Teachers Resigning Like Crazy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in an UMC neighborhood in MoCo and don't see this kind of horrible behavior from kids that people are talking about here. My kids are in private school, and the neighborhood kids (some in private, some in public) are quite well behaved from what I can see. Am I the outlier?

So.Much.Privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I've witnessed kids are behaving better this year than at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, when middle school students and 9th graders seemed particularly feral. It's just going to take some time given the disruption to learning and development. Parents can't expect teachers to be miracle workers nor can teachers expect parents to have fully compensated for the disruption forced upon them by the public schools. What the teachers can and should do is push back against the refusal of school administrators to discipline students or the imposition of oppressive training and ongoing reporting requirements that interferes with their ability to function effectively in a classroom.

The primary problems I see among the kids in my neighborhood and the ones on my children's sports teams are almost all related to poor parenting. These kids are held accountable for nothing, their parents jump in to rescue them from any adversity, and the kids are showered with things rather than given structure. Speaking to the parents at practice or in the neighborhood, I am disgusted to hear them blame others for everything their kids do. The kids aren't expected to take any responsibility for a single thing. The parents especially seem to vilify teachers and schools, which is wrong. Parents need to look in the mirror and directly at their children when evaluating whom is to blame for kids' bad behavior.

I watch my neighbor children intentionally litter their snack wrappers, and their parents excuse it, saying they didn't know to throw away their trash. If your 12-year-old doesn't know to throw away their trash, that's a reflection of your poor parenting.

The way my children's teammates speak to the coach and to their own parents is appalling. If your 10-year-old completely ignores adults speaking to them, that's a reflection of your poor parenting. If your 10-year-old can't even listen to the coach's directions for 3 minutes without rudely interrupting him or bouncing a ball against the wall while the coach is talking, that's a reflection on you as a parent (Before anyone jumps on me and says that some kids are not neutotypical, I am aware of that, but when 50% of the team acts this way, I'm sure it is not all because of neurodivergence.)

When my kids have invited their classmates to a birthday party, I have encountered kids (ages 8+) who have broken all the plastic forks before cake time, parents who have sent demanding lists of foods, music, and activities that their children like or do not like, kids who have thrown temper tantrums when I tell them they may not go through our personal items, and parents who just stand there watching their kids destroy other people's property.


If the above are the types of behaviors schools are encountering from both students and parents, no wonder the teachers are burning out! They must feel so discouraged and frustrated! I know I am, and I only have to deal with this nonsense a few hours per week!

Thank you for this. I am a teacher and 100 percent agree.

Maybe the public schools need to require parents go to "parenting school" for X hours before allowing their children to enter public school each year???? Has this always been a conflict b/t parents and teachers -- that kids are not sufficiently disciplined at home? I really don't know. I went to Catholic school for most of my K-12 schooling and we were taught manners like holding the door for others and standing up to say "good morning, Mrs.... " when someone walked into the room. In the rural states, the teachers are generally respected as part of the "more educated" people in the community. So, maybe there's less respect for school itself, and teachers in general, in an area where parents don't necessarily look up to or regard teachers as better than themselves.

While helping recently with my son's sport team practice, I did a little keeping of statistics.

1. I said good morning to each of the 24 children separately, using their names as well. Of the 24 children, all fifth grade students, three children said good morning back. That is three out of 24! The rest just looked at me.

2. As I was handing out snacks, the same three children who said good morning all said "Thank you," plus one other child as well. Twenty of the 24 children just took the snack and said nothing to me.

3. When the families left, fewer than half of the parents said a word to the coach or me. The rest just collected their children and left.


It seems that reciprocating greetings is a common courtesy that is no longer being taught by parents. That is unfortunate.

It seems that using appropriate manners, such as thanking someone when they hand you a treat, is also no longer taught by parents.


As a parent myself, I am disgusted by the behavior of several of my children's peers. The lack of respect for others, complete disregard for common courtesy, and lack of empathy I see among other children is horrific. I hate that my children are surrounded by rudeness and disrespect, but I also resent that these children are being raised in homes in which this is the norm, so that means their parents also act that way.

NP. I have a kid with ASD and attention issues and he doesn't say greetings, sometimes says thank you. What I have heard is that post-pandemic, 50% of children don't say greetings and have attentional issues.

I don't know how teachers do it. I appreciate them, good ones and bad ones.

