Received an email that DS teacher quit Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

I agree. Also, as someone notes it only takes one or two kids to destroy a classroom’s learning environment and bring other students down with them.. There should be a way at least isolate the bad seeds, but there isn’t. Our ISS admin is too busy throwing pizza parties and giving prizes out to the delinquent kids when they show basic compliance, to actually deliver consequences to them. What’s terrible is he will give them passes to come late to class after their extended celebrations, so I have the worst kids in the class missing instruction time, interrupting whatever lesson I am in the middle of, and showing off their prizes and knick-knacks to the other students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

Also many people in every profession hate to work.

BTW I worked in an elementary school in NoVa for many years and the number of teachers who "hate to work" I could count on one hand. Frustrated? yes Worn out? yes Burnt out? yes Sick and tired of dealing with parents? yes Hate to work? NO

This is so true. Teachers I know love what they do. It is NOT being able to do what they love that kills them, and not be valued for what they do best. We aren’t trained to be group therapists, and we went to college and graduate school so that we didn’t have to be mere babysitters or guard dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

Also many people in every profession hate to work.

BTW I worked in an elementary school in NoVa for many years and the number of teachers who "hate to work" I could count on one hand. Frustrated? yes Worn out? yes Burnt out? yes Sick and tired of dealing with parents? yes Hate to work? NO

This is so true. Teachers I know love what they do. It is NOT being able to do what they love that kills them, and not be valued for what they do best. We aren’t trained to be group therapists, and we went to college and graduate school so that we didn’t have to be mere babysitters or guard dogs.

A quote I recently heard from another teacher: “I love the work I do but I hate my job right now.”

The last month, my entire life has been SOL proctoring and subbing. I’m a specialist without a roster so I’m one of the first people to get pulled to do “other duties as assigned” even though I haven’t been able to do my actual job in forever. Teachers who give up a planning to sub can get paid for it, so to save money they completely wreck my and a couple other colleagues’ weeks. Of course while trained educational professionals are twiddling our thumbs subbing and proctoring and ignoring our real duties, office/admin staff are sitting around debating where to order lunch. And folks wonder why I’m looking for a path out the door?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

Also many people in every profession hate to work.

BTW I worked in an elementary school in NoVa for many years and the number of teachers who "hate to work" I could count on one hand. Frustrated? yes Worn out? yes Burnt out? yes Sick and tired of dealing with parents? yes Hate to work? NO

This is so true. Teachers I know love what they do. It is NOT being able to do what they love that kills them, and not be valued for what they do best. We aren’t trained to be group therapists, and we went to college and graduate school so that we didn’t have to be mere babysitters or guard dogs.

A quote I recently heard from another teacher: “I love the work I do but I hate my job right now.”

The last month, my entire life has been SOL proctoring and subbing. I’m a specialist without a roster so I’m one of the first people to get pulled to do “other duties as assigned” even though I haven’t been able to do my actual job in forever. Teachers who give up a planning to sub can get paid for it, so to save money they completely wreck my and a couple other colleagues’ weeks. Of course while trained educational professionals are twiddling our thumbs subbing and proctoring and ignoring our real duties, office/admin staff are sitting around debating where to order lunch. And folks wonder why I’m looking for a path out the door?

I’m sorry that’s happening to you. I work in APS And our office staff is so supportive and helpful. They cover duty, help with behavior and juggle things around to minimize disruption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

Both of these are examples of why teachers and staff leave schools with terrible admin. What kind of principal or AP allows a parent to roll up and shove a camera in staff members' faces multiple times per week or doesn't act on it when teachers raise concerns about violence or repeated disruptions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

Both of these are examples of why teachers and staff leave schools with terrible admin. What kind of principal or AP allows a parent to roll up and shove a camera in staff members' faces multiple times per week or doesn't act on it when teachers raise concerns about violence or repeated disruptions?

SPED laws complicate things in many places, especially when parents fight more appropriate placements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

Both of these are examples of why teachers and staff leave schools with terrible admin. What kind of principal or AP allows a parent to roll up and shove a camera in staff members' faces multiple times per week or doesn't act on it when teachers raise concerns about violence or repeated disruptions?

SPED laws complicate things in many places, especially when parents fight more appropriate placements

This. Dd had a kid with ODD in her class this year. Everything has been out of control all year. I’ve even seen the teacher crying. The classroom has been evacuated multiple times. Dd says there’s lots of yelling. I think the kid amps up the other kids too. I don’t want to deny a kid an education, but something has got to give. The rest of the class can’t be denied an education either

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

Both of these are examples of why teachers and staff leave schools with terrible admin. What kind of principal or AP allows a parent to roll up and shove a camera in staff members' faces multiple times per week or doesn't act on it when teachers raise concerns about violence or repeated disruptions?

