Many teachers have considered leaving education, union says

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my fifth and final year. I only came back this year to make sure some of my seniors graduate. I came to this school their freshman year and moved up each year with them. Some don't have good relationships with their parents, and I made a deal with them that I'd come back one last year if they promised not to drop out. I love the relationship aspect of teaching. Three fourths of them could not care less about the stuff we teach them. Why should they? Most of it is just busy work from a bygone era. The only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing that a lot of them don't have any other adult in their lives who care, and the day I call out might be the day when they really, really needed someone to talk to or talk them out of doing something dumb.

problem is . . . When you use up that much energy on your students, you have nothing left for your own kids.

My own son - 11 - said to me the other day, "If you quit this job, would you spend less time at your computer doing week?"

made me sad initially - But it was what I needed to hear to force me to look at other options. You have one chance to raise your own kids.

I really think that all depends on what job you have. There are plenty of other parents who are not teachers who spend a lot of time in front of their computers working. Think about the lawyers who spend 70 hours working + commuting.

I'm glad you understood work for week. lol

But that's my point. You get one chance to raise your kids, and it's not worth it. Sometimes I spend an extra 4 hours at home doing work - whether it's grading papers or planning b/c my own planning period was eaten up by something.

It's not worth it. Summers don't make up for it either, nor do holidays. It's not even; it's bipolar. I need an even lifestyle where I can feel good about what I do WHILE placing my first.

good for the lawyer making hundreds of thousands working 70+ hour weeks - If memories include how many hours Mom or Dad spent in front of the computer, is is worth it?

not in my book

So, what would you, as a profession?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think about some of the posts from the last several weeks. Extreme behaviors have increased in the past 5 years. Teachers can barely control classrooms.

Many teachers are not given autonomy to control their classrooms as they seem necessary. Things escalate when the resource teachers and urger specialists make things worse by evacuating the class when unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

I'm not in MD, but I'm a teacher at a private school. I've definitely considered quitting. I love what I do and I'm good at it, bu the ever increasing demands are a lot for a working parent.

The admin in private schools are not any nicer, I'll tell you that, but at least my class size is reasonable.

But....it would be pretty hard to live on half of what we make now with both of us working. We could probably do it, but it would be super tight. So I keep on working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you think about some of the posts from the last several weeks. Extreme behaviors have increased in the past 5 years. Teachers can barely control classrooms.

Many teachers are not given autonomy to control their classrooms as they seem necessary. Things escalate when the resource teachers and urger specialists make things worse by evacuating the class when unnecessary.

I'm a resource teacher. I would not evacuate another teacher's classroom. If I'm pushing in, the classroom teacher would make that call. I will say the education bureaucracy has become bloated. There are so many more people that are telling teachers what and how to teach when they know how to. It is frustrating. Another source of frustration is parents. Parents seem to be having more difficulty disciplining kids. Whether it is because they are working two jobs or one job that feels like two, they do not seem to be consistently present in their kids lives.

[Anonymous]

There’s no one in my school that is happy anymore, except maybe the gym, art, resource and staff development person. The latter two just hangout together all day and the Principal doesn’t seem to care. There is no support. Nothing is done about behavior. Parents rule the roost. Curriculum is awful. Evenings are shot grading and preparing for next day. Not much positive to say....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am reminded of how school administrators treated teachers at our school during a bomb threat. Before the police could sweep the school, teachers were told to man the doors to make sure students did not enter the building. Where were the administrators? For those who were at school that day, they were safely supervising the students on the football field.

At that point I would have left with the kids.

Feel free to fire me. My life is more important.

I was assigned to the OSET team. It’s basically the school emergency team. In an emergency (any emergency), I have to stand at a door with glass windows with a walkie talkie and secure the perimeter of the building. I’m five feet tall. If it’s an emergency that impacts more than just our school, you’d better believe I’m hightailing it out of there to get to my kids. My principal, on the other hand, is supposed to stay in her interior office “in case an important call comes in”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am reminded of how school administrators treated teachers at our school during a bomb threat. Before the police could sweep the school, teachers were told to man the doors to make sure students did not enter the building. Where were the administrators? For those who were at school that day, they were safely supervising the students on the football field.

At that point I would have left with the kids.

Feel free to fire me. My life is more important.

I was assigned to the OSET team. It’s basically the school emergency team. In an emergency (any emergency), I have to stand at a door with glass windows with a walkie talkie and secure the perimeter of the building. I’m five feet tall. If it’s an emergency that impacts more than just our school, you’d better believe I’m hightailing it out of there to get to my kids. My principal, on the other hand, is supposed to stay in her interior office “in case an important call comes in”.

I know OSET.

This is ridiculous. In what other profession are employees responsible for safety? Unless you're security, it shouldn't be your responsibility.

Teaching is a such a joke. Each year you do more and more - and to what end?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

I would never work for a huge county public school system. I am aware they may pay make but smaller distracted with 10-30 total schools are much better able to serve the community effectively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my fifth and final year. I only came back this year to make sure some of my seniors graduate. I came to this school their freshman year and moved up each year with them. Some don't have good relationships with their parents, and I made a deal with them that I'd come back one last year if they promised not to drop out. I love the relationship aspect of teaching. Three fourths of them could not care less about the stuff we teach them. Why should they? Most of it is just busy work from a bygone era. The only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing that a lot of them don't have any other adult in their lives who care, and the day I call out might be the day when they really, really needed someone to talk to or talk them out of doing something dumb.

problem is . . . When you use up that much energy on your students, you have nothing left for your own kids.

