I hate being a teacher...what do i do

Downhill is fun on a bike wrote:

150 students, 300 parents and an administration breathing down your neck is pretty stressful.

I'd recommend going to an inner city school; 150 students, and probably only 50 moms and 12 dads to deal with....

Downhill is fun on a bike wrote:

150 students, 300 parents and an administration breathing down your neck is pretty stressful. I think what people don't understand is we have to deal with people all day every day. There is no time to sit down in quiet.

It can't be that stressful, because with the amount of awful teachers out there, no amount of complaining from any of those people ever seems to result in a teacher getting fired for incompetence. And most of us have to "deal" with people all day, its called work. Only the people I deal with have the same education as me and can actually stimulate me intellectually.

Its a noble profession, but its not a hard job. Sorry, go pity yourself like a typical liberal.

im also a first year classroom teacher and dont think i want to teach in a public classroom for a while. i enjoy the teaching aspect but most of my kids really dont care, so its frustrating. plus like people said, you have to spend so much time disciplining, which becomes very stressful. with the end of the year approaching, it isnt getting any better. usually i stick to my training schedule no matter how awful i feel and ran up to 120mpw during the fall and winter but today i scratched my afternoon workout because it was such a rough day. i think im going to make the move to physical education next year and am debating getting a masters in public health so i can do something with that.

Teachers- If you have a chance to read Frank McCourt's book about teaching, you may enjoy his reflections of his years as a teacher. If you haven't read Angela's Ashes, you can still enjoy the book, even if it was more of a payday than a his best work.

Whether anyone thinks teaching is easy or not is irrelevant. If the original poster doesn't want to teach, get out, and do so in June. Kids may be bored, troubled, challenging, etc., but they at least deserve a teacher committed to their education.

Non teachers need to walk a mile in a teacher's shoes. I wouldn't want to be a teacher; little positive feedback. Any teacher will tell you the kids are not near the pain that their parents are. Most teachers I socialize with are exhausted by end of school year....and these are not slackers. Usually takes a full month to recover the energy levels; so most don't want a summer job unless they have to. Think back to school 20-30 years ago, and how big was school/district administration then, compared to now.

Responses please.

Thanks for all the responses, I am a first year elementary PE teacher at a semi behavorial school (semi = all the behavorial kids in the district go to my school). Today the principal to me kids claimed outlandish false accusations aganst me. Saying I called them F-ing this and that, which is silly. But classes are hard and I find myself stressed out a ton. Its funny because some days are awesome and some are not. Its a huge learning curve and the payoff is not always what i envisioned it to be. I have applied to other schools outside of the district as well as other levels, but i think i am going to apply to some other jobs outside of my field. I am also going to take my GREs and look at some other fields outside my area. I love health and have a minor in it so i may go in that direction.

Thanks for all the help fellas.

hahaha you don't know anything....but of course your probably a troll...but i'll bite anyways...

Tried having a kid look you in the eye and in a very calm voice tell you that when you walk out the door he is going to shove a pencil in your eye....

Have another kid tell you that his parents beats the crap out of him every day and then have social services tell you you can't do anything about it....

I could go on for hours and i've only been teaching for 2 years....

So don't tell me its an easy job....the material is easy...making kids learn it is just about the hardest thing you can do...

yeah, i saw a lot of that when i was doing student teaching in the fall/ early spring. pretty sad when students come to class wearing the same clothes for 2 weeks in a row without showering and washing the clothes, and its obvious that the kid gets a beating from mom's boyfriend.

the worst experience i had, was subbing last spring in Buena Park, CA. a student threatened me with a "fake" gun and shouted racial slurs. district policy is a "non-tolerance towards violence" and weapons, etc. i wrote him up on referral and asked for the security guard to take him away. 2 days later i recieved a personal letter from the principal telling me that i wasn't being "culturally seeeensitive" to his "diveeeersity" or some BS like that. it's no wonder that kids are so screwed up when the local school government won't even enforce it's own rules! i sent a letter to the district explaining what had happened and have never set foot in that school again.

in retrospect, i should have gone to the newspapers, and/or radio/ tv media and tell the story and cause a controversy to get people to see what it was all about. seeing as i am white and the student was mexican, it was most definately a hate crime. sadly, this story will never make it to the talking heads.

Give it another year or two if you can possibly stand it, it does get better...but, if not, get out NOW.

I'm 43 and am in my 20th year. I'd walk out tomorrow if I could. I read the posts on this thread and it sounds just like my district, especially the PC and racial and student's word against the teacher's stuff. I got a parent phone call last week, actually they called the principal with the kid;s rendition of something that wasn't exactly accurate, and not only was I found guilty without a trial (i.e., they decided it was true before even asking me about it) - I'm also not being allowed to know who said it or respond to it! Principal "can't remember." I am, however, getting a letter on my file regardless.

I love the kids, but the rest of the job is bullshit.

Get out while you're still young enough to do something else, before you have a mortgage, kids, etc., before you've spent 20 years doing something you hate and have 20 years to go and can't get out without a major lifestyle change, more student loans, reduced income, etc.

Blazonbison,

I know who you are and you will be a good coach, so you may want to stick it out another year. I teach also and the first few years sucked, as I was in hard inner city schools, but as I did it longer, the dicipline things get easier and so did the job. I also coach and try to train at a high level, so I know what you are saying. It does get easier.

