Anonymous wrote:I love fall but hate going back to school. So much is piled on us that I can't even catch my breath. But every year, I say "f--- it" just a little bit more. I have spend the last 6 days doing paperwork and testing students (I'm an ESOL teacher). I have a few more days of it. None of this has anything to do with kids or teaching at all. It makes me sad to see how much testing this kids have to endure. It has been out of control for years and sadly, it is all my students know.

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Anonymous wrote:I would have a very hard time getting back in the swing of things after three months off too. Thankfully it is a minor miracle if I can get even a week off, and usually have to work some when "off," so I never have to get back in the groove after a long break.

OP here. I worked summer school and camp. I worked all summer, barring two weeks off.

Now you're gonna tell me I'm burned out.

But isn't it your choice to work summers?

It is presumably your choice to work too.

Many teachers work in the summer to put bread on the table, pay the mortgage, etc . . .

The job allows a break because it is needed. If you choose to be shortsighted and work through because you can't live within your budget, it is good to accept the consequences, a new career.

Not OP, but if my DH and I (both teachers) lived within a budget of what we earn teaching we could not afford to live in Montgomery Co. with three kids. Two of whom go to state colleges and work part-time. My DH has to coach and teach college courses part-time. I have to tutor and work PT at a small design firm. We've talked about moving to PG County, but the commute to our schools from an affordable area in PG would kill what little family time we have and require us to hire childcare for the youngest child to get to/from school. We're very frugal and live simply, but this area is just too expensive. We both have grad degrees in our subject areas and our friends who are Feds or private sector with the same education are out earning us by almost 1/3. Once our youngest graduates, we are gone.

Anonymous wrote:I would have a very hard time getting back in the swing of things after three months off too. Thankfully it is a minor miracle if I can get even a week off, and usually have to work some when "off," so I never have to get back in the groove after a long break.

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Anonymous wrote:I would have a very hard time getting back in the swing of things after three months off too. Thankfully it is a minor miracle if I can get even a week off, and usually have to work some when "off," so I never have to get back in the groove after a long break.

OP here. I worked summer school and camp. I worked all summer, barring two weeks off.

Now you're gonna tell me I'm burned out.

But isn't it your choice to work summers?

It is presumably your choice to work too.

Many teachers work in the summer to put bread on the table, pay the mortgage, etc . . .

The job allows a break because it is needed. If you choose to be shortsighted and work through because you can't live within your budget, it is good to accept the consequences, a new career.

Let me first say that teachers often don't get the respect they deserve, but I can't agree that teachers "need a break," at least any more than anyone else. Yes, it can be taxing work, but lots and lots of people have taxing work and get nowhere near the time off teachers do and working over the summer shouldn't leave a teacher so exhausted that he/she can't handle the new school year since virtually every other job requires people to worn year round.

Have you ever taught, PP?

Nope, but do you think that teaching is so uniquely taxing that they need 3 months off to recharge when cops, firefighters, plumbers, doctors, folks working 80 hours per week in Biglaw, pilots, etc manage to work the whole year?

Nothing wrong with teachers enjoying the time off an the salary partly reflects that, but the idea that teachers need the time off to function just doesn't resonate given all the other professions that somehow manage to worn full time.

The OP worked all summer. And no teacher has three months off. Two months at best.

The district I attended in Ohio just started school today. Their graduation date is June 3.

Is the graduation date for seniors the same as the last day of school for other students (I know that in the district my cousins attended in MA, seniors typically graduate in early June but the rest of the students generally aren't out of school until late June)? If so, that's an unusually long summer break for a public school district. Certainly none of the DC area public school students, much less teachers -- who are generally required to work at least a few days after the kids get out & before school re-opens --, are off for that long in the summer!

I posted about the Ohio school district's calendar. I currently teach for Fairfax County.

I just looked at their calendar. They started school September 7. The last student day is an early dismissal on Thursday, June 1. The last teacher workday is Friday June 2. The graduation is June 3. The are 180 student days and the teacher contract is only about 3 or 4 days longer.

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Anonymous wrote:I would have a very hard time getting back in the swing of things after three months off too. Thankfully it is a minor miracle if I can get even a week off, and usually have to work some when "off," so I never have to get back in the groove after a long break.

OP here. I worked summer school and camp. I worked all summer, barring two weeks off.

Now you're gonna tell me I'm burned out.

But isn't it your choice to work summers?

It is presumably your choice to work too.

Many teachers work in the summer to put bread on the table, pay the mortgage, etc . . .

The job allows a break because it is needed. If you choose to be shortsighted and work through because you can't live within your budget, it is good to accept the consequences, a new career.

