes you.
It's incredibly heartbreaking.
I asked for 50k due to my experience (3 years in special edk-12 art, 4 as an adult special ed art) as an art teacher for an elementary school. HR rejectected me. Told me next day I'm not worth that. Next day principal calls me up and is making negotiations because he didn't understand. I'm in the job now at 45k and it's definitely not enough plus 14% of my pay being taken out and im making the same as I did working at a grocery store while I spent 8 years on my degree. Not worth it. Then art is considered "special" and isn't respected and im running around doing other teachers things snd they alwsys wonder why I never have the art cart ready. I asked for my own classroom was rejected.
Think about my why:
Really hard to when I'm hired as an art teacher but I'm also doing every other job possible in the building. I've been been an algebra sub and I don't know advanced algebra 😵💫 my why is to educate on creativity not monitor gym or sub for someone whose sick an entire day on subjects I was never trained in or be the librarian.... it's too many hats not enough pay
The problem is not you, the problem is the culture has become toxic and the system is broken.
If teachers can get past the guilt associated with leaving then there might be hope to completely revamp the Education system. If teachers continue to remain it will only extend the life of this monstrosity.
The moment I left the education profession my anxiety attacks stopped.
I remained within the school district as a custodian. My vacation days doubled, I have more floating holidays and I get paid more than I ever did.
Please realize that this profession is not worth losing your health.
John Dewey and Paulo Freire did this. Liberals keep worshipping them then blame the right as the education system crumbles.
To your point about people saying "well just work contract hours". I always say what you said, which is you literally can't say you're doing your job if you DON'T take that extra time, because many of those tasks are integral to the work. But most importantly, after much reflection when quitting teaching in 2022, I realized this:
I cannot in good conscience do a C+ effort at my work. It's not who I am. I cannot respect myself if I do that. And my work has to have purpose. I think a lot of teachers are built that way too.
Yup. I subbed at an elementary school recently where lunch is essentially 35 minutes and the "planning period" is 30 mins. There's no way teachers aren't bringing work home.
@@BeeGeeTee Wow. The teachers actually got their lunch time without students and a planning period! Some schools don't have planning periods. They are supposed to, but they are filled with grade-level meetings, Special Education meetings, etc.
I am also a teacher and I agree 100 %. However, a good alternative I took was TEFL, or teaching English as a foreign language. And in that realm, some of the things you mentioned actually change completely. For example: students interest in what you are doing in a class: you ultimately become a facilitator!!
Good advice. I switched from HS math to middle school special education. It's the same 7 or 8 kids all day in my room. The parents are generally very grateful that someone (anyone) would be brave enough to watch their kid all day. Admin never comes in my room, they're afraid of autism or something. 🥹
I have currently been looking into TEFL. Is that what you're doing currently? What is your country? Do you find the issues in the video to be prevalent in your country?
I agree with every single point in this video: every one. I also have two degrees, I taught middle and/or high school for 5 years, and I had to adapt to teaching during the pandemic: the only difference with me is I'm not sure I was that good a teacher, but that could just be self-doubt. 3 years ago, I was pink-slipped, and that turned out to probably the best thing that could have happened to me. Since then I've started second career path, and it is so much better it's unbelievable: just the work-life balance alone, to be truly off the clock when I'm off the clock, just makes my life so much more bearable. And everything that I've been hearing from my teacher friends, makes it sound like things have gotten even worse since then: it really feels like we're rapidly approaching a mass breaking point, where schools will have to undergo some massive overhaul/paradigm shift in order to keep functioning, instead of what feels like fixing a sinking ship with band-aids.
There are things that I miss about teaching, of course: I've worked a bit as a tutor on the side since then, and have found that much more to my liking. I wish you luck, good sir, and you've earned yourself an immediate like and sub
Guys it’s not the parents. It’s the admin. You can be a great parent but if admin rewards your kids for undermining their teacher then they still become a nightmare at school even if they are good at home. Cause they know they can get away with it
It's both parents and admin.
