Why I Quit Teaching (Angry Version)

It's me again! This time, I tap into my frustration because, in complete honesty, I am ANGRY! I should be able to do what I love; I should be teaching. I can't. Rather, I won't because I have to prioritize myself because no one else will.

What's happening in education is wrong. We're losing amazing educators because we keep ignoring the obvious and pushing ridiculousness that isn't working.

Let's make a change. We can't afford to keep going this way.

#notyourordinaryteacher #education #elementaryteacher #formerteacher #whyiquit #teachershortage #teacher

[joseluisherreralepron]

All your comments resonate deeply with me...I was able to retire last May after 27 years of teaching. It became a horrible system that I no longer felt I had any part in. Gaslighting, stupid district decisions, favoritism on the part of admin, students less and less interested in any curriculum and more interested in their phones and games...I was done.

[MrsIBR]

11 years in teaching and I never felt like I was really valued by the education system. Every year they have a new way to show passive-aggressive messages about how we are not doing enough. Every year they break us down to think that we're not as effective. Every year they take away our creativity. Every year they remind us how they don't trust us but we are responsible for everything. Every year we lose ourselves to our jobs that don't give us anything to look forward to.

[DJ]

I said nearly the same exact thing before I left in January. Teachers are not the problem. The system is broken and leadership could care less or is too clueless to figure out how to fix it. Hang in there.

[attitudeproblem]

If I'd been a teacher and seen the gratitude during the pandemic only to be thrown under the bus mere _months later, _ they'd have *never* seen me again.

[roundtwo]

22:27 This is exactly what teaching is today. If you don't want to be treated this way, don't become a teacher.
If this lady is being treated terribly and has finally decided to speak out to stop this esuba, you can trust it is really bad and systemic.
"We spent years being gaslit, and bullied, and frankly abused into our jobs. Just tough it out for the kids...We are trained professionals...Stop getting in the way of that because you're actually creating the bigger problem." Principals/Admin, are you listening?

[niftyniff]

I'm in Europe but everything you're talking about feels really familiar, I also quit teaching last year. We have a huge shortage of teachers, a lot of programs to become teachers to fill the positions and so on. It was the tipping point for me when my city came up with bonuses for teachers who are new, haven't been teaching in the city for a year or relocated from other cities. These bonuses are given for one year, monthly, and they're roughly 1/3 of a teacher's salary. Excuse me, what about the rest of us who have been and are still working??? It was such a slap in the face and I said I'm done. No regrets about my decision.

[selandscape]

I have been an agriculture education teacher 9-12 for 26 years. We get paid as administrators but the stress is so bad that I have already had a heart attack (widow maker) at age 49. I'm poppin pills from the doctor all day long to keep my sanity, all just to have health insurance. Screw this, I gotta have a change. Good on you for making a great decision!

[aknudsen]

I am older than you but this has to be my last year teaching. Everything you said is so true. I am nervous because I'm in my '50s but the stress and low pay does not equate with the disrespect and everything else. Everything you said is so true. Wishing you the best on your journey.

[DeniseMcKendry-pt]

"The system is NOT set up for our sucess.' So true. 27 years in, and I left end of school year 2023.

[caroleelaschwa]

Most administrators are former teachers and know full well how stressful it is! But somehow they get caught up in the power and demands on them, and lose their empathy for the teachers. Instead, they make the stress way worse for the teachers oftentimes. I went into instructional coaching when my son was a toddler because of the stress, and really tried to make things easier for the teachers, but they assumed I was there to police them. I look back on my teaching career and the best part was early on before Society went to hell

[GrahamConnor]

It's relatively similar in the UK too. To top off the disregard from the Government (we are currently striking), behaviour across the country within schools is absolutely abhorrent (a side effect of increasing poverty, lack of parental engagement, and cultural shifts). Teaching has become so much harder and many of us are burning out.

