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I think one of our biggest problems is that no one sees what we REALLY do. How we break a sweat in the morning after getting to school 90 minutes early at 6:00 am to get ready for our day. How we stay until 7 pm taking care of all of the “not in front of students” parts of our job: grading, planning, meetings and phone calls with parents, researching the best ways to present our subjects and keep our students engaged, teaching ourselves new technology, copying, posting assignments, accommodating work for students, collecting work for students heading on vacation and missing school, grading old work that wasn’t handed in on time, entering grades into online grade books, entering plans so they can be read by a sub into online programs, writing sub plans so we can attend district meetings. Then there’s all the disrespect from admin, students, parents, and the media. Not to mention the outright rude and cruel behavior from students and their parents. All for low pay with respect to the years of education (original and ongoing) we have paid for.
I do not get to work 90 minutes early, nor do I stay until 7pm. I get my job responsibilities completed during my contracted work hours.
Pro
Everyone thinks he knows what teaching entails because everyone was a student once. It’s ridiculous.
So true. I guess since I brush my teeth every day, that qualifies me as a dentist!
When parents care- kids care- because parents are the most important teachers!
Eh. You really think that’s true? All those kids. All those parents.
Does it also bother anyone else that the first thing they mention is pay will fix it? Yes I want to be compensated what I’m actually worth, but the work environment and workload is more of a factor. Throwing money at the problem doesn’t fix it.
Rising Star
If the work environment sucks, paying you more to tolerate the suck, doesn’t work 🤣
Texas and Nevada are completely right.
No one sees when we are so frustrated with a kid all day but we try to pump them up with praise to start the work they should have already finished, deciding whether going home when you should is worth having to come in early for the copies you need or project pieces you need cut because you spent all your plan times in meetings or covering for other staff, and the struggle between deciding if you can rush off to the bathroom for a moment to avoid another UTI or if you just have to wait until plan in an hour.
They don't see when we take an inhaler so we can get ready to practice evacuating our classroom for active intruder drills and the time we spend looking at our rooms deciding what we're willing to do to make it through the real thing.
They don't see that we go home and hope that one student shows up the next day because your call to CPS/DCS was not priority enough to warrant action yet.
We are just the "over-paid babysitters that don't need a degree" until they need our professional opinion.
Yes!!! Yes and yes! I was a full day teacher and never again! I’m currently a teacher-tutor at a school and it’s marvelous. Love teaching and my students but the disrespect from some admin and parents is disgusting.
Rising Star
Exactly, when they come to a school to ‘investigate’ they stage pictures of subs and students’ learning’ when these kids are chaotic when the cameras are off and haven’t sat calmly at a table since school started.
Disingenuous, they wonder why there aren’t more subs, they want you to think it’s that no one knows the job is available.
Processing a sub takes months, you could be interested in working in the summer, you are lucky to be in a classroom by December after background check and human processing.
Of course they also won’t show the room clears because one of our students gets upset and can’t always self regulate his emotions which leads to room destruction and a pause in educating the other students while trying to help this student out
I completely agree about the lack of respect by students and administrators. I had planned to teach forever however now I’m choosing to leave in a year because of the constant administrative “input.” It is amazing how people half my age with 1/8th my experience are telling me how to teach!
I just got used to it and t old the younger boss that obviously they must know better than me so I would do what they said. Sure did not work out too well and kids suffered but that boss is now gone. One thing about education is you will keep getting new bosses so do what you can and ignore the rest. Works for me but if you really care how much kids learn it will always be a struggle.
I know it’s wrong but after 20+ years in this profession my go to maneuver is just to keep my head down and plod along, praying I can last until a reasonable retirement age.
Pro
40 years in... this COVID has finally beat me. With 5 underlying conditions and a grandchild on the way I was bullied by my principal during the remaining 2 months I remained remote after the entire school had been remote for 7 months and I continued to stay home. Didn't matter that I managed to meet the Direct Services minutes the entire time even when others were only teaching 1/2 days. Didn't matter that I discovered 2 students the Facilitator failed to put on the roster. Didn't matter that I had 100 % compliance although the other providers weren't! Didn't matter that I was not provided remote meetings like others previously had or that I was not evaluated the entire year. Nope didn't matter! I DIDN'T RISK MINE OR MY NEWBORN GRANDSON'S LIFE TO OBEY! Didn't OBEY, contract wasn't renewed!