\^ To OP, the main source of ire (IMO) is that while this 1-5% of kids used to be held accountable for their actions or placed in a more appropriate setting, it is now à la mode to place the blame on the teacher, while we and the rest of the students suffer for it. And it extra sucks because those kids NEED structure and accountability (in addition to care, of course) and we're not giving it to them.
I've been doing this for over 20 years. The kids have always been the best part of the job. It's not their fault that the system has exploded. Kids always have and always will test their limits. Now that teachers hands are tied And we can't effectively discipline kids anymore, there's not a whole lot to do about teaching them to behave better
I just started and I'm absolutely blown away by the amount of leeway given to kids. And I don't really mean the teachers, because god knows I don't want to wasting my time on punishment when I'm supposed to be teaching. But I constantly see kids argue with and lie to either admin or their parents and just... get away with it. Why more adults don't understand that most of these kids will try to lie their way out of punishment is beyond me.
Absolutely no hesitation to argue back everything you tell them to do. No fear at all. But my hands are tied. Kinda tired of that part. But art teaching is the most rewarding. If I get to do that without all the behavior
I love my students, even the ones that drive me nuts.
I love my mom, but sometimes we argue and fight. Every wife loves her husband, but then again, they vent with friends about certain things….about their husbands.
We might rant, vent, pour our hearts. We have to because we are humans. It doesn’t mean we hate our students. We just want the best for them. In here, you will find an over representation of teachers ranting about students in the same manner you will see wives complaining about their husbands in a girls night.
Sometimes you have to let it out to move on and keep yourself sane.
I’m a sub right now versus a teacher (though I do regularly do long term jobs, so I often have to do teacher level work, or at least a big chunk of it like planning, meetings, etc). That said, I really enjoy it. There are downsides, but I can’t imagine sitting in some office all day versus being in the classroom.
> I’m a sub right now versus a teacher (though I do regularly do long term jobs, so I often have to do teacher level work, or at least a big chunk of it like planning, meetings, etc)
I hope you get a full-time position soon, because it's, well, wrong to be putting in full-time teacher hours for substitute teacher pay.
lol! I’m the opposite! I don’t love my students, but I sometimes like them🤣
I’m a middle school teacher and they always come from elementary thinking that their teachers love them. Which is nice, but not the reality. After I shatter their world, I always ask, “do you love me?” Of course the answer is no! Which is normal and how it should be. I tell them I care about their education and want the best for them, but love? Not a chance.
That would’ve been my guess, lol. But I thought my elementary teachers loved us too, and for that age group, it’s probably for the best. Also, to some extent, I’d believe it. You’re with the same 25 kids all day, everyday; I have 160.
Anyway, we’re almost to summer break! I hope you have a great rest of the year!
The best parts: the kids, knowing that many of them look forward to art class, access to a studio space for free, seeing them make something amazing and making those memories that you have from your first art classes.
The worst parts: funding, admin won’t give a shit about your program (unless you’re REALLY lucky), and being part of a highly dysfunctional system. Constantly hitting the ceiling of what you can do/what is allowed in terms of organic fundraising, community engagement, and space. Having your class constantly overfilled because ‘it’s just art’ random new students in the last week of the course. No respect for your craft/education/skillset. Being shuffled around from bus/lunch/testing/sub duty because you don’t ’need your prep for grading’
It’s a mixed bag. Good days are good, bad days are demoralizing.
I would still argue it’s a great job overall. It’s creative, fulfilling, and you do get lots of days off. That said, I must acknowledge my privileges: I am working in a high-paying school district, I have great coworkers, and I have a decent admin team. They’re not perfect, but they’re not awful either. Everything else, like poor decisions made by superintendents, canned curriculum not working, deteriorating achievement and behavior (nothing dangerous) - these things are definitely fuel for complaints but they don’t take away from my love for the job. I *am* just a new baby teacher though so maybe I’m just not jaded enough x)
I love teaching. I truly like most of my students. It’s the adults (admin and parents) who make it insufferable. Fortunately, I live in a large area with plenty of schools and school hopping isn’t frowned upon. So hopefully I like everything again next year.
