Why do I hate Teaching?!?!

Trying to double, teach, and coach or sponsor an after school activity is hard. I know a couple other teachers who run, but don't double and even they struggle with an extra hour-75 mins of sleep a day. Its hard to have a job that starts at 630 am and have any sort of social life. Better hope you've found your so and set all your friendships before you enter the profession. Weekends are spent recovering on Saturday then doing everything I planned to do during the rest of the week on Sunday.

we are not paid during the two month summer...this is a very stressful job...try teaching in an urban public school if you don't believe it...

I honestly don't know why anyone would get into teaching. Esp if your degree has anything to do with math/science. Its got to the point where all you feel is the stress of endless tests and evaluations and none of the pleasure of actually enlightening anyone with interesting ways to look at things in a relaxed environment. i.e. one in which kids can learn.

It is far worse in inner city classrooms from what my friends tell me. There in addition to the above reasons you have kids that are socially promoted, and thugs and criminals roaming the halls and no rules in place that are meaningful. The failure rates are epic and those who do "graduate" never make it thru college anyway.

Again, anyone who thinks teaching is a dream gig needs to have their heads examined. Trust me the money sucks, the stresses are awful and I don't think the benefits are worth ruining your health for 30yrs. Stay away kids.

Sad to say, and I don't mean to come across as arrogant, but I have not met too many bright people in teaching in the decade Ive been involved.

I'm wrapping up my time teaching English as a foreign language in Asia. It's been a year and a few months and I've taught in three schools/centers in two countries. Before I started, I was thinking about teaching kids in the US for a career, but now I really don't want to deal with other people's children. And I'm not even a real teacher doing a lot of paper work, but it still makes me tired.

In all three of these schools there has been a strange kid who has been violent. The first times were little kids under 5 trying to hit me. The last time was an older kid, maybe 14, who would kind of ramble to himself in class and then try to kick me. I think that they have mental problems, because it doesn't seem to enter their minds that hitting the teacher is wrong.

I might teach EFL for one or two more years at a university in the country where I am now. In the future I'm thinking of a master's in accounting and working with outdoor/hiking/climbing businesses. I don't know how that will work out. It's a good thing that I tried teaching kids first before I spent money on a degree for teaching.

The hostile and belittling attitudes coming from people outside of the profession on this board are exactly why so many qualified and intelligent teachers leave their jobs after the first year. There is an absolute lack of respect and credit of achievment. I don't know how anyone could possibly think that teachers, especially new teachers, are underqualified or underachieving morons. I majored in music and education. I definitely did not make it through college getting C's in all my classes, and neither did any of my peers. I had to pass a content knowledge test that covered music theory, pedagogy, history, ear training, conducting and error identification before I was even placed in my unpaid and full time internship. I have to retake and pass that test every 5 years to remain certified. I don't get to sit on my ass, relying on bare minimum content knowledge. I am 2 weeks away from graduating, and 2 weeks away from finishing my student teaching practicum at an audition only public art school. I already know that I will not be going into anything education related after I graduate. My host teachers are constantly hounded and belittled by parents and administration. Parents beg for their failing student's grades to be raised without reason. When a teacher defends their documented grading for that student, the parents go over their head and demand it from the administration. Administration bends to the parent's whim everytime, and as a result teachers feel they have no control over their own classes. They have no authority and parents know it, and they take advantage of it. They expect their children to be coddled, and to not have to help their own kids with homework. As a result teachers are forced to falsify grades, and stupid children, who simply don't have the work ethic or intelligence to go on and succeed in college, end up undeservedly graduating. Teachers are often required to work well beyond the school day hours. "Most teachers don't work 8 hours a day" my ass. My host teachers are up here every night until 10:30 pm planning lessons, organizing field trips, grading work, and collaborating because they don't have time to do it during the day. I'm not even employed here and I stay to help well after 5 pm. It's not a 9 to 5 pm job. For those who care about their quality of work it's more like a 7 to 10. The public doesn't value quality educators. That's why there are so few. Who would put up with a job where you aren't paid overtime, can't be truly successful without overtime, aren't appreciated, people assume you are stupid and unqualified despite a college degree and high gpa, and you are constantly berated and disempowered? Anyone with intelligence and the skills to move out of education do so as soon as they are able to. Parents and shitty public attitudes about educators...that's why you hate teaching OP.

I teach science at private school where the worst issue I deal with is kids throwing paper balls at each other. Great hours, super low stress, administration has my back, amazing vacation time. Needless to say, I enjoy my job. Prior to teaching I worked an office job and couldn't seriously train due to the hours, but it is really easy to train on the high school schedule.

However, how anyone could teach at a school with serious behavioral issues for more than a year or two is beyond me. Sure, do a few years of service in those kinds of schools - but move on to a lower stress position when you feel like you're burning out.

I'm a student. I hate school. I hate the environment. I hate that there's more than 10 students in my classes. I hate that I have 4 90 minute classes. It's really just an excuse to keep us in school. We sit there in instruction and work for 60 minutes. Then we spend the next 30 minutes sitting around doing nothing.

Jo runs wrote:

I'm a student. I hate school. I hate the environment. I hate that there's more than 10 students in my classes. I hate that I have 4 90 minute classes. It's really just an excuse to keep us in school. We sit there in instruction and work for 60 minutes. Then we spend the next 30 minutes sitting around doing nothing.

