daedalus_was_right t1_iu4uot1 wrote
Nearly 10 years in the classroom here (though no longer in New Jersey); here's why I'm currently considering leaving the profession entirely.
Just this year alone:
I've had students leaving hate speech notes like little bitch ass cowards in my classroom, targeting me for my orientation. I know who's doing it (as if I haven't spent months studying their individual handwriting styles); admin refuses to discipline them for fear of lawsuits from parents.
A colleague caught 12 of their students blatantly copying each other's major essay assignment. My colleague was viciously attacked through email and in meetings with parents, calling them every name you could imagine. Admin, instead of standing behind my colleague's decision to fail these students, simply moved them out of their class into a different class to sweep the problem under the rug. They suffered no consequences.
Despite 10 years in the classroom, I'm still working 60-70 hour weeks, because everything I do is constantly undermined by my district. Just this week, my entire gradebook was erased in the LMS (digital grade keeping software). I now have to go back in and manually create every single assignment and re-enter every single grade I've issued since early August. This will easily add 10+ hours of work to my week. It's fucking Friday, I'd like to be able to spend at least 1 day with my spouse this week, but it appears, yet again, that isn't in the cards.
We recently had active shooter training, conducted by a police lieutenant. It ended with this 300lb cop teaching us how to bludgeon a shooter to death with a chair or book if our classroom is breached, how to duct tape students to chairs if they try to flee a classroom when we're locked down during an active shooting, and other such insanity.
I have a spouse who brings in a second income, and I still am paying more than 50% of my income in rent. We have no kids, we do not buy anything expensive, we don't eat out often, we don't spend extravagantly, we hardly even go out, period. 10 fucking years, and the prospect of owning a home is a pipe dream.
Being a teacher is an exercise in being the victim in an abusive relationship. Admin relies on this dynamic. Parents rely on this dynamic. I get more support, understanding, and compassion from a small cohort of self-aware students than I do from the overwhelming majority of my superiors, or parents. I am America's whipping boy. I went into this profession thinking I could do some good for society. That good appears to be being the punching bag for everyone's frustrations.
Please save your platitudes. This isn't a request for sympathy, I just wanted to give some anecdotal perspective of one teacher's experiences.
Edited for clarity and privacy.
d_trenton t1_iu50to4 wrote
You hit the nail on the head. Towards the end of high school, I expressed a desire to become a teacher to a couple of my own teachers. I expected them to be delighted, but they were not. They explicitly told me not to do it, because of the exact things you said here. This was about ten years ago too. It's sad, but they were right.
Satanic_Doge t1_iu5jbeq wrote
> Being a teacher is an exercise in being the victim in an abusive relationship. Admin relies on this dynamic. Parents rely on this dynamic. I get more support, understanding, and compassion from a small cohort of self-aware students than I do from the overwhelming majority of my superiors, or parents. I am America's whipping boy. I went into this profession thinking I could do some good for society. That good appears to be being the punching bag for everyone's frustrations.
I work in a charter school and feel this so hard.
Thendofreason t1_iu5d2dx wrote
Can a kid be expelled due to their parent's behavior? This should be the case. It sucks for a kid who has bad parents and they aren't doing anything bad besides doing bad in grades, but parents need to be in check. If you care that much about if their kid gets an A or not, then make sure your kid studies and not take it out on the teacher.
I know lots of teachers who wont teach in the rich districts because there's no way they are going to deal with those parents. Literally talking about Westfield, NJ(as seen in that new Netflix show The Watcher. Even though it was filmed in the UK).
daedalus_was_right t1_iu5f2r0 wrote
No they cannot. Expulsions only happen in the most extreme cases these days (for things like attempted murder, sexual assault, or other such heinous crimes).
Satanic_Doge t1_iu5iw3k wrote
Can confirm. Expulsion almost never happens anymore in general.
RosaKlebb t1_iu6jh1w wrote
Hell it barely ever happened. I remember being in high school in the immediate post 9/11, we won’t hesitate to call the cops zero tolerance era and virtually every goon dopehead cretin shit heel was there for graduation.
Absolute worst they did to that crowd was give them all the same schedule with the checked out retiring teachers and older hardasses to effectively babysit them regardless of it working or not.
felipe_the_dog t1_iu5rroh wrote
I never really understood why the admins don't support the teachers when there are disputes with the parents. If it's a public school at least, tell the parents to kick rocks. What's the risk here? Apologies if I'm being naive.
daedalus_was_right t1_iu5t5jt wrote
Parents sue school districts on a fairly regular basis.
RosaKlebb t1_iu6l1rl wrote
Yeah liability is huge in that environment. Not to say everyone with a grievance with school is frivolous suit happy but there are very easy lines to cross that can have things implode.
