All Hokie, All the Time. Period. Presented by

The Lounge Board

HokieGator

Joined: 10/07/1999 Posts: 15025
Likes: 14359


Such a sad thing today. Today is the first time I've ever told someone NOT


to become a teacher.
I've spent 19 years teaching and loved it. I've always said that, yes, there are tough times, but it's such a great job. (of course, everyone is different and aren't cut out for it, but I'm talking about those that would make good teachers).
Today I saw an old friend who was hired as a reading teacher shortly after I started teaching. She quit a few years ago when she had kids. She told me she was thinking about getting back into it. I told her not to. I would have never said that before this year. The sad thing is that there was another teacher that happened upon our conversation and told her the exact same thing. She will be quitting after this year and taking early retirement.
We are so overwhelmed with so many things. It could just be a local thing, but I doubt it. We have no subs, can't take days off, there are so many kids that are absolutely wild (that's not even counting what my daughter tells me about the middle school), they're putting more and more responsibility on us (no time for planning....again, thanks to no subs), the requirements for lesson plans are more and more insane, the pressure of getting kids to pass tests or get back to grade level even though they've missed about 2 years of school, and the list goes on.
I mean, it's like the higher-ups think that because we are now back full time, everything should be back to normal and expectations for student performance should not only be what it used to be, but even higher standards.
Don't get me started on our county's "full inclusion" model. I have a child with autism in my room (one of 4 btw) that is a screamer. She gets stuck on yelling certain things....usually calling other kids "stupid", now it's "You're chunky and fat". She also kicks the other autistic kid in the head if (when) he goes and rolls around on the floor because she says, "He's stupid". And I have 1 aide in my class to handle all 4 of these students. My kids in class are not learning. Some of them I can see are fearful and are just as beat down as I am. But, dear God, don't dare say anything negative about our full-inclusion model. And the special ed teachers at our school have asked for more help and have been told, 1. No, because they technically have it covered, and 2. There isn't anyone applying for jobs.
Then we have to document every little bit of behavior and a long list of "interventions" we've tried over and over and over so that our numbers look better in terms of "equitable" discipline. Students are destroying classrooms, threatening other kids and teachers, hitting, kicking, verbally abusing others, and on and on....but they are removed from the class, talk to the administrator, given some goldfish or a sucker, and sent back to class. There are no consequences anymore. There's a kid at my daughter's school that is suspended routinely but is always back the next day. There's a kid at my school in 3rd grade that spends his day walking up and down the hall cursing and yelling at staff.....yet he's there every day.
I think it started 2 years ago with the push for "equity" and having our Welcome Back meeting feature a guest speaker to tell us how we are all racist. We've been beaten down non-stop ever since...and if certain students don't make certain standards, it's our fault and we need to do more work, and more bullsh**.
Sorry, I'm rambling....and I'm drinking. But there's about to be a mass exodus of really good teachers. I know one at Blacksburg Middle that quit last week in the middle of the day....just said, F-this bullsh**. I, and many others feel like doing that every f-ing day. I have said to anyone who asks that this is the first time I've ever said that I don't enjoy my job. Public education is going down the sh*tter. Even as a public school teacher I'm becoming a bigger and bigger advocate for private school and homeschool.
So sad.
I'll shut up now and won't say anything else about it.

Posted: 10/15/2021 at 11:27PM



+42

Insert a Link

Enter the title of the link here:


Enter the full web address of the link here -- include the "http://" part:


Current Thread:
  Plenty of issues at private schools as well. ** -- vawter85 10/16/2021 5:10PM
  My wife teaches -- HOKIEVET 10/16/2021 2:24PM
  Montgomery Central for secondary students. -- HokieGator 10/16/2021 12:55PM
  There it is ** -- Newt 10/16/2021 9:15PM
  I completely understand. -- Newt 10/16/2021 10:32AM
  Then there’s this - -- PhotoHokieNC 10/16/2021 12:41PM
  I left teaching in the mid 80s. I miss the kids but would -- WestEndHokie39 10/16/2021 09:36AM
  I have 3rd and 4th graders in school. -- HokieSignGuy 10/16/2021 09:20AM
  Alexandria just reinstated School Resource Officers -- turkeywinghokie 10/16/2021 08:07AM
  You just described the entire country not one county ** -- HokieForever 10/16/2021 11:19AM
  A lack of social interactions for a long time -- Vienna_Hokie 10/16/2021 11:09AM
  Yes, it seems authority means nothing. -- HokieSignGuy 10/16/2021 11:30AM
  The respect for authorities and just the general -- GreenvilleVT 10/16/2021 07:55AM
  I meant at home. ** -- BobG 10/16/2021 09:17AM
  So did I. ** -- PhotoHokieNC 10/16/2021 09:52AM
  Totally understand - my parents were both teachers -- Happy Dog 10/16/2021 06:51AM
  Run. As fast as you can. -- GreenvilleVT 10/16/2021 06:33AM
  Has the pay at private schools improved? -- Newt 10/16/2021 10:05AM

Tech Sideline is Presented By:

Our Sponsors

vm307