First thing I would do is prohibit cel phones in schools, period!
Unruly kids ? Need to be addressed!!!
Admin acts like that b/c all day it is their job to deal with crazy parents. They get worn down as much as teachers. As a teacher you might gave 2-3 crazy parents. Admin has that many crazies multiplied by number of classes.
I began my career at a residential facility for children and teenagers with disabilities. I found the work enjoyable, but since it was overnight, my body never fully adapted after three years. Because I loved working with kids, I decided to transition into teaching special education, enrolling in a graduate program in Special Education and becoming a paraprofessional. I already hold a degree in Psychology.
However, my classroom experience led me to abandon that degree after working tirelessly for straight A's during my first and only year in the program. The lack of support from both administration and parents was striking. I had a student who frequently disrupted the classroom, and her mother only sent her to school to avoid dealing with her at home. This child had surgery on a Wednesday and returned to school by Friday. It was outrageous. We felt completely powerless to help her, and as a result, the other students' educational experience suffered daily. There was no learning occurring, only efforts to manage this child's behavior.
I left for an office position and I no longer experience anxiety going into work.
I am a para. I quit being a classroom lead teacher because I needed to choose between my life and a job that "helped" my drinking problem. I am so sorry you went through all that. Your former school sounds more akin to what the norm is. My current assignment is in a pretty optimal environment, but will likely be made redundant due to enrollment forecast. I am leaving in June.
Brazilian educator here (learning English). Although I don’t work as a teacher (I’m a learning materials editor), I can tell you that all the problems you mentioned also exist in Brazil today. My brother is a math teacher in high school here in Rio de Janeiro, and he complains about the same issues. Besides the low pay for teachers (unfortunately a Brazilian reality), I believe the main points of this structural global problem are the lack of support and the way children are being raised these days. They often don’t know how to deal with denial and frustration because of the permissive education they receive at home, as well as the time they spend on screens. There is less respect from children toward adults; they treat adults as equals. I don’t know how to fix it, but I just wanted to express that you are not alone. I hope you find a way to enjoy your life, find motivation, and express your potential.
@Minimmalmythicist I think that it depends on the familys and social status. Rich familys usually are too conscious of the importance of education to mantein or increase your social condition. But, ironically, in poor and media class famillys, many children and teens dont put the attention they would should to do in education. Sometimes I think they just doesnt understand the power of learning. In a entire class of a public or low cost private school, you probably would see 2 or 3 excelente students and more than 40 withou any interess in learning. Besides that, the number of people wanting to go college is decreasing in the last years. I think that its a consequence of how the familys are rasing yours suns and of the economic and job market conjuncture. People see a lot of gratuated professionals unemployee or working informally and dont understaing how a university can be important to their lives. (sorry about grammatical mistakes, Im lerning english yet)
Do you think it is tied to how the economy is turning in this late stage capitalism world?
I’m so sorry. Teaching after the pandemic lockdowns WRECKED me. Last year was my last year. It was a tough decision but I share all the reasons you laid out as well as some others. Good luck to you! You will find a better path!!
Absolutely. It's hard to say why but teaching was NOT like this prior to the pandemic. It was chalelnging of course, but there's something different now.
"There's simply not enough adults in the building" is a terrifying statement, thanks for helping me decide homeschooling is right for us! I hope we fix the education system in time for my son to send his children, but nowadays I feel like it's almost the civic duty of parents who are able to homeschool to do so, to relieve some of that burden. I'm planning on joining a secular homeschool co-op. We're already doing phonics though! ❤🤓
Phonics is SO important. I have 4th graders who still do not have all their letter sounds. It hinders their enjoyment and ability to read because the cognitive load put on them to actively decode every word is so high. The earlier the better!
My 15 year old grandson was bullied so badly aged 9 that after getting nowhere with the young principal, explaining my grandson had had an asthma attack that nearly killed him, his mother pulled him from school. He had never learned to read. Now he reads, helps his online friends with reading, and is at the University of Life, as he is helping care for his mum battling cancer. I used to worry about his education, but knowing that Churchill, Einstein, and Eckhart Tolle had unusual educations and they have all done well, I no longer worry. School is an institution. Where are mad people kept? In institutions. Escape if you can.
