Tired of teacher friends complaining

[Anonymous]

My two teacher friends constantly complain about how much work they have & how little they get paid when ever we get together. They act as if teaching is the hardest job & that anyone who works any other job doesn't work as hard as them when school is in session. But most jobs are difficult in certain ways & a lot of jobs pay the same range but without the added benefits. And I can't understand why they complain about pay when they chose to go into the field knowing the pay range. Is this normal for teachers or is this just an isolated occurrence?

[Anonymous]

Normal for many teachers. They don't realize that they get paid more than other professions like social workers as they get summers off if they choose. They have a cushy deal.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Tired of anti-teacher trolls bitching about the people who educate their children.

-not a teacher

[Anonymous]

FWIW, when you take away the salary part, everything you write could be said about many of today’s mothers.

[Anonymous]

I swear someone wrote this exact same post a few months ago.

[Anonymous]

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!

[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.

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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tired of anti-teacher trolls bitching about the people who educate their children.

-not a teacher

Not everyone with an opinion different than yours is a troll. I’m sure Op is a bully too - another overused word that has lost its meaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tired of anti-teacher trolls bitching about the people who educate their children.

-not a teacher

+1000

[Anonymous]

Like other professions, teacher are free to look for another job, but they don't due to summers off, snow days and similiar schedules to their own kids. So, the benefits outweigh the job fulfillment. Accept it.

[Anonymous]

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).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like other professions, teacher are free to look for another job, but they don't due to summers off, snow days and similiar schedules to their own kid[b]s. So, the benefits outweigh the job fulfillment. Accept it.

That's not the only reason. If they get out after a few years, then yes. However, most teachers feel stuck because their yearslic sc cannot be transferred elsewhere. Besides, in many public schools, teachers have to deal with more paperwork (not homework/written work) than the secretaries.
Sign -- a public school teacher whose salary has stagnated for the past 6 years.

[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 completely disagree. I’m a nurse and I feel like I’m so lucky because I have one of the only jobs that I completely leave at the office. A lot of my friends with various other jobs were unable to go part time beside you can’t just turn it off after 5 or certain days of the week. There’s always more work to be done, emails to respond to if you’re out of the office in meetings during the day... I’m not saying teaching is a breeze, but it’s far from the only job that you clocknoit and forget about it until the next day

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

[Anonymous]

My 2 best friends are teachers. In the beginning of our careers, I would listen to the complaints, get invested in their trials & tribulations, and be a listening ear when they wanted to problem solve to change the world. I understand everyone needs to vent. I understand there are times of year that are more stressful than others (like every profession). I get that there are good days and bad days.

Now, 15 years later they still complain (about the exact same things) but I've learned to tune it out. As a friend I give them that respect but also have learned to redirect the conversation. They can commiserate with their other teacherfriends and leave me out of it.