Put tej girls with large racks in the front row. At least you will feel better. But don't touch

Swofford11 wrote:

hahaha you don't know anything.......making kids learn it is just about the hardest thing you can do...

You're right. Making kids learn is damn near impossible. Encouraging and enabling them to learn is entirely different. You should give it a try.

Become famous or at least infamous.

The Meaning of Life John Cleese Growth and Learning, in which a group of schoolboys watch in boredom as their teacher demonstrates sexual techniques with his wife.

Downhill is fun on a bike wrote:

150 students, 300 parents and an administration breathing down your neck is pretty stressful.

Just another racist wrote:I'd recommend going to an inner city school; 150 students, and probably only 50 moms and 12 dads to deal with....

Try an affluent community: 150 students, 300 parents, 300 step-parents, 150 "advocates", 150 lawyers, 150 psychiatrists, etc.

you're probably horrible at it- quit before you ruin any more kids

I taught social studies in middle/high school for 10 years

If you are miseable as a PE teacher, you really should get out now

If the principal is giving you crap about things that may or may not be true, then you will get lousy evaluations and will not renew your contract-- thet will make you so miserable that you'll want to quit--tell them you'll quit if they give you a good recommendation, they will probably gladly do it, it's called "passing the trash"

my department head was a millitant dike who hated men, and she lived with the dike athletic direcrtor from another high school-- keep your private life private, its a little easier in bigger district

I realized that the only thing getting me through the day was coaching--then afterreading rojo's soliloquy on taking the job at cornell, I grew the nuts enough to after a college job--wound up getting an asst. position--its a not a very good program, mind you, but it was better than teaching--a year later the head coach quit and I wound up with the head job-- I don't plan on staying there forever, but at least I'm getting a sniff from better programs that have openings, which would not happen if I never made the move

my worst day coaching college was way better than my best day teaching-- pretty sad

but admit it, having 8-10 weeks to work a part time job, or take additional classes is pretty sweet. Why do teachers always try to explain away the summer break? Face it, it's a sweet deal!

Why do teacher always feel the need to throw themselves up on the the cross? They always complain about the pay, but teacher pay is right in line with jobs with similar educational requirements. Also, teachers want to compare themselves with other professionals like CPAs, Attorneys, etc.. that is just not a fair comparison, if for any other reason than in those jobs the individual is hired, and yes FIRED, based on their performance. As long as teachers hold on to the idea of tenure and a guarunteed job, then the pay will remain low.

Man, I'm in my 8th year teaching HS English and coaching Track & XC, and I think it's a great career. Sure there, are a few things out there that I might rather do when "I grow up," but I really enjoy teaching.

One thing young teachers should really recognize is that, if you always thought you wanted to be at teacher, you probably want to be a teacher. Doesn't mean you don't have a terrible "job," but having an awful job right now doesn't mean you chose the wrong career. Don't be afraid to bounce around for a few years until you get the right fit for you. And, don't be afraid to sit out a year if you can't find a good teaching job. If you're going to have a bad job experience, let it be in something that you don't look at as a career, and then bide your time till you get that good place to teach.

One thing that's huge is finding a good school, a place where people like to work, and then doing what it takes to get in there. I kind of lucked into my current job, and man, it's great to have a good principal and reasonable administrators.

Once you're in, stay on the administration's good side. Don't be a suck up, but communicate with them. If you see a problem coming - let them hear about it from you. Beat the parents to the punch, and you're usually OK. If your methods are unorthodox, discuss it with your supervisors and get them on your side.

Make your supervisors feel welcome in your classroom - do this and they'll probably never show up.

There are days when I'm not excited about whatever I have to cover in class, but I enjoy probably 80-90% of my students, and I can tolerate the others. By coaching, I often get to establish relationships with the "problem" kids years before I ever see them in my classroom, and this can make a big difference.

Anyway, I've had a sorry gig as a teacher, and it's no fun, but I'm glad I didn't let it run me off.

4th period Math wrote:

It's more like 10 weeks for most of us. And there's a couple weeks in there where you're getting your room ready and dealing with stuff before school actually starts.

We work 7am-5pm, then take a couple hours of work home a night. So figure a 12 hour day. Sometimes you spend a couple hours grading papers on the weekend as well. If you coach or have a club that could easily add even more time every day. Most teachers are putting in as many (or more) hours than your average corporate desk jockey. Oh, and we make a lot less.

You chose your profession, as did I - a corporate desk jockey. Don't bitch about making less because you made your choice.

No, you do NOT put in more hours than the average corporate person who is trying to get ahead. Teachers don't have to worry about job security, or promotions.

I work easily 10-12 hours every day - including Saturdays. I travel extensively for my job - 12 months a year.

If you choose to coach or do a club - you're the one making that choice! Quit the extras if you don't want to spend the time.

I love my job - however, for all of you teachers out there who say "walk a mile in a teacher's shoes, and you'll understand" - maybe you should look into walking a mile in someone else's shoes (like a corporate worker) first.

I'm married to a teacher. Sometimes I wish I had her daily "problems". But then I remember that I enjoy the competition that my job entails - and the pay is pretty darn good as well.