Let me first say that teachers often don't get the respect they deserve, but I can't agree that teachers "need a break," at least any more than anyone else. Yes, it can be taxing work, but lots and lots of people have taxing work and get nowhere near the time off teachers do and working over the summer shouldn't leave a teacher so exhausted that he/she can't handle the new school year since virtually every other job requires people to worn year round.

Have you ever taught, PP?

Nope, but do you think that teaching is so uniquely taxing that they need 3 months off to recharge when cops, firefighters, plumbers, doctors, folks working 80 hours per week in Biglaw, pilots, etc manage to work the whole year?

Nothing wrong with teachers enjoying the time off an the salary partly reflects that, but the idea that teachers need the time off to function just doesn't resonate given all the other professions that somehow manage to worn full time.

The OP worked all summer. And no teacher has three months off. Two months at best.

The district I attended in Ohio just started school today. Their graduation date is June 3.

Is the graduation date for seniors the same as the last day of school for other students (I know that in the district my cousins attended in MA, seniors typically graduate in early June but the rest of the students generally aren't out of school until late June)? If so, that's an unusually long summer break for a public school district. Certainly none of the DC area public school students, much less teachers -- who are generally required to work at least a few days after the kids get out & before school re-opens --, are off for that long in the summer!

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Anonymous wrote:I would have a very hard time getting back in the swing of things after three months off too. Thankfully it is a minor miracle if I can get even a week off, and usually have to work some when "off," so I never have to get back in the groove after a long break.

OP here. I worked summer school and camp. I worked all summer, barring two weeks off.

Now you're gonna tell me I'm burned out.

But isn't it your choice to work summers?

It is presumably your choice to work too.

Many teachers work in the summer to put bread on the table, pay the mortgage, etc . . .

The job allows a break because it is needed. If you choose to be shortsighted and work through because you can't live within your budget, it is good to accept the consequences, a new career.

Let me first say that teachers often don't get the respect they deserve, but I can't agree that teachers "need a break," at least any more than anyone else. Yes, it can be taxing work, but lots and lots of people have taxing work and get nowhere near the time off teachers do and working over the summer shouldn't leave a teacher so exhausted that he/she can't handle the new school year since virtually every other job requires people to worn year round.

Have you ever taught, PP?

Nope, but do you think that teaching is so uniquely taxing that they need 3 months off to recharge when cops, firefighters, plumbers, doctors, folks working 80 hours per week in Biglaw, pilots, etc manage to work the whole year?

Nothing wrong with teachers enjoying the time off an the salary partly reflects that, but the idea that teachers need the time off to function just doesn't resonate given all the other professions that somehow manage to worn full time.

The OP worked all summer. And no teacher has three months off. Two months at best.

The district I attended in Ohio just started school today. Their graduation date is June 3.

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Anonymous wrote:If this is how you feel, I respect you for walking away, assuming you do it next year if your mindset doesn't change. We had a lot of great teachers at my (well regarded) public school, but also a ton who had stopped caring years before (assuming they ever did) and simply mailed it in year after year.

OP here. I had a good run. This is the beginning of my 10th year. I'm just so weary. Too much giving, giving, giving.

What are you going to do instead?

I don't know. I'm an educated, intelligent person. I have an M.A. and an additional 36 hours. I'll find something. I don't need to make a huge salary... only about 60k.

Sounds like you got used to having a lax schedule and can't handle a real job anymore.

NP here. You have absolutely NO IDEA what you're talking about. A lax schedule? Really? You're clueless. Teachers are constantly moving, doing, thinking, talking, helping, smiling, doing, doing, doing. And then there's the work they take home.

Gimme a break.

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Anonymous wrote:I would have a very hard time getting back in the swing of things after three months off too. Thankfully it is a minor miracle if I can get even a week off, and usually have to work some when "off," so I never have to get back in the groove after a long break.

OP here. I worked summer school and camp. I worked all summer, barring two weeks off.

Now you're gonna tell me I'm burned out.

But isn't it your choice to work summers?

It is presumably your choice to work too.

Many teachers work in the summer to put bread on the table, pay the mortgage, etc . . .

The job allows a break because it is needed. If you choose to be shortsighted and work through because you can't live within your budget, it is good to accept the consequences, a new career.

Let me first say that teachers often don't get the respect they deserve, but I can't agree that teachers "need a break," at least any more than anyone else. Yes, it can be taxing work, but lots and lots of people have taxing work and get nowhere near the time off teachers do and working over the summer shouldn't leave a teacher so exhausted that he/she can't handle the new school year since virtually every other job requires people to worn year round.

Have you ever taught, PP?

Nope, but do you think that teaching is so uniquely taxing that they need 3 months off to recharge when cops, firefighters, plumbers, doctors, folks working 80 hours per week in Biglaw, pilots, etc manage to work the whole year?