My old man retired from teaching at a public school 20 years ago. He told me the students were bad during his last 2 years. If back then was bad I can’t imagine the chaos nowadays.
Shout out man. I know a lot of teachers, all really great people who are in it for the love of the work. Then society is just awful to them, so many people in the private sector are very rude about the profession.
Plus, your point about COVID-kids is very insightful. Annecodtally so many of the young kids I meet are not very well adjusted to the 'real world'
It's one of the few things that almost everyone has done. Therefore, because everyone has gone through school, a lot of people think they could teach as well. It's incredibly hard to hear some of the discourse and perception of what teaching is/what it takes.
What you said is spot on and resonated with me. I have one more year after this until I can officially retire but don’t know if I’ll make it. The stress makes me physically sick. When I think of the joy I had when I started and where things are now it just makes me sad. I see young teachers coming in and they seem to just accept this because they don’t know anything else.
Get to retirement, it’s worth it. 25 years of semi hell but it’s s worth it at the end. Something decades ago was set on a path to ruin American culture and society. I don’t know why. Jealousy?
We definitely need to restructure the way schooling is done. Too much is piled on for sure.
I work with children as well and the lack of empathy is outrageous. Then the parents just do not care at all.
At the end of the day, it’s their future that’s going to suffer. They’re being prepared to take care of themselves as adults in the real world
I’m a teacher in Texas. I’ve been a teacher for 25+ years. You are so right on all points. The work/life balance is really getting to me.
I was a teacher and now I am a Child Behaviour Specialist and parenting has changed so much. Technology is a huge hurdle. There is a wave of ‘gentle parenting’ sweeping that has morphed into passive parenting. This in my opinion has led to allowing kids to be disrespectful. Often the child’s behaviour is the authority in the house. I ask parents if they would accept this behaviour from anyone else and if not why do they accept this from their child. I am sad that many excellent teachers are leaving the profession. I hope you find yourself through this process. Kia Kaha (stay strong) from New Zealand.
I agree with you. The culture of the U.S. and UK is like this. Education is not valued. Entitlement, no respect toward authority. You don’t see this type of behavior so much in other countries. Other countries, teachers are valued and highly respected. .i think it will get worse before it gets better, because the failure to recognize there’s a problem and the concern to fix it.
It started in the West and it’s slowing bleeding into other parts of the world.
@Minimmalmythicist Try Italy. Whew. I taught there for one year. The school I was in was chaotic!
Try Australia! Insane!
@@adelaidas7124 not so much of these problems in Asian countries like Japan, Singapore, South Korea.
I have been looking into East/SE Asia. Have you been teaching there?
9th year middle school teacher. 💯 agree. You’re speaking my thoughts. I’ve made the decision that I want out as well. Now I’ve been trying to figure out the exit strategy. Appreciate you sharing. You’re definitely not alone in this, there are many of us feeling the exact same way. Good luck!
I am happy that you are being honest with yourself and making the best decision for you. Once upon a time I was also an educator (high school math) but I quickly realized it was not right for my life and also left. These are tough feelings to parse and I am sure not everyone will understand, but you have to do what is best for you.
Thank you!
💯 facts about education. I was a teacher for three years and left teaching eight years ago for all of these reasons. This was my exact experience. I now am a nonprofit Founder & CEO and love the work I do. You are doing the right thing leaving teaching. You will be so much happier!
I was a public school teacher and was just getting started when I saw the writing on the wall. I didn’t actually have a bad day but I could see the burnout with those just 5-10 years older than I.
So I left public education, got a masters degree and went overseas to work in a private university.
Now, I’ve been in this university for 20 years, and intend to stay about 8 more. I have 8-9 weeks off a year, no report cards, never meet with parents , and have my own office with a budget for supplies and two computers. I go into work about 9:15-9:30 am and leave before it gets dark to get some evening light on the bicycle ride home.
