“Want me to be honest? Today was rough. I don’t cry and I cried 5 times today. I was ready to crawl in a daggum hole.”
‘Today, reality hit me straight in the face. It hit me by a 6-year-old holding a box of Ziplocs.’: Teacher receives special gift from student, re-examines idea of ‘success’
‘I’m a teacher, and I’m angry. Then I went to see ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,’ and I don’t know anymore.’: Teacher says Fred Rogers reminded her that ‘grace doesn’t run out, there isn’t a limited supply’
“I’ve been frustrated, tired, and worn out. I have felt walked on, unseen, and undervalued in my place of work, and just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.”
‘My son got suspended 5 days for beating up his bully. As a parent, I’m supposed to be upset with him. Not even a little.’: Mom shares plea for change after son is continuously bullied
“When this kid constantly threatened to beat Drew up, the school did nothing. When this kid followed Drew down the hall making fun of him on video, the school did nothing. When other kids told teachers and administrators he was harassing Drew, the school did nothing. Drew decided he would quit relying on the adults to protect him. He decided HE would do something.”
‘People HAVE to stop coddling and enabling their kids. Any passion I had for this work has been wrung out of me.’: Woman addresses ‘teacher abuse’ before quitting profession, ‘no one wins’
“For as long as I can remember, it’s been a dream of mine to have a classroom of my own, and now my heart is broken. I’ve never heard of a profession where people put so much of their heart and soul into their job and get treated so disrespectfully from all sides. I’ve made the decision to leave teaching at the end of this year. THIS HAS TO STOP.”
‘If I feel like this with 1, how am I ever going to survive more?’ How would I perfect another kid?’: Mom of 3 realizes in hindsight first child is ‘the hardest job’
“I remember trying to fill the time until my husband got home from work in 10 minute increments. ‘Okay, we can look in the mirror until 4:17, then we’ll walk down to get the mail. That’ll get us to about 4:30. When we get back, we can read books until 4:45. Then preheat the oven and get all the ingredients out for supper. At 5, I can put him in his swing and start cooking dinner.’ I cannot perfect my children. And that sucks.”
‘Our 12-year-old son might as well have been looking at a car accident, his mouth open aghast. We didn’t explain ourselves.’: Parents proud of PDA in front of their kids, ‘I want them to feel comfortable showing their affection’
“I came up from behind, put my arms around my wife, turned her around, and did one of those dramatic dip kisses. She laughed as I pulled her back up. It was then that I could feel someone watching us.”
‘I was cussed out by parents who wanted to attend field trips but missed the THREE notes that went home. When they did attend a trip, they sat on their phone the entire time. The filter comes off now.’: Teacher decides to leave her profession
“I’ve had parents tell me I’m not allowed to tell their child ‘no.’ Watching them come in… dirty clothes… chaos at home… and knowing they need more than you can give them in a classroom of 21, with less and less support, multiple languages spoken, several different disabilities… it breaks you.”
‘It was playtime on the playground. My student looked anxious. I climbed to get closer to him, placed my foot on the rail and tumbled, hitting my head on a metal pole. I fell to the ground.’
“That’s it. That’s all it took. Five minutes to change my entire life.”
‘I’m sick of getting dinged for test scores when my students don’t have food at home, or clothes that fit. I’m so sick of it, that I’m leaving the field.’: Teacher decides to leave her profession
“Teaching was tenable when I was a 22-year-old single renter. It no longer works when I have a family and a mortgage. I’m not looking to have a crazy affluent lifestyle over here. But the fact is, I can only afford to live in the neighborhood where I teach because I’m married.”
‘My classmate’s baby had a fever. Our teacher told her to bring her. I heard Katie say, ‘She’s a little fussy,’ when handing her over.’
“Teachers like Dr. George will hold your sick baby when you can’t get a last minute sitter so you can take a test. She always makes it clear we can ask her for help.”