My own son - 11 - said to me the other day, "If you quit this job, would you spend less time at your computer doing week?"

made me sad initially - But it was what I needed to hear to force me to look at other options. You have one chance to raise your own kids.

I really think that all depends on what job you have. There are plenty of other parents who are not teachers who spend a lot of time in front of their computers working. Think about the lawyers who spend 70 hours working + commuting.

I'm glad you understood work for week. lol

But that's my point. You get one chance to raise your kids, and it's not worth it. Sometimes I spend an extra 4 hours at home doing work - whether it's grading papers or planning b/c my own planning period was eaten up by something.

It's not worth it. Summers don't make up for it either, nor do holidays. It's not even; it's bipolar. I need an even lifestyle where I can feel good about what I do WHILE placing my first.

good for the lawyer making hundreds of thousands working 70+ hour weeks - If memories include how many hours Mom or Dad spent in front of the computer, is is worth it?

not in my book

So, what would you, as a profession?

totally unrelated to teaching

I've always loved hair. So I'm going to cosmetology school. However, I want to eventually specialize in cancer patients and volunteer time at nursing homes. We have a large basement with an entrance that can be made into a studio space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

I would never work for a huge county public school system. I am aware they may pay make but smaller distracted with 10-30 total schools are much better able to serve the community effectively.

Eventually, the smaller systems will become just as corrupt. We moved to a smaller system for the kids.

so far so good . . . But I know that eventually, the disease will travel. Education is dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

I would never work for a huge county public school system. I am aware they may pay make but smaller distracted with 10-30 total schools are much better able to serve the community effectively.

Very true.

It’s why people sometimes gravitate towards charters. My SIL switched to a charter school in Philly and is so much happier. The school community actually has the ability to implement changes.

MCPS is just too big to meet the needs of any of its students well. And the teachers end up having no voice and no autonomy.

[Anonymous]

I loved working at my school. The principal was tough but very fair. There was no favoritism. Certain teachers did not like her. She also made sure there was no gossip in the school. She is in central office now. The new principal is completely different who has her inner circle, flaunts favoritism and seems to act when certain popular teachers badmouth or gossip about their less popular colleagues.
I have to try to transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely reflects poorly on leadership. Any organization with this kind of turnover has issues.

Lack of autonomy. Lack of respect for teachers.

And MCPS is just too large of a school system.

It's not necessarily leadership. I'm in a high school that is well-run, teachers have a reasonable amount of autonomy, my colleagues are good and reasonable to work with, kids are generally nice, but still I put in 60+ hours per week just to keep up with grading and planning and the never-ending miscellaneous stuff (chasing down absent students, college recs, IEP & 504 meetings, clubs, etc.) Each year seems less satisfying than the previous year, and it's hard to figure out why. Honestly, I think part of the blame lies with the iPhone generation. Kids are soooooo hooked to their phones, and it isn't just that they are distracted by them or addicted to them, but that they have no motivation to be passionate about real-world things. Kids have fewer and fewer general skills and creativity and seem mostly like they are going through the motions of school without actually being interested in learning anything. It's really kind of depressing.

Can you elaborate on what general skills? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP.

I am 22 years in. However, I took childcare leave after my first was born. In other words, I would have been able to retire.

Having said that, I'm now seeing a therapist for 1) extreme anxiety (this close to taking meds which I've NEVER done before) and 2) a game changer plan.

I cannot keep up with grading, as my classes are 30+ (high school), and I'm split between two dysfunctional teams who don't know the first thing about planning. I'm exhausted each night and the anxiety has become generalized.

Our school lost a fantastic new teacher, and one of my younger pals (three years in) is having second thoughts. My good pal broke contract mid-year to move out of state! When she was told that "MCPS would never hire" her again, she laughed and said she would NEVER return to teaching. Both her mental and physical health suffered. So what choice did she have? She LOVES her new life, btw.

So it takes guts to move on. I get it. But when my therapist asked me - "What exactly do you like about your job?" - I didn't have a solid answer. The kids not hooked to their phones came to mind but there are so few of them left. Most of my students appear dead inside - like zombies - which scares the sh*t out of me. No matter what I do to liven up a lesson - and I am a fantastic planner who knows kids (or so I thought) - many don't care.

So I no longer wish to be part of a dying system - of a dying field. Once more and more teachers leave - walk out the door after a few years in - the system will implode. I don't want to wait. I want to walk out, switch careers and find my happy spot.

cuz this ain't it!

Are you saying the kids are using phones in class? Why is that even allowed?

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, I am only allowed to tell students to put their phones away in class but I cannot enforce it. I am not allowed to take the phones away and the kids know it. So many of them ignore the rule (can’t blame them) and this is where we are. I can’t enforce the district mandated rules. I could call the AP and he can repeat the rules but he cannot physically take the phones away either.