Needless to say I’m very very happy I left.
This is my 25th year teacher, in addition to two years before that as a sub. It’s definitely harder now than it was even 10 years ago. I’m actually too tired to go on at this time. I was at school for 12 hours both yesterday and today. And same as you, most of what consumes me doesn’t have to do which the actual teaching. The daily screaming in the halls, every single day, of kids with various needs, has gotten to me. I’m an elementary school librarian. There are so many kids with various needs, including behavioral, that we are all breaking. Many of my colleagues are looking for jobs outside education now. I am too tired to do anything besides work because my job depletes me.
The best thing I ever did was quit my teaching job!! Now I have a life like everyone else, and I am paid well for it. If you set boundaries, then the principal is on your case constantly by giving lectures on how you need to be committed, it's the job you signed up for, ad nauseam. Or, you get overwhelmed in the classroom by not having everything done. The pay is incredibly low, and teachers are treated like students. The schools need to hire other people to do bus duty, bathroom duty, lunch duty, before school duty, afterschool duty, recess duty, etc. Teachers are expected to pay for what they need in the classroom. This can include books, paper, pencils, classroom decorations, rewards for students, etc. Nurses never tell their patients, "Oh, no IV for you today because I need to buy my children shoes." The hospital administrators don't chastise nurses for not buying their patients drugs.
I used to be a high school teacher, but the job pushed me to a breaking point, leading to severe burnout, alcoholism, and depression. The constant pressure and lack of respect took a heavy toll. I’ll never forget the day a student broke my personal laptop, flipped my desk, and was back in class the next day without any real consequences. Leaving teaching was tough, but I decided to take control of my path by starting my own consulting company. I may not have hit all my goals yet, but the work I do now is infinitely more rewarding and fulfilling. I finally feel like I’m building something for myself, not just surviving another day.
Dude! Same here but I worked the probation side, no consequences for criminal kids either
Thank you for this video. I'm going to watch it with my young daughter to help her better understand the sacrifices teachers make (we talk about this often).
I keep coming back to something though... I don't see the privilege. You kept yourself healthy, worked hard consistently, and achieved, which afforded you a job that you work even harder at and that, incredibly unfairly, under compensates you. There's no special right, advantage, or immunity that was granted to you here. What you have is only earned. In my opinion, adding privilege to the equation needlessly diminishes your feats.
Best of luck to you and thank you for what you do.
As a Gen Xer who came of age in the Eighties in the American South, when our teachers told us to jump, we said, “how high?” Any troublemakers were dealt with swiftly by the administration. Also, and this is true of science and mathematics curricula - either you know the answer or you don’t. You studied and prepared or you F’d around and found out. If you wanted a good grade or even a passing grade, that was all on you. We made the magic happen - not our parents.
I taught in South Carolina. No one is jumping anymore.
I taught substantially separate special education for 25 years. When I first started, I had four kids in a k-4 program and was told that these kids were very rare and we may have never have more than six in a class. When I stopped teaching, we were only teaching fourth and fifth and had 13 students. Our children are hurting and they are desperate for good teachers but the conditions are what enable teachers to be good. Yet being a teacher seems more disrespected than ever. This video brought back a lot of tough memories for me. Good luck in your next endeavor!
"Consumed." Great word to describe the world of teaching. You don't have to apologize: Your experiences are straight on; you're going to find a great job that fulfills you when you're ready to get back. Wishing you speedy, complete healing.
I wrote a note home to one of the parents saying their child was "extremely gifted" (he's two and doing activities on a kindergarten level) and the director told me I couldn't send the note because I'm not a psychologist-.-
Gifted and Talented Identification is a classroom teacher’s role.
University of Denver
Gifted and Talented M.A.
I taught an eighteen month old who could read.
Interesting working with the various little people.
@@lisamoag6548 I don't agree with this. Studies indicate the regular classroom teachers are not very good at all at identifying gifted and talented children. They identify teacher pleasers.