Someone I know from college successfully sued their high school when they got a drug test forced on them on the suspicion of “they look high”. I think at the time there needed to be protocol to notify parents and some other stuff, and basically the teacher making the claim’s husband is a town cop who doubles as school safety officer and she more or less sicc’d him on the student to intimidate them to take a drug test with all sorts of threats for them refusing until they did just to leave the nurse’s office.
Family pretty much nailed the school.
caesar____augustus t1_iu60bo4 wrote
It's a lot easier to cave to parents. A lot of times parents won't even deal with counselors, building admin etc and will go straight to the superintendent, who will then put pressure on building admins to deal with the issue as quickly as possible. That usually means the teachers get hosed.
eledoremassis02 t1_iu5icde wrote
Also left NJ but wanted to be a teacher and every teacher I talked to said not to do it, even when I was on vacation in Florida. I ran into teachers in the theme parks who taught in Florida and told me not to become a teacher. So now I'm with a history degree and no teachering degree (the way NJ handles it's certification) and working a job where I don't get paid enough to even cover my student loans. But I'm still glad I'm not teaching as bad as that sounds.
It's a shame but I'm holding out till conditions and culture improve.
daedalus_was_right t1_iu5lfnx wrote
Just to clarify, you don't need a full "education degree" (bachelor's or masters) to teach in NJ, you need something called a state certificate. It's a program that typically takes an extra 1.5-2 years of college, sometimes some of it is done concurrently with your BA degree, but much of the time teachers spend 5+ years in undergrad to get their BA + State Teaching Certificate.
eledoremassis02 t1_iu5mb46 wrote
So, when I went to college I was told that I had to get a BA in a subject. Then Id have to come back to get the education portion and I'd get my masters. That was the only option I knew about :/ this was around 2010
daedalus_was_right t1_iu5mk8k wrote
Someone misinformed you. NY I believe is the only state that requires you to get a MA to teach, and that's only within your first 5 years in the profession. NJ is just a BA, plus some extra classes, and your student teaching.
eledoremassis02 t1_iu5q63z wrote
Wow. I wish I knew that :( thank you for clearing that up
daedalus_was_right t1_iu5r5fo wrote
For sure. Going back to get your cert later on isn't the worst thing, but with the state of the profession, there are far lower stress jobs out there for comparable pay.
eledoremassis02 t1_iu5t3i4 wrote
That's how I feel now. I'm in guest service and get yelled out, but because I work for a big company, people think my job is cool and respects what I do (even tho it's of no importance). It's sad but it's just not worth it for me to be a teacher right now.
bros402 t1_iu63yok wrote
That isn't how it worked then at all - unless you went to Rutgers, who did/does not have an undergrad education program.
RosaKlebb t1_iu6j3lf wrote
We effectively are due for brain drain and the quality of education tanking,yeah?
It’s wild because I remember going through undergrad with a program that could beeline you to teach in NJ and everyone talked about how it’s so hard to get teaching gig unless your some big shots relative, and now it just seems like something people don’t wanna touch with a ten foot pole.
WhimsicalWhiteWalrus t1_iu6o52y wrote
I mean this in the most sincere way possible…you need to leave. You need to get out now, while you’re still young and find a career that values you and more importantly, one that makes you feel worthwhile. It will only get worse. And you, your spouse, your family, and your health are going to suffer. What you are doing right now is not sustainable. I wish you all the best.
yayscienceteachers t1_iu71raz wrote
I want to leave but my current set up is easy with my life circumstances. What kills me are the active shooter trainings. How is it at all acceptable that I am trained and paid to educate children and I am spending time on how to not die?
TheWalrusIsMe t1_iu7cfkz wrote
100% why I’m planning to leave the profession! I love teaching, don’t like being a teacher.
pquinn87 t1_iu7n1vn wrote
I feel like I could have written this three years ago (except for the spouse part, I didn’t have time to date because work). I went to law school after 8 years teaching high school. I loved teaching, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made. In my third year and I’ve got a job lined up with a good firm that will pay me nearly triple what I made as a teacher for basically the same hours I was working.
My advice is to make a plan and get out while you still have the steam to make a career change. Admin will suck you dry because they know you have a public service mentality; they’ll take advantage of it (and you) any chance they get. It’s criminal.
bros402 t1_iu63t0n wrote
I graduated with a degree in education in December 2013
wasn't able to get a job for over a year afterwards because virtually every principal was shocked when I would walk in and they saw a guy. One's eyes bugged out and another greeted my very happily when she looked up and saw that I am a guy (then she stammered through the interview and it was over around 4 minutes - the person before me was in there for at least 15 minutes)
I saw a neuropsychologist in 2010 who even warned me saying "you know you'll probably get bored after a couple of years or teaching with these test results"
then I ended up getting cancer and haven't been able to look for work since 2015
thanks cancer
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