Screen devices are a major factor in the inattentive problems. Have you ever seen an inattentive child not raised on screens? I haven’t. And I’ve dedicated 40 years of working with children and their parents.

[Anonymous]

Teachers are resigning because of MAGA crazies.

Book banning etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers are resigning because of MAGA crazies.

Book banning etc...

Sex manuals in kindergarten? I’m good with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We talked about this, IMO it shouldn’t be allowed, and they shouldn’t be doing it if they care about the kids. My DS bio teacher quit after winter break.

They do care about kids but they care about their own families and mental health more. Stop gaslighting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We talked about this, IMO it shouldn’t be allowed, and they shouldn’t be doing it if they care about the kids. My DS bio teacher quit after winter break.

They do care about kids but they care about their own families and mental health more. Stop gaslighting.

Exactly. Lack of school safety is a problem. Any office building has better security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I've witnessed kids are behaving better this year than at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, when middle school students and 9th graders seemed particularly feral. It's just going to take some time given the disruption to learning and development. Parents can't expect teachers to be miracle workers nor can teachers expect parents to have fully compensated for the disruption forced upon them by the public schools. What the teachers can and should do is push back against the refusal of school administrators to discipline students or the imposition of oppressive training and ongoing reporting requirements that interferes with their ability to function effectively in a classroom.

Parents are fed up with this too. I feel like no one is listening.

I think school administrators are hesitant to discipline because parents are quick to sue and usually win. Too bad teachers can't sue to make sure that their workplaces are safe.

Where in Fairfax County have parents sued and won because of a discipline issue?

LOL parents constantly threaten schools with lawyers and advocates-it's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in an UMC neighborhood in MoCo and don't see this kind of horrible behavior from kids that people are talking about here. My kids are in private school, and the neighborhood kids (some in private, some in public) are quite well behaved from what I can see. Am I the outlier?

No, but you are on the FCPS board, you don't belong here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in an UMC neighborhood in MoCo and don't see this kind of horrible behavior from kids that people are talking about here. My kids are in private school, and the neighborhood kids (some in private, some in public) are quite well behaved from what I can see. Am I the outlier?

You are congrats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this happening anywhere else? My DC's ES has has have five teachers resign mid year. Is this normal? What is happening?!

And then doing what for income?? Waitressing?
going back to school?
They are not qualified for anything else

I’m a teacher now. I plan on quitting after I earn a certification or two in coding. My son is teaching me now. He’s 16 and he says I shouldn’t be treated the way I am in a professional job. He’s a kid and he knows what’s what.

Ten years ago I knew, probably a dozen teachers personally as friends. Now I know one. They've managed to find jobs they like better without any issue; none of them have ever mentioned wanting to go back to teaching. The "doing what for income" poster is out of touch.

Like what? What are they doing? Wal-Mart? Volunteering?

Most I know are doing some sort of corporate training work. My work bff left last year and says she gets glowing performance reviews and works half the time she did teaching (making $30k more from home 3 days a week). She begs me to come join her almost weekly. It’s getting more and more tempting.

Same - I know a lot of teachers that have transitioned to careers in HR/training. They are MORE than qualified for these roles and they can make so much money - especially if they go back to school to get some sort of HRM type certificate (these are usually short programs). I think the person on here posting about how teachers aren't qualified to do anything else should look in the mirror when they're asking why teachers are leaving in droves - because people like you don't respect them and don't teach your children to respect them, that's why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no data to support the claim that teachers are resigning more than other professions.

I’m happy to be proven wrong, but please post a link. A story is not data.

Please...by all means keep your eyes wide shut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is actually on Forbes' 2023 list of the best largest employers based on surveys administered to employees of these organizations/companies around the country. Before you sneeze at it's 229 ranking, it is one of only TWO school districts in the country to even make the top 500 list.

As a teacher, I don’t have a problem with FCPS as an employer. It’s all the other stuff that comes with the job.

I do they are totally tone deaf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I've witnessed kids are behaving better this year than at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, when middle school students and 9th graders seemed particularly feral. It's just going to take some time given the disruption to learning and development. Parents can't expect teachers to be miracle workers nor can teachers expect parents to have fully compensated for the disruption forced upon them by the public schools. What the teachers can and should do is push back against the refusal of school administrators to discipline students or the imposition of oppressive training and ongoing reporting requirements that interferes with their ability to function effectively in a classroom.