Haha! They always do this and it’s like huh?
@@flowerlass I don't completely disagree, I think personality plays into it a lot, but I don't think standardized tests analyzed by a passive person is necessarily identifying gifted and talented students either. I think the distinction is arbitrary. I say this as a former "gifted and talented" kid. I always scored high on tests even through college and early career but I dont think I'm actually smarter than anybody else
Of course there are extreme learning disabilities but other than that intellect isn't a simple linear thing
Whenever I reflect back on my time as a contracted classroom teacher, I feel a sense of rage at all the crap I had to put up with from admin, parents, students, etc. to the point where I start to feel physically ill. Yup, I've got the teacher trauma. It's everything that you mentioned. Particularly the zero work/life balance, the blaming of teachers for everything (including poor parenting), the lack of respect and empathy for others that kids display, and the completely ineffective/zero consequences for their actions. Not to mention that not only do X% of kids just not want to learn because they're more interested in their stupid devices and social media crap, but some actively devalue learning and seem to view school and education as something that's beneath them. All of those things you said, and then some, led me to leaving education. I eventually got a job working in a museum (I'm a former social studies endorsed secondary teacher, so it's sorta still in my field), and my mental health (i.e. sanity) has improved drastically. I'm far less stressed, and I work with people who want to be there and care about each other. I'm not going back to education since I feel that the system is so broken and we just keep trying to nurse a dying system along.
I've been an adjunct professor for 6 years, and I feel so many of the things you brought up here. The pay is even worse, the students are also apathetic (though I feel for them because we are all feeling this weird post-COVID societal burnout), and I'm noticing more and more that teaching feels like an uphill battle, and the hill keeps getting steeper.
I'm teaching freshmen and graduating seniors alike who can't form proper sentences or use proper punctuation. I have to teach them grammar that I learned in 3rd grade. Many of them don't understand what satire is. I had them read an article titled "Teachers Should Be Paid Less" and they all took it seriously.
Many days, I feel useless.
Adjuncts are not treated well across the board by colleges and universities in the US. I sympathize with you. My best friend is an adjunct, and she has to teach at multiple schools to make enough money.
Worked as a sub teacher for middle and high schools for 5 years. Would not wish that job on anyone. And my district was actually one of the best in the state! I can't even imagine what teachers and subs have to put up with in other districts 😢
I hear you....I used to teach at a private school and the parents + lack of interest made my life hell. Not even AI to make classes more interesting can get their attention....now I only teach adults. I'm an ESL teacher from Brazil. Here we have the same problems.
Male elementary school teacher here in CA. I just retired in June after decades in the profession. I will have to watch your other videos and get a sense of your situation(s).
Been there. It’s impossible!! Run! Don’t look back.
It broke me too, my guy. I went into it for the same reasons that everyone does-- a deep love and care for children. I came out of the career after two years emotionally mangled. In my personal life, few people understood what I was going through. For me, that was the hardest part. I'll sacrifice for children any day... It's when adults think of me as a wastebin... That's too much. We teachers spend all day teaching morals and values to children and come home to adults that have forgotten their own. For example, an ex-boyfriend used my low salary as a reason to never marry me. It didn't matter to him that I saved 10 percent every month and lived within my means. It didn't matter to him that I taught disadvantaged children how to speak and read. He saw no value in any of it. He did not consider it a career, a future, or even a skill. He grew up and forgot his morals.
Many parts of the job are dehumanizing. I could list several instances of being attacked and spit on, but I try to remember what Jesus said "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Even on rough days, I still tucked in my students at nap time and told them that I loved them every single day. In this profession, it's very easy to forget who you are because you spend the majority of your headspace thinking about the progression of others. I was raised to think that type of sacrifice was noble... "Love your neighbor as yourself" and whatnot... We don't love our neighbor anymore. We love ourselves and no one else. It makes me very sad, overall.