Who cares

Bumping this old thread.

I've seen a few news stories that my local district is having a teacher shortage, they are begging people to apply.

Pretty funny, they turned our local schools into complete garbage. They have taken all discipline away from teachers so the schools are just warehouses for kids during the day. Being a "teacher" at these schools is more akin to prison guard, and they can't figure out why nobody will work there....

Public schooling is just taxpayer funded babysitting at this point.

This thread from nine years ago features the least aware people on earth, teachers. They cried “teacher bashing” any time any person suggested the lack of learning and chaos in a room full of children with one adult was the adult’s failure. Of course it is. You had one job and you did it poorly. It’s even worse now 9 years later because you aimed low every day, blamed the kids, and even blamed adults not doing you job for your poor results. We see store clerks or police officers or sailors work only occasionally. We watched teachers “work” for 12 years. You can’t con witnesses about your underperformance. A few do work and the legion of lazy ones all pretend to be those few. Spare me. The reason why homeschooled kids greatly perform those you “teach” is further proof that your lack of commitment and skill holds them back.

Teaching is a great career when teachers are supported and have the resources they need and a lousy career elsewise. This is similar to a lot of occupations really. For instance a teacher who teaches classes of 35 (I bet some districts allow higher in a single class now, I've been out of teaching hs for 6 years) has a much worse experience than a teacher who teaches classes of 15.

I'm not sure what you expect teachers to do? At least with elementary students teachers really can't hand out consequences and, when I've had to send a student to the office. They come back with candy or food 15 minutes later to admin and the district often reinforces poor behavior.

Your last point is... I don't even know. Homeschooled children often outperform students in public schools for a whole host of reasons. Teaching 1:1, 1:5, or even 1:10 is easier than teaching 1:30. Homeschool students typically come from higher-earning and better-educated families. Socioeconomic standards are a large part of why those students doing as well as they do. It is much easier to differentiate instruction when you have a very small group. It is easier to build a good rapport with students when you have less. All of these things show better academic outcomes based on research and they are more easily done while be homeschool with the exception of socioeconomic standards.

Are there bad teachers.. Yes.. A lot of them... Teaching isn't one job... But believe what you wish.

In any other field, adults at work speak to and manage a lot more than 15 people at a time, even more than 35. Even coaches usually do. Teachers who fail to ably teach their classroom of students within those four walls are the problem, not that there’s 35 students. If they can fit in your room, you should be able to handle it. If you can’t, it’s you. I worked for a few years in management at a nationwide chain restaurant with a happy hour 3-6. Almost all of the customers before 5 p.m, at our place, and from anybody I ever talked to from our locations in other cities and states were teachers. Mostly nice folks and good tippers, but they had shorter work hours than our other customers. I call BS on their long hours and doubt most of them could “grade papers” after they left. Our teachers are America’s Afternoon Drinkers, more than any other job. We had some construction workers and day laborers, but they probably more often were liquor store drinkers, because your $25 goes a lot further there. Teachers always had money for restaurant meals and drinks, but happy hour was cheaper. They never seemed poor, or overworked based on how early they weren’t working. They also almost always had newer cars than many of our other happy hour customers. They cry poor and get more money. Smart, but deceitful, milking the public for money. Don’t even get me started on the teachers = heroes nonsense.

I rarely went to happy hours at 3:20 because I coached. However I often started at 7:30 in the morning. Never complained about the hours either, but many of my colleagues stayed late and when I finished coaching the parking lot would still have many cars in it.

Most teachers don't cry that they're poor but we are attacked for being overpaid. Dealing with 35 kids could be exhausting, parents often complain about spending a day with their own kids. Still I'd rather teacher 34 compliant kids that 12 rough kids, I've had to do both.

Of course we're no heroes, I get embarrassed when I hear that. Your job at the happy hour was certainly not easier than mine as a teacher.

No matter what your views are on teachers, the reality is they largely have a thankless job. Abused from every angle, in large part for no fault of their own, there is no getting past the fact that they are held in contempt by American society.

And who would want to work under those conditions? Esp with degrees in Math or the sciences when you make more money and gain some dignity and respect. And never have to deal with antisocial non motivated Tiktok zombies all day long. And their adoring clueless parents after that. And awful teachers turned admin who wont ever have their staffs back. Add to that endless hurdles to even get certified. And get a masters after that.

All that for a pension? NO young person can really be inspired to teach any more.

Good luck getting your offspring into Harvard and Yale.

I can get a £26,000 scholarship to do a 9 month teacher training PGCE in physics. Despite the scholarship I haven't done it because the job itself is awful (unless I can do something else with the qualification...?).

Yes, most work 10-12 hour days. Or more.

I met my distance kids at 6 AM and got them going. Then I drove my regular bus route. (Add a driver's salary to a teacher's salary and you are almost making private sector money. Plus it adds to your retirement.) Taught middle school all day. Drove afternoon bus route. Held afternoon practice.

Did I mention I also had a farm with beef cattle and poultry houses?

You sound like a person who should run and apply for the 1000's of vacant positions. Bet you wouldn't make it a semester.