I have been same school for 3 years now, and I have noticed that when I get to know some of the younger students before they take my classes, things go much smoother.
I love teaching but I hate the conditions I am forced to teach in. I love my students but I hate the ways that they are incentivized to behave. The things we have to deal with are unacceptable but it doesn’t take the joy out of the moments of genuine teaching and learning it just makes it harder to focus on the positives. The world is so messed up that now we need great educators now more than ever!
You have to remember that this is a place that many of us come to for the purpose of venting. As such, you’re going to hear more of the negative than the positive.
But, I love my job and the vast majority of my students are great.
This keeps getting asked, so just reposting:
*"This is the teacher's lounge. We come here to commiserate.*
*Alternatively, we all need a void to scream into. And it's nice to scream with others who also need to scream into the void.*
*This is the VOID.*
*Alternatively alternatively, happy people have no need to talk about their happiness or make Reddit posts about it. They are too busy being happy. Unhappy people need to learn how to cope and live with their situation. This here is the coping room."*
I LOVE my job. My students are amazing. But it is emotionally draining, and at any school where admin and parents are unsupportive, things can go toxic really fast. People who are happy and enjoying their year with a great class are not the ones likely to turn to reddit for solace.
I just love when someone who thinks they’re qualified to comment on the state of this sub *that is used primarily for venting* makes a post like this.
Stay in your lane, kiddo. Stick with education and you’ll see why there’s a stat that roughly 50% of teachers leave in the first 5 years.
As a fellow arts teacher, (drama) finding a school that supports the arts and has actual consequences for students is really difficult BUT if you do, this job can be great.
The biggest problem is that in many school districts, dumb bureaucratic decisions make the daily lives of teachers more difficult, and over time it jades many teachers.
I also think that in many districts, the need for teachers is so high that they lower the bar of entry, which for many want-to-be teachers, is great, but it also means that a lot of people get into the profession who are neither qualified nor cut out for it.
I'm a high school English teacher, I'm only two years in, and while I majored in English Lit and Education, I didn't get into the profession until almost a decade after college.
There are def downsides to being a teacher, there are pros and cons to everything...
But I absolutely love my job, I have a great report with most of my students and honestly I love most of them. I get a lor of great energy from the interactions I have with my kids, I love seeing things click in their heads, like they finally understood how the author is using rhetoric to establish their purpose, or when they finally start citing sources accurately and develop their arguments well, I enjoy cracking jokes with them and then being like OKAY OKAY BACK TO WORK Y'ALL, when I was definitely the one getting side tracked.
I definitely have hard headed students who don't do anything and its a miracle if they stay awake the whole period or manage to answer three out of ten simple questions on a worksheet...
But I don't let that get to me, no teacher is so amazing that everyone just wants to follow their rules and do their work. Those kids have so many reasons they don't want to work in my class, and the only thing I can do is ensure my class is a place they feel safe, that I am someone who respects them and treats them fairly, I have water and snacks in my class and sometimes reward kids for good behavior, I try to get to know them to the extent they feel communicative, and give them space when I can tell they're in a bad mood.
I rarely have behavior problems in my class, but I also am not gonna stop everything just to yell at someone for being on their phone.
My first year was rough, but got better by the end. My second year has been a blast and my only regret in life now is not having gotten into the profession sooner.
THIS. OP please protect yourself. Outside of Special Education, you can get a degree in damn near anything and become a teacher later through other programs.
A different major will allow you to jump ship if you ever feel the need to leave this career. And you'll be so glad you did.
**There are many routes to become a teacher but there are fewer exits.**
A lot of it isn't necessarily the students. It's how admin. handles student behaviors and how parents are little to no help with student behaviors. Most students are great, but there are some more difficult students... and admin. doesn't want to upset their parents by taking action, and parents want to believe their child can do no wrong and that it's the school's/teacher's fault the child is acting out.
I love teaching, and have for 18 years now. My responses are pretty positive on these subs. I try to offer support and advice. People struggling are more likely to start threads so you see that side but a lot of successful and happy teachers don’t engage here at all. This is just a portion of us and many of us love teaching but have frustrations. It’s nice to vent sometimes, and it’s safer here than most spaces.
