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.

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.

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?

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.

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).

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 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.

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.

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!