[CutDaCrap]

I just dont understand how so many well educated ppl (not just in teaching but everywhere) can see, acknowledge, and complain about all the systemic issues, but yet at the same time, seemingly, no adult wants to actually DO anything about it?! At this point in life I am so confused by the human race, none of what we are dong makes ANY sense to me. When the solutions seem to be so easy, accessible, and better. We are actively working against ourselves. Since the pandemic and peoples absolutely insane responses to it, its made me realize that we have reached a point in our society where ppl are basically suicidal. Why do I say that? Its based on the behaviour (not the words) of what ppl from the age of 25-95 are doing. Self sabotaging harmful ignorant behaviour in an era where we have the most access to knowledge than ever before. Humans are CHOOSING this. That's the only conclusion I could come to since the pandemic.

[newmoonmama]

Preach girl! 👏🏼 you hit it on the nail! You know how many “teachers” we had that weren’t certified Nor even have a DEGREE?! Ya. Hot mess. I quit this year after 9 years. It hasn’t hit me yet bc it’s summer, but when school starts back it’s going to feel amazing to not have to go and sit through PD days and all that comes with it.
This is the kind of video I Want to do, because I went through some sh*t….but afraid to do it because I worked with so many petty people who loved screen shotting things and snitching, that I’m sure Someone will see it and gripe about it.

[ttsuyaguy]

I keep coming across these videos from burnt out frustrated teachers, talking about how nothing is changing. I believe you. What you describe sounds exactly like what I experienced in school decades ago. It also makes me intensely grateful for my daughter's school. They are changing. They've changed. From the way they handle discipline, to the homework they send home, it's all completely different from what I experienced and what you're describing. I think I got really lucky, because I didn't have the option of sending my daughter anywhere else. I don't know what it would take to have other schools and districts handle things the way they are, but I fear that we're going to lose a lot of good teachers from field before things get better.

[peach_levell]

the pay teachers receive is blasphemous. When you consider daycare and the AMOUNT people pay for that, and then to top it off with the children receiving an education at the same time as that. Teachers should be one of the highest paid professions. Teachers create the next generation, who go on to be well-educated people of the society we live in, and to say they deserve a measly 30k?? no, its infuriating.

[eatinnteachin]

It would be great if like-minded teachers within each city, could come together and decide a possible solution. I am also a ""not-by-the-script" teacher. While, as you stated, there are those who feel more comfortable with the support of a scripted lesson. I also agree that students need to be given grace, with respect to their emotional, physical, and mental needs. Thank you for posting!

[cyndig]

My well seasoned Sped Ed teacher friend was replaced in middle of school year by a student teacher that her Principal manipulated into the situation.It is unethical and illegal to allow a student teacher to do that but Principals can get away with anything.

[penandinklady]

I began teaching in 1979, and what is in the classroom now isn't anywhere near what I signed on to do all those years ago. I can say emphatically that over the years the quality of our principals has bottomed out. The support that I got from principals at the beginning of my career doesn't exist anymore. From a principal who was a part-time rancher to another who hired me to teach elementary behavior-challenged students (that's putting it nicely), then changed me to the high school behavior class which consisted of six boys who spent the entire day cursing two inches from my face, sometimes threatening to kill me...with NO support from administration. Life is too short, and my emotional and physical health is too precious to give it up. This may anger some teachers, but along with the incompetent principals out there, I definitely noticed a plethora of teachers who couldn't produce a grammatically-correct sentence, many who wore clothes better suited for yard work than leading our future citizens. All those qualities lead to the appearance of a lack of professionalism. Those things matter.

[trinicarillo]

I am surprised they let you back after quitting. Typically they don’t let you back in. Good luck to you on your new journey.

[Arrabella]

$30k with a master's degree. Wow. I'm so sorry. That is beyond insulting.😢 What state are you in? I've always thought to myself that if teaching were a male-dominated field, you would never see this type of substandard pay or working conditions. Men simply would not put up with it.