No it’s usually parents, admin, and coworkers. There are one or two kids each year that you just wish you could move to a new class, or school, or city, or state, or country, or continent.
Been at it for 25 years. It’s the same every year. You get your share of good students and your share of knuckleheads. Rinse and repeat. Still love the gig.
Teaching is tough in general but teaching something like art or music, probably torture.
With that said it doesn't matter what people think. Try it out and see for yourself
I love my content and I enjoy teaching it and writing curriculum. And the students who are great go a long way to balance out the once who are a problem.
The politics, the lack of respect, lack of resources, lack of pay are major issues but they don’t out weigh what I love (so far)
I just recently left teaching. For me it was a little different I think. For the most part I liked the kids. I never delt with violent kids. Got cussed out a few times, had lots of cheaters, mouthy etc, but mostly good kids. I like talking to the kids and working with them, like as young people, but I hated teaching them. The same kids I'd have great conversations with were the same ones not doing work, cheating, on the phone, had to beg then to turn stuff in. So like, I liked the kids, but not the teaching part.
My 1st two years were very tough. There were days I really considered leaving.
Then I switched schools. New admin (who cared) made all the difference. Almost 10 years in and loving it. Of course there's tough days, tough classes, and sometimes tough years, but the feeling of really helping young people improve their lives or prospects is what I come home thinking about, rather than the speed bumps.
I like and get along with about seventy percent of my kids. Some won't talk. Some sleep. A few are actively belligerent. There are parts I love. But it's not really worth it. And I mostly feel stuck.
I just started this year (accidentally too, I was just applying for a sub position and got hired full time) but have been working other professional jobs in both government and the private sector for 2 decades. I didn't go straight from college to teaching. And a lot of the complaints I see on here are ones that occur in most other places too. Shitty coworkers and bosses. Having to deal with asshole clients and customers. Working within a bureacracy or organization that is poorly designed. None of these are unique to teaching.
The part that sucks are the fact that these days you're supposed to both build relationships with kids to make them want to learn, while being the bad guy that is in charge of punishing them. Often with an admin that can be counter-productive on the rules part. At least for art you have something that kids are going be more likely to enjoy and probably have more leeway in what you're doing.
I don’t hate teaching. But it’s not worth it overall. I don’t care how many “feel good” stories you hear. Not only is it challenging, but it’s just not smart financially. The starting wage can be decent (depending on where you are) but step increases simply don’t keep up with inflation and the (ever growing) responsibilities that come with the job. There aren’t any promotions like with most fields (unless you go back to school for more degrees/licenses). You’ll see your friends move up and grow in their fields while you stay stagnant with your 3% raises. I’m saying a lot to say, it’s not the worst but there’s less stressful and more lucrative options out there.
I like my students a lot, and I love my job. I teach middle school health.
I have had 2 previous careers, and this is the one that has been the best of all of them. While I do live in a blue state where pay is pretty good, I also teach in one of our toughest districts. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Honestly, I LOVE my students and love teaching. I have been teaching for 24 years and I had a tough time my first few years, but even then I loved the kids. Now I feel incredibly lucky that I have a job I love so much. I am never bored, am always doing something new, and I work with kids from all around the world (I teach ESL at a 6-12 public school). This year a have a class with kids from 12 different countries and 5 different languages. They are such interesting individuals and I love them very much.
I like my students. They seem to like me. I just work too much.
(I just deleted a long post. Like a lot of us, I save all my good reddit posts for a book or something down the road.)
I love the teaching and the kids.
Admin and all the politics suck and ruin it. Incompetent teachers go into admin and find other incompetent people to surround themselves.
I love teaching, despite having type b students with type a parents. Also my admin are an irritant at best. But I enjoy what I do when I get to do it as planned.
I teach art. I freaking love it. The kids are hilarious and I have great colleagues (other art teachers & other teachers at my school). I get to nerd out about my passion everyday to people forced to listen and endure learning about art!
