Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of teachers with complaints about the nature of the job, such as not having many days off during the school year, having parents rely on school as a form of childcare (not sure the answer to this other than pay nanny to sit home just in case), send them kids to teach whose behavior is not perfect.
While I understand all these complaints and would never choose to be a teacher myself, I nonetheless find it odd. Like - if you're going to be a teacher surely you realize your time off is going to bulk in summer, you know parents need to work, you know 1 in 4 kids is neurodivergent and will need intervention and/ or support, before you become a teacher? Are these things a surprise?

I doubt 25% of kids are “neurodivergent”. Children with Autism are in a special class or go to a school for children with Autism. Children who can keep up with the classroom work and are independent might be mislabeled on the spectrum because they’re socially delayed or very awkward. And people complain about their jobs. What else is new.

Anonymous wrote:Because we didn't know the reality and it is hard to change careers. In fact, it is hard to even change jobs within the career- a teacher has a small window to resign from a school system and get a job in another. One day over that improbable limit- bam, the license is revoked in the state. Secondly, in order to retain certification, a teacher needs a master's degree and further continuing ed, which is all really time consuming and costly , and literally never ends. Thirdly, there's not one practicum or student teaching that shows the daily 24/7 time suck- a teacher never stops working, there's also the demoralization of teachers by children's behavior, stupid micromanaging by incompetent administrators, and the religion of standardized testing where teachers are actually held accountable and penalized for a school's lower test scores as if they, the teachers, were responsible for each child's lack of parenting, language skills, nutrition, abusive home life, disabilities, behavior, lack of early education exposure: books, experiences, language, and emotional capacity. The tests are given in March, and that child may have actually crossed the Rio Grande earlier that July, been beaten daily by caregivers, hasn't had a real meal since a grandfather's funeral
repast 2 years ago, cannot see, has an emotional and or learning disability, and/ or with no resources to speak of, but, yes, that teacher is responsible for on level test scores six months into the school year. Despite all this training, school boards prescribe scripted nonsense that was purchased for political reasons and fails to teach anything.

That is why. We wish we could actually teach children.

**I learned one year that most of my teacher colleagues were on some type of medication-anti anxiety, sleep, anti-depressant, etc. I remember wondering why it didn't occur to me to ever explore that, I probably should have.

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of teachers with complaints about the nature of the job, such as not having many days off during the school year, having parents rely on school as a form of childcare (not sure the answer to this other than pay nanny to sit home just in case), send them kids to teach whose behavior is not perfect.
While I understand all these complaints and would never choose to be a teacher myself, I nonetheless find it odd. Like - if you're going to be a teacher surely you realize your time off is going to bulk in summer, you know parents need to work, you know 1 in 4 kids is neurodivergent and will need intervention and/ or support, before you become a teacher? Are these things a surprise?

Anonymous wrote:For OP: Why do people have kids and then complain about how hard it is? Same reason

Anonymous wrote:Because we didn't know the reality and it is hard to change careers. In fact, it is hard to even change jobs within the career- a teacher has a small window to resign from a school system and get a job in another. One day over that improbable limit- bam, the license is revoked in the state. Secondly, in order to retain certification, a teacher needs a master's degree and further continuing ed, which is all really time consuming and costly , and literally never ends. Thirdly, there's not one practicum or student teaching that shows the daily 24/7 time suck- a teacher never stops working, there's also the demoralization of teachers by children's behavior, stupid micromanaging by incompetent administrators, and the religion of standardized testing where teachers are actually held accountable and penalized for a school's lower test scores as if they, the teachers, were responsible for each child's lack of parenting, language skills, nutrition, abusive home life, disabilities, behavior, lack of early education exposure: books, experiences, language, and emotional capacity. The tests are given in March, and that child may have actually crossed the Rio Grande earlier that July, been beaten daily by caregivers, hasn't had a real meal since a grandfather's funeral
repast 2 years ago, cannot see, has an emotional and or learning disability, and/ or with no resources to speak of, but, yes, that teacher is responsible for on level test scores six months into the school year. Despite all this training, school boards prescribe scripted nonsense that was purchased for political reasons and fails to teach anything.

That is why. We wish we could actually teach children.

**I learned one year that most of my teacher colleagues were on some type of medication-anti anxiety, sleep, anti-depressant, etc. I remember wondering why it didn't occur to me to ever explore that, I probably should have.

Anonymous wrote:Really, it's one of the worst career choices ever, and with low pay as a bonus! I would never recommend this career as an option to a high school grad starting college. Education in this country needs an overhaul, and by that I do not mean privatization, althougg that will happen if the Rs get in office this November.

Anonymous wrote:Principals and higher ups mistreat and harrass teachers to break their contracts with petty threats that you are not good enough, need to do more more more, longer that contracted hours, then they make up stories about how you suck, oh yeah and if kids attack the teacher then admin sweeps it under the rug like it never happens and tries to make teachers resign.

Anonymous wrote:Because they’re losers who can’t find any other job?

Anonymous wrote:Because they’re losers who can’t find any other job?

Anonymous wrote:For OP: Why do people have kids and then complain about how hard it is? Same reason

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids and parents weren’t as obnoxious when I started 18 years ago.

THIS. I was fortunate to teach right when the iPhone came out. Nobody was handing them to kids. Kids were so, so, so different. Sweeter and more compliant with longer attention spans. It’s a different job now, so I quit and work in consulting. It’s much easier for the same money.