Nothing wrong with teachers enjoying the time off an the salary partly reflects that, but the idea that teachers need the time off to function just doesn't resonate given all the other professions that somehow manage to worn full time.

Oh, please! There is no harder job than being a teacher, especially these days when so many teachers are expected to manage ridiculous curriculum demands on top of parents who are so type A about their little ones, I'd like to see any of you be in a room with 25 elementary students every day of the week and not want to rip your hair out at the end of the week. Hell, most of you women on this board get so upset if your nanny is 15 mins late, God forbid you might have to parent full time. Teachers do not get the full Summer off and yes, they do have to supplement their income, because, news flash, teachers don't get paid a lot. Certainly not the kind of money an executive gets and their job is just as if not more stressful. Time off to function? Yes, there is nothing wrong with my child's teacher taken much needed time to have a mental recoup and be refreshed and ready to start the new school year. I am only sorry that budgets don't allow proper compensation so teachers can have the luxury of not working summer teacher and summer camps which, when you think of it, provide no mental break from the actual job of teaching.

We would all love the "luxury" of two months off for a mental health break. We would probably be better workers and almost certainly would be happier. But you know what, we don't get that and yet we manage, even though we work jobs that are as hard or harder than teaching.

I don't begrudge teachers that take all or most of their summer off. All the power to them. But I have little sympathy for those that choose to/have to work over the summer and then complain about how unfair that is and how much of a burden it places on their mental health and their ability to effectively teach come the new school year. Sorry, all us other working stiffs work all summer and manage to survive, so can you.

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Anonymous wrote:I would have a very hard time getting back in the swing of things after three months off too. Thankfully it is a minor miracle if I can get even a week off, and usually have to work some when "off," so I never have to get back in the groove after a long break.

OP here. I worked summer school and camp. I worked all summer, barring two weeks off.

Now you're gonna tell me I'm burned out.

But isn't it your choice to work summers?

It is presumably your choice to work too.

Many teachers work in the summer to put bread on the table, pay the mortgage, etc . . .

The job allows a break because it is needed. If you choose to be shortsighted and work through because you can't live within your budget, it is good to accept the consequences, a new career.

Let me first say that teachers often don't get the respect they deserve, but I can't agree that teachers "need a break," at least any more than anyone else. Yes, it can be taxing work, but lots and lots of people have taxing work and get nowhere near the time off teachers do and working over the summer shouldn't leave a teacher so exhausted that he/she can't handle the new school year since virtually every other job requires people to worn year round.

Have you ever taught, PP?

Nope, but do you think that teaching is so uniquely taxing that they need 3 months off to recharge when cops, firefighters, plumbers, doctors, folks working 80 hours per week in Biglaw, pilots, etc manage to work the whole year?

Nothing wrong with teachers enjoying the time off an the salary partly reflects that, but the idea that teachers need the time off to function just doesn't resonate given all the other professions that somehow manage to worn full time.

The OP worked all summer. And no teacher has three months off. Two months at best.

Anonymous wrote:How much does a GS 13 make PP?

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Anonymous wrote:If this is how you feel, I respect you for walking away, assuming you do it next year if your mindset doesn't change. We had a lot of great teachers at my (well regarded) public school, but also a ton who had stopped caring years before (assuming they ever did) and simply mailed it in year after year.

OP here. I had a good run. This is the beginning of my 10th year. I'm just so weary. Too much giving, giving, giving.

What are you going to do instead?

I don't know. I'm an educated, intelligent person. I have an M.A. and an additional 36 hours. I'll find something. I don't need to make a huge salary... only about 60k.

Sounds like you got used to having a lax schedule and can't handle a real job anymore.

I'm not the OP but go away. Teaching is a hard profession and it is parents like you who make the job insufferable.

+100 The ignorance on here is appalling. As others have said, too many people have no idea how much teachers work, and coach and counsel and be on committees and attend unending meetings, all for a salary that most people on here seem to sniff at.

OP, I applaud you for the 10 years you have given to teaching. I suspect most of the nasty commenters wouldn't last a year. Hope you find something else that is rewarding to you. Life is too short.

Some teachers do all that you mentioned and those people I applaud. But way to any teachers do far less than that and simply coast . We had teachers who would literally pop in a video two or three days a week and just sit (or even nap) in the back of the class and this was at a good school. I am a fed and we have the same issue; lots of really dedicated people and lots of dead weight. But it is very hard to get rid of the latter, especially given the unions efforts to fight to protect the mediocre at best , rather than permitting any form of meritocracy that could attract better people to teaching and or the gov.

Impossible. No admin would ever let this sort of thing happen. Particularly at a school with high performing students. It's all push, push extend extend learning.