The primary problems I see among the kids in my neighborhood and the ones on my children's sports teams are almost all related to poor parenting. These kids are held accountable for nothing, their parents jump in to rescue them from any adversity, and the kids are showered with things rather than given structure. Speaking to the parents at practice or in the neighborhood, I am disgusted to hear them blame others for everything their kids do. The kids aren't expected to take any responsibility for a single thing. The parents especially seem to vilify teachers and schools, which is wrong. Parents need to look in the mirror and directly at their children when evaluating whom is to blame for kids' bad behavior.

I watch my neighbor children intentionally litter their snack wrappers, and their parents excuse it, saying they didn't know to throw away their trash. If your 12-year-old doesn't know to throw away their trash, that's a reflection of your poor parenting.

The way my children's teammates speak to the coach and to their own parents is appalling. If your 10-year-old completely ignores adults speaking to them, that's a reflection of your poor parenting. If your 10-year-old can't even listen to the coach's directions for 3 minutes without rudely interrupting him or bouncing a ball against the wall while the coach is talking, that's a reflection on you as a parent (Before anyone jumps on me and says that some kids are not neutotypical, I am aware of that, but when 50% of the team acts this way, I'm sure it is not all because of neurodivergence.)

When my kids have invited their classmates to a birthday party, I have encountered kids (ages 8+) who have broken all the plastic forks before cake time, parents who have sent demanding lists of foods, music, and activities that their children like or do not like, kids who have thrown temper tantrums when I tell them they may not go through our personal items, and parents who just stand there watching their kids destroy other people's property.


If the above are the types of behaviors schools are encountering from both students and parents, no wonder the teachers are burning out! They must feel so discouraged and frustrated! I know I am, and I only have to deal with this nonsense a few hours per week!

Thank you for this. I am a teacher and 100 percent agree.

Maybe the public schools need to require parents go to "parenting school" for X hours before allowing their children to enter public school each year???? Has this always been a conflict b/t parents and teachers -- that kids are not sufficiently disciplined at home? I really don't know. I went to Catholic school for most of my K-12 schooling and we were taught manners like holding the door for others and standing up to say "good morning, Mrs.... " when someone walked into the room. In the rural states, the teachers are generally respected as part of the "more educated" people in the community. So, maybe there's less respect for school itself, and teachers in general, in an area where parents don't necessarily look up to or regard teachers as better than themselves.

While helping recently with my son's sport team practice, I did a little keeping of statistics.

1. I said good morning to each of the 24 children separately, using their names as well. Of the 24 children, all fifth grade students, three children said good morning back. That is three out of 24! The rest just looked at me.

2. As I was handing out snacks, the same three children who said good morning all said "Thank you," plus one other child as well. Twenty of the 24 children just took the snack and said nothing to me.

3. When the families left, fewer than half of the parents said a word to the coach or me. The rest just collected their children and left.


It seems that reciprocating greetings is a common courtesy that is no longer being taught by parents. That is unfortunate.

It seems that using appropriate manners, such as thanking someone when they hand you a treat, is also no longer taught by parents.


As a parent myself, I am disgusted by the behavior of several of my children's peers. The lack of respect for others, complete disregard for common courtesy, and lack of empathy I see among other children is horrific. I hate that my children are surrounded by rudeness and disrespect, but I also resent that these children are being raised in homes in which this is the norm, so that means their parents also act that way.

Responsible parenting is a thing of the past in most families. Absentee parenting means kids are mostly raising themselves. Parents are too busy to bother.

As a Gen X kid, I just don't understand this. We were the ones who were latchkey kids and were allowed to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted and we turned out just fine. I think it's actually the opposite issue - it's parents coddling their children and making excuses for their constant bad behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My experience when our kids were in FCPS (especially in grade school) was a really long arm's length kept between teachers and parents. I could just feel the barrier without crossing it. Don't come any closer, parent! But I understood why the teachers wanted a very wide boundary, and I respected that boundary. Too many of the parents I met were trying either to inject themselves into the classroom in some way, or they would not take any responsibility for their child's poor behavior. Every parent thought their kid was gifted. Who was this teacher to tell me my kid did that?

I am not surprised teachers are fed up, and feel overwhelmed enough to quit mid year. A person can only take so much disrespect, and feeling like they are not listened to before they bail.

+1 so much entitlement and disrespect

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I've witnessed kids are behaving better this year than at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, when middle school students and 9th graders seemed particularly feral. It's just going to take some time given the disruption to learning and development. Parents can't expect teachers to be miracle workers nor can teachers expect parents to have fully compensated for the disruption forced upon them by the public schools. What the teachers can and should do is push back against the refusal of school administrators to discipline students or the imposition of oppressive training and ongoing reporting requirements that interferes with their ability to function effectively in a classroom.

The primary problems I see among the kids in my neighborhood and the ones on my children's sports teams are almost all related to poor parenting. These kids are held accountable for nothing, their parents jump in to rescue them from any adversity, and the kids are showered with things rather than given structure. Speaking to the parents at practice or in the neighborhood, I am disgusted to hear them blame others for everything their kids do. The kids aren't expected to take any responsibility for a single thing. The parents especially seem to vilify teachers and schools, which is wrong. Parents need to look in the mirror and directly at their children when evaluating whom is to blame for kids' bad behavior.

I watch my neighbor children intentionally litter their snack wrappers, and their parents excuse it, saying they didn't know to throw away their trash. If your 12-year-old doesn't know to throw away their trash, that's a reflection of your poor parenting.

The way my children's teammates speak to the coach and to their own parents is appalling. If your 10-year-old completely ignores adults speaking to them, that's a reflection of your poor parenting. If your 10-year-old can't even listen to the coach's directions for 3 minutes without rudely interrupting him or bouncing a ball against the wall while the coach is talking, that's a reflection on you as a parent (Before anyone jumps on me and says that some kids are not neutotypical, I am aware of that, but when 50% of the team acts this way, I'm sure it is not all because of neurodivergence.)

When my kids have invited their classmates to a birthday party, I have encountered kids (ages 8+) who have broken all the plastic forks before cake time, parents who have sent demanding lists of foods, music, and activities that their children like or do not like, kids who have thrown temper tantrums when I tell them they may not go through our personal items, and parents who just stand there watching their kids destroy other people's property.


If the above are the types of behaviors schools are encountering from both students and parents, no wonder the teachers are burning out! They must feel so discouraged and frustrated! I know I am, and I only have to deal with this nonsense a few hours per week!

Thank you for this. I am a teacher and 100 percent agree.

Maybe the public schools need to require parents go to "parenting school" for X hours before allowing their children to enter public school each year???? Has this always been a conflict b/t parents and teachers -- that kids are not sufficiently disciplined at home? I really don't know. I went to Catholic school for most of my K-12 schooling and we were taught manners like holding the door for others and standing up to say "good morning, Mrs.... " when someone walked into the room. In the rural states, the teachers are generally respected as part of the "more educated" people in the community. So, maybe there's less respect for school itself, and teachers in general, in an area where parents don't necessarily look up to or regard teachers as better than themselves.

While helping recently with my son's sport team practice, I did a little keeping of statistics.

1. I said good morning to each of the 24 children separately, using their names as well. Of the 24 children, all fifth grade students, three children said good morning back. That is three out of 24! The rest just looked at me.

2. As I was handing out snacks, the same three children who said good morning all said "Thank you," plus one other child as well. Twenty of the 24 children just took the snack and said nothing to me.

3. When the families left, fewer than half of the parents said a word to the coach or me. The rest just collected their children and left.


It seems that reciprocating greetings is a common courtesy that is no longer being taught by parents. That is unfortunate.

It seems that using appropriate manners, such as thanking someone when they hand you a treat, is also no longer taught by parents.


As a parent myself, I am disgusted by the behavior of several of my children's peers. The lack of respect for others, complete disregard for common courtesy, and lack of empathy I see among other children is horrific. I hate that my children are surrounded by rudeness and disrespect, but I also resent that these children are being raised in homes in which this is the norm, so that means their parents also act that way.

Responsible parenting is a thing of the past in most families. Absentee parenting means kids are mostly raising themselves. Parents are too busy to bother.

As a Gen X kid, I just don't understand this. We were the ones who were latchkey kids and were allowed to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted and we turned out just fine. I think it's actually the opposite issue - it's parents coddling their children and making excuses for their constant bad behavior.

People complain about parenting in whatever direction fits their narrative at the moment and have for many generations now. Same as complaining about kids. It's always "things are so much worse now."