SPED laws complicate things in many places, especially when parents fight more appropriate placements

This. Dd had a kid with ODD in her class this year. Everything has been out of control all year. I’ve even seen the teacher crying. The classroom has been evacuated multiple times. Dd says there’s lots of yelling. I think the kid amps up the other kids too. I don’t want to deny a kid an education, but something has got to give. The rest of the class can’t be denied an education either

Nothing will change unless parents and teachers work together to put an end to this; but really we need more parents to stand up against it. It’s impossible to teach with one of these disruptive kids in the class, let alone more than one. And we are seeing an increase in the number of children like this in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

Both of these are examples of why teachers and staff leave schools with terrible admin. What kind of principal or AP allows a parent to roll up and shove a camera in staff members' faces multiple times per week or doesn't act on it when teachers raise concerns about violence or repeated disruptions?

SPED laws complicate things in many places, especially when parents fight more appropriate placements

I have seen so many parents refuse services for their kids. It is unacceptable if their child is affecting others learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

Both of these are examples of why teachers and staff leave schools with terrible admin. What kind of principal or AP allows a parent to roll up and shove a camera in staff members' faces multiple times per week or doesn't act on it when teachers raise concerns about violence or repeated disruptions?

SPED laws complicate things in many places, especially when parents fight more appropriate placements

I have seen so many parents refuse services for their kids. It is unacceptable if their child is affecting others learning.

I know. It's so frustrating. As a teacher and parent I see both sides of how much damage it can do. I decided I will make waves if my kid gets placed in another class with significant behavioral concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher quits because many parents are severe high-level assholes. They are not willing to take it anymore.
Also, many FCPS teachers hate to work.

I think people on DCUM tend to overstate the asshole parents and understate student behavior. I've worked in schools at varying SES levels and I usually have a couple of difficult parents, most I never hear from at all.

All it takes is a couple though. The one (thankfully her kid is not my student) who shows up 2-3 days every week with her phone out and recording, walking up to whatever staff she sees and demanding they say on camera they won’t make her kid wear a mask or get a covid vaccine? She alone would make me want to quit if I taught her kid.

That’s a nightmare! Still I’d take 2-3 times a week for a short period over truly misbehaving, violent students for 5+ hours, 5 days a week.

Both of these are examples of why teachers and staff leave schools with terrible admin. What kind of principal or AP allows a parent to roll up and shove a camera in staff members' faces multiple times per week or doesn't act on it when teachers raise concerns about violence or repeated disruptions?

SPED laws complicate things in many places, especially when parents fight more appropriate placements

I have seen so many parents refuse services for their kids. It is unacceptable if their child is affecting others learning.

I had a parent tell me this year that it is normal for kindergarten-aged kids to do the following: scribble on the walls with crayons, put paper, crayons, etc in their mouths, tell other students they are ugly, fat and stupid, rip up books. Her daughter does all of these things regularly. I really wish teachers could wear body cameras.

[Anonymous]

Fcps needs to invest in more special ed day schools.
One of the reasons kids cant be moved out of general ed is there is nowhere for them to go. All the day schools that deal with behaviors that fcps contracts with are full with waiting lists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fcps needs to invest in more special ed day schools.
One of the reasons kids cant be moved out of general ed is there is nowhere for them to go. All the day schools that deal with behaviors that fcps contracts with are full with waiting lists.

It also doesn’t help that parents have pushed the school board to get rid of seclusion and most restraints. They have specifically targeted private day schools this time so less kids will be able to be sent outside of FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fcps needs to invest in more special ed day schools.
One of the reasons kids cant be moved out of general ed is there is nowhere for them to go. All the day schools that deal with behaviors that fcps contracts with are full with waiting lists.

It also doesn’t help that parents have pushed the school board to get rid of seclusion and most restraints. They have specifically targeted private day schools this time so less kids will be able to be sent outside of FCPS.

Keep in mind, the day schools and especially the private providers paid by FCPS have always been able to reject students if they don't think they have the staffing or the capabilities to manage certain behaviors. This is only going to make it worse, like PP said. If a school that specializes in challenging behavior is saying they can't accommodate a student due to the severity of the student's needs, why on earth is it reasonable to expect a regular public school to be able to do this?