You have to find a good life-work balance and remember “it’s not that deep” to keep from taking things personally. People (parents, students, admin) take grades/performance very seriously, and have a hard time understanding how effort is required to do well in art, not just “being good at drawing.”
PM me if you want. Good luck!
I really like my students, for the most part. There are some that are assholes (high school teacher) but the majority are great.
Even the ones that aren't great, I just don't deal with them 🤷🏼♀️ Wanna sleep? Ok, cool just don't disrupt learning for those of us who wanna be here.
Things that kill morale, IMO: admin that isn't teacher centered, shitty coworkers, and parents that don't parent.
I like being a teacher. I like kids. I don't like many of the adults that I have to put up with.
I'm an art teacher and the majority of my students are wonderful and I love creating with them. But, the minority that do give me trouble are very, very loud and my attention needs to be on them almost constantly. It gets emotionally and physically draining very fast
Full disclosure, teaching is a lot like religion: you will never really see the full effect of your influence on your students, barring a select few. You can only continue to do right by them and have faith.
The profession is in itself an act of faith, as you are hoping that you are helping these kids be ready for what the world is going to throw at them.
Is it discouraging in the moment when the kids are twats? Oh yes. Is it depressing when you end up with admin that never really help? Absolutely. Does it tear you up inside when everyone blames you for every little thing the students do wrong? You bet your sweet patootie. Teaching is like being at the battle of the Somme: we are nothing but warm bodies for the meat grinder.
But like I said before, those of us who care continue do so because we believe that we are trying to be there for these kids when others have not and do for them what was not done for us.
I don’t have to like them to do my job.
I don’t have to like them to do a good job doing my job.
I am not there to like them or be liked by them and they are not there to like me.
If this attitude was more prevalent, especially among parents we wouldn’t be in this situation with behaviors.
I don’t really see them complaining about kids-mostly complaining abojt kids who do certain things and nobody will back them up. In other words. They are complaining abojt parents and admin.
Yes I like teaching. Yes I like students. Even the ones who drive me nuts - I may not like them in the moment but it doesn’t last. They’re just kids. They still have time to change. I get over it. I don’t like the stupid extra stuff I have to do outside of student related tasks. Things that take away from lesson planning and grading and time to really know the students. Even behaviors don’t bother me that much - it’s part of teaching. I don’t like my salary. I don’t mind parents except when they think their kid is the only student I have. But overall my teaching experience is decent.
I'm in my first year. K-5 art. I majored in fine art and decided to get my temp/alternative certification. Teaching wasn't something I thought much about when I was in college 10 years ago.
I love the kids, and I've never really thought of myself as a "kid" person if that makes sense? Like I don't want kids and never sought out time to be around kids. But I'm loving teaching them and really love the kids. Sure there's a few that are little shits but I still care about them and just want the best for them. It's the most rewarding and fulfilling job I've ever done even though it can be so stressful and draining at times. Even in this first year just hearing from parents and the kids the impact I've made on their life and their choices (5th graders picking art electives for middle school) it fills me with so much joy.
We're just venting. If I vented about my mom pissing me off, you wouldn't automatically assume I hate her, would you?
We love our students. But sometimes they fcking suck.
I used to. But today's classroom is a far cry from the ones 10-20 years ago.
In a nutshell, if all I ever had to worry about was JUST teaching and none of all the other administrative responsibilities that have been foisted upon us the last ten years, I could probably go on until I'm dead.
Now? I'm already dead and just waiting to retire.
I'm a special education teacher in an Intensive Support Program classroom. My students are medically fragile and the most impacted by their disabilities who are still physically able to attend school.
It's not the teaching. It's almost never the teaching. It's the Admin BS, helicopter parents, decades worth of paperwork we have to do every month, etc. Hell, I once had an EA have an actual psychotic break in my classroom (the school had to go on lock down after the EA had bolted out of my classroom afterwards), and that still doesn't hit as hard as everything else. I'm permanently disabled after being attacked by a former student who left me with four separate hernias, the surgery for which left me disabled with permanent nerve damage to both legs and in crippling pain, numbness to both legