Tired of teacher friends complaining

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Normal for teachers.

I absolutely support paying teachers more. But teaching has been a low-paid profession for generations so I get frustrated when my teacher friends act surprised. Especially the ones who are children of teachers. You can complain all you want, and I'll agree that it stinks, but don't act like it's a shock!

I think what’s actually a shock is not the salary itself, but the sheer amount of work that needs to be done to earn that salary, and how physically, emotionally and mentally draining it is. Not to mention you spend some of that salary just to be able to do your job. I truly think that people don’t realize what they’re in for when they start a teaching career. I know I didn’t. When I first started in my 20s I thought it was fun and put my all in it. I couldn’t keep up with that pace and it’s very easy to burn out quickly.

I came from an office job where if I wasn’t feeling great I could lay low that day, or I could call out and not have to do much prep for that and could catch up the next day. It was kind of a surprise to realize I’d need to be on ALL THE TIME. You think, oh there are specials and lunch so you get a chance to catch your breath. Then you realize you have meetings during specials that you have to fill out all kinds of paperwork for, and you have kids in for lunch bunch and need to return parent phone calls during recess. So, no, the salary itself isn’t a surprise, but the sheer amount of work and energy needed to do that work is a surprise. Everyone considers themselves an expert on teaching because they’ve been to school, but they really have no idea what teaching entails until they actually do it.

[Anonymous]

Teacher here.

I was a teacher for 8 years. Then I worked at a software company (a highly successful DC-based startup that is now global). Then I worked in politics for many years. Now I’m back in teaching. I’ve also worked lots of other summer and short-term gigs.

Nothing is even half as stressful as teaching. Not even running a campaign. Not managing a $10 million book of business. Not facing quarterly sales deadlines or fundraising deadlines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well it IS kind of normal (and teachers do tend to complain to each other when they are outside of school). And also, they DO get paid ridiculously low salaries for the amount of stress they are under.
Yes, your job is super-stressful too, but you likely get compensated for it in a way that teachers do not. AND, the thing you (and even many teachers before they are IN the job) may not realize is that it is literally one of the only jobs that you simply can NEVER leave "at the office" for the next day. There is always planning to do...and grading...and more planning...and more grading. There is no "down time" to do this at work because they are always ON when they have a class of students. There is no hiding in your office or sitting quietly in a meeting pretending to be paying attention. (I know you don't always do this, OP, but you *could* do it. It's an option. And that's sort of the point.) With teaching, the work is constant and ongoing from the minute you step into the school to the minute you leave. And then you take it with you.

Oops. I accidentally sound just like your friends. LOL

But that is probably why I left the profession after 8 years. And lemme tell ya...I have worked 3 different "office jobs" since--one was a law firm, one was a publishing house, and now I'm at a marketing firm (I have a Masters in English) and I haven't found an environment yet that is as stressful as teaching.

Just stop. You sound like a complete idiot when you say things like this.

[Anonymous]

Treat this like any other friend who complains too much. Your options are:

--Ruthlessly change the subject every time talk turns to complaining about work
--Call them on it. Say you don't think the conversation is helping change anything so you're not going to engage with it anymore.
--Decline to hang out with them.

The debate over whether teachers are compensated fairly or not is NEVER going to be resolved. Why drag yourself into that mess?

[Anonymous]

In other countries, teachers are given the utmost deference and respect because they represent learning, which is a ticket to a better life.

We’ve grown too spoiled. We want low taxes, yet fantastic school systems. Nothing comes for free. Teachers are in charge of our society’s future for at least 6-7 hours per day for 13 formative years. IMO, they’ve earned any benefit they get from their jobs. And yes, they probably have more room to complain about the lack of support vs. most professions outside of those serving society in some manner.

Pay them more, I say.

-not a teacher

[Anonymous]

I'm not a teacher but both my parents were. It is SO HARD--stressful, often frustrating, long hours (if you think teachers work only the hours school is in session, you're way off. My mom always worked for hours after school, grading papers and preparing lessons) and low pay. I have a similar level of education--BA and MA--and make the same pay as an experienced teacher for a waaaaaaay easier job that I can leave at the office. Some teachers are crappy at their jobs. The ones who are good or great have my deepest respect.

[Anonymous]

In literally every other job, if you need to go to the bathroom, you get up and go. Have you ever considered that? If a teacher has to go to the restroom, they have to wait a few hours for lunch, or somehow magically find an extra adult that is certified to be alone with the children in the classroom, without leaving the room or using a phone.

Someone pointed that out to me, and that is tortuous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In literally every other job, if you need to go to the bathroom, you get up and go. Have you ever considered that? If a teacher has to go to the restroom, they have to wait a few hours for lunch, or somehow magically find an extra adult that is certified to be alone with the children in the classroom, without leaving the room or using a phone.

Someone pointed that out to me, and that is tortuous.

Nope, I don’t just walk up and go to the bathroom in the middle of a trial or hearing. Or in surgery, or delivering a baby, or caring for a patient.

[Anonymous]

In literally every other job, if you need to go to the bathroom, you get up and go. Have you ever considered that? If a teacher has to go to the restroom, they have to wait a few hours for lunch, or somehow magically find an extra adult that is certified to be alone with the children in the classroom, without leaving the room or using a phone.

Someone pointed that out to me, and that is tortuous.


Nope, I don’t just walk up and go to the bathroom in the middle of a trial or hearing. Or in surgery, or delivering a baby, or caring for a patient.

Exactly. Adults manage fluid intake in situations when they know they will be without a bathroom break for a couple hours. And every classroom has a phone so a teacher can connect with the office or another teacher in the case of a real emergency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s what so many ppl really don’t get when they scream, “well you get summers off and snow days!”....

Kids and their parents are exhausting/boardline suck (go check out the school forums). Admin sucks. Most teachers don’t realize how hard it will bc no one mentions that parents will email you constantly and in MCPS you have to respond within 4 days. No one mentions that basically every kid has an iep and that has to be taken into consideration with everything. No one mentions the testing and how if your kids don’t do well it reflects directly on you, no matter the home environment of the child, their parents, their previous education level, or their ability to learn and take take test. No one mentions all the meetings and evaluations. No one mentions the horrible behavior issues and the parents who make excuses for their children.

Teaching pay sucks and sucks more when you take into account how many after school events they are required to attend (without overtime).

So quit!

You have control over your life. Own your choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. Adults manage fluid intake in situations when they know they will be without a bathroom break for a couple hours. And every classroom has a phone so a teacher can connect with the office or another teacher in the case of a real emergency.

HAHAHAHAHA. I taught in a moldy trailer classroom in Loudoun County. No phone. No alarm to pull. The door didn't even lock securely (you could kick it in, so I would come to school in the morning and find the door wide open). I complained repeatedly to administration, but nothing was ever fixed. This is how much the school system values the lives and safety of children and teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well it IS kind of normal (and teachers do tend to complain to each other when they are outside of school). And also, they DO get paid ridiculously low salaries for the amount of stress they are under.
Yes, your job is super-stressful too, but you likely get compensated for it in a way that teachers do not. AND, the thing you (and even many teachers before they are IN the job) may not realize is that it is literally one of the only jobs that you simply can NEVER leave "at the office" for the next day. There is always planning to do...and grading...and more planning...and more grading. There is no "down time" to do this at work because they are always ON when they have a class of students. There is no hiding in your office or sitting quietly in a meeting pretending to be paying attention. (I know you don't always do this, OP, but you *could* do it. It's an option. And that's sort of the point.) With teaching, the work is constant and ongoing from the minute you step into the school to the minute you leave. And then you take it with you.

Oops. I accidentally sound just like your friends. LOL

But that is probably why I left the profession after 8 years. And lemme tell ya...I have worked 3 different "office jobs" since--one was a law firm, one was a publishing house, and now I'm at a marketing firm (I have a Masters in English) and I haven't found an environment yet that is as stressful as teaching.

I hear you. But, I also don’t get whole summers off?

It's not a "summer off" because there is no summer pay.

[Anonymous]

I am not a teacher, although I was a teaching assistant for a few years in college. Some kids behaved like toddlers

I think what future teachers don't realize is how fatiguing this profession can be when you're dealing with little kids all day - it is literally non-stop, and then on top of that, you're dealing with annoying paperwork and often ridiculous administrative imperatives. Then in the older grades, you have a lot more students and grading.

The good teachers are by nature very energetic. They need to be. If you're low-energy or develop health issues, you can't sustain the pace and end up completely burnt out, and in the meantime, the pay and stress doesn't feel worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here.

I was a teacher for 8 years. Then I worked at a software company (a highly successful DC-based startup that is now global). Then I worked in politics for many years. Now I’m back in teaching. I’ve also worked lots of other summer and short-term gigs.

Nothing is even half as stressful as teaching. Not even running a campaign. Not managing a $10 million book of business. Not facing quarterly sales deadlines or fundraising deadlines.

100%. I'm a former teacher who is now in tech consulting. My husband is a former teacher who now works in journalism. Teachers deserve to complain. It's a difficult, underappreciated job where you have to treat parents like customers and the children like your own. We learned a lot from teaching and we'd both go back in a heartbeat if not for the pay and nasty parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s what so many ppl really don’t get when they scream, “well you get summers off and snow days!”....

Kids and their parents are exhausting/boardline suck (go check out the school forums). Admin sucks. Most teachers don’t realize how hard it will bc no one mentions that parents will email you constantly and in MCPS you have to respond within 4 days. No one mentions that basically every kid has an iep and that has to be taken into consideration with everything. No one mentions the testing and how if your kids don’t do well it reflects directly on you, no matter the home environment of the child, their parents, their previous education level, or their ability to learn and take take test. No one mentions all the meetings and evaluations. No one mentions the horrible behavior issues and the parents who make excuses for their children.

Teaching pay sucks and sucks more when you take into account how many after school events they are required to attend (without overtime).

So quit!

You have control over your life. Own your choices.

Many do!

Hence the teachers shortages you hear about. And if every teacher quit bc it was hard where would you or your children be? Dumber?