God Bless you, sir. Thank you for sharing your reasons for leaving. It was cathartic for me. Especially the part about wearing 6 hats. I applied to be a lead preschool teacher and ended up being a speech pathologist and behavioral analyst. I was not getting paid or respected for the incredible job that I was doing. It's a shame because the people who lose out are the children. They need a lot of help.
My experiences as a primary class teacher are the same as yours in London ,UK and therefore have not been teaching for the past two yrs..I have not decided whether its worth going back to it..! The only thing I missed about my teaching yrs is being witness to their learning ie. improving their literacy ,numeracy skills and having lots of fun during PE lessons...
The low pay and not getting any support from the head or the assistant head with regards to misbehaving kids is exactly the same...! Only God knows when was the last time the head was in a class of 30 kids alone , teaching ... 20 or 30 yrs ago !!!🤣 You need to make a decision that will depend on your own circumstances ! I wish you all the best ! Be strong and do not take it personally as all of the teachers are going through very similar experiences !🥰
You are 100% right on with everything you said!!! I can no longer keep up with the impossible work load. Since covid, there are so many disruptive and disregulated kids with no boundaries, that it has become impossible to give the rest of the students in my class a proper education. The cost of our health insurance is sky high. Due to the rising cost of health care, my take home pay is approximately the same as it was when I started teaching 23 years ago. I am also going to quit teaching this year. It's not worth sacrificing my mental health and I can piece together other jobs to make ends meet.
The trouble is feeling like your job is a duty, that the kids 'need' you specifically. This power dynamics puts teachers willingly into a toxic situation, The only duty is to yourself, to get a paycheck, any teacher can be replaced by a new graduate, admin know this, its not a good job, because your not respected, there are better paths, I left teaching 11 years ago And It was worth it.
I just had a baby, and I appreciate teachers speaking out. It gives me a helpful perspective. I do not want my child to grow up behaving in the way teachers describe.
You are 1000% correct and you are not alone at all. Please know that I stand with you. Your mental health comes first.
I talked to a friend in highschool, and thanked her for helping me realize I never wanted to teach kids. We had English together and I saw how she acted in class and I realized if I was the teacher and she was in my class I’d be so disheartened even if I faked motivation every day. She stopped acting up so much when I said something that rude to her. It’s been 10 years she’s fine today.
I'm a 4th and 5th grade music teacher (think band and orchestra more than rhythm sticks), and my district has me serve 8 schools a week.
The lack of support or acknowledgement is killer, especially as an educator who functions exclusively in shared spaces. The time necessary to set up and tear down for an instrumental lesson is not only a lot of moving and lifting, but I also have to transport all of my teaching materials around as well. While students do get to choose to register for my classes, many have a severe disconnect after COVID about how to treat the adults in their lives, regardless of role. I have to constantly remind them that they do get grades from me. That I'm a person with feelings and trauma, just like them.
When admin don't follow through on promised supports and then yell at me for being a pest about asking for things is deeply alienating. The hypocrisy of how the educators are treated versus how we are expected to be for the kids is one of the biggest sources of distress in my life.
Thank you for posting. Good luck with your channel. Subscribed. 😊
One thing that really bugged me as a teacher was that the highest “rating” I could receive in my annual evaluation was “satisfactory”!
Parents actually raise your kids, stop drinking, using, gambling, cheating, having airport freakouts on camera. Maybe? But hey blame the kids they ARE raising themselves. 😅
@@LandonStrauss-hc1sc they’re called freakoffs babes
Teach, you got my support. I think all teachers deserve the big pay checks! Teachers like you are strong! 🙏🏽 Wish the best for you.
Thank you for sharing. I was in the school system last year as a paraprofessional last year and know some teachers across a few states. Your feelings and thoughts are totally valid. You are amazing! Best of luck in your new journey.
I am a paraeducator in a special education classroom. I witness all of these things that you mentioned. The teacher I help has been teaching for 12 years and he is patient and obviously cares about his work. I am in this line of work because I would like to teach art at some point, but I am reconsidering this path due to horror stories I hear about and witness. It's gratifying and I love it but I already feel myself getting tired. I don't want to find myself in a mix of being severely under-paid, disrespected by students and their parents, drowning in loads of work and expected to fix students emotional and behavioral issues. Something has to be done about this. I plan on getting a nice gift for the teacher I work with before my company makes me switch schools. It's the least I can do for how patient and resilient he is. I would say I look up to him.
My daughter absolutely loves learning and it’s just because she has been that way since she was little and I hope she keeps that! She unfortunately has dealt with a ton of bullying since kindergarten and is now in 2nd grade and it’s slowed down. The parents never think it’s their child that’s the problem either and it’s super sad. 😢
Wow….what an eye opening video so interesting to hear your views and reading all the comments from other educators. I don’t work in this field but understand many aspects of what you are saying working in social care. Honestly…….part of my choice not to have children in this day and age is because of what you’re saying. It’s impossible to bring a child up in the correct way these days when they are part of a society that is so broken. I have many neices and nephews who I adore but I see all the time they have no attention span whatsoever, no passion for learning anything new and don’t get excited about anything but their phones. It’s incredibly sad and too big a cultural problem to change.
I was incredibly lucky to have some wonderful teachers at school and hands down I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for their guidance and belief in me, as I didn’t get this at home. I think of my old teachers often and have even reached out to them as an adult to thank them for what they did for me.
So sad to hear so many of you feeling this way but completely understandable. I wish you all the very best in your future careers as you deserve so much more than this.
My thoughts exactly!
Your colleague from Russia here. We have the same set of problems. I am lucky to have a decent atmosphere in my workplace set by the administration and fellow teachers, but as for the rest of your points - I guess they’re universal. The salary is there to just help you get by, and the amount of mind-numbing bureaucratic work most of us have to do is insane. I got so worn out with the extra responsibilities of keeping an eye on a whole class of restless 12/13 year olds for 2 years straight during the pandemic and the formalities behind it that now it’s been 2 years that I’m doing the bare minimum of just teaching and nothing else (thank God it’s possible in my situation, not everyone has the luxury to make this choice) even though I’ve lost some money on that decision. But no money can buy the peace of mind.
I managed a restaurant for 20 years and just walked away one day because of the work/life balance issues as well. (Life is too short) Work to live. Don't live to work. 🎉 I hope so very much you find your happy 😊
These things have crossed my mind and then some. And I'm only in my first year! Definitely not alone
I'm a teacher and everything you said is so accurate!!
Absolutely everything you have said is true. I have been a school social worker for 20 years now. I have seen such a decline in students’ attitudes, behaviors, self-control, problem solving, and as you said, lack of motivation/curiosity to learn. In addition to that, parents make us the enemy, when it’s really their precious little Johnny who is the little jag off. And despite the fact that it’s their lousy, preoccupied, or absent parenting that has caused little Johnny to be as he is, everyone looks to the school to fix him. I really should work three more years before I retire, but I’m so done. You speak the truth, my friend, sad as it may be.
I gave elementary education a shot right out of college in 1970. Taught 6th grade kids for three years. I left after three years. My nerves were shot. After leaving, it took two years for the panic attacks to subside. If you have the gift, go for it. You may come out of it shell shocked. I hear ya brother.
Great talk. I think what you said connects with many teachers' frustrations and disappointments.
100% this... This is why I didn't go into teaching after graduating from college and student teaching :(
It's a tough decision to make but in hindsight, I wish I hadn't bought the snake oil I was being sold. It's my own fault but I really believed in what I was doing at the time. Now, not so much.
What did you decide to do afterward?
Same
@@BeeGeeTee I'm a waitress, and I make more money in half the amount of time than I do subbing
Just working on myself at the moment and taking some time to try and live my core values. I'm lucky enough that I have no children - just kitties to take care of. I've got a little bit of savings and am working on restoring a van at the moment to do a bit of travel.
I don't really know what I'm doing, but I suppose that's the point.
Thank you for your authentic points of view. I have learned to be a better parent and have a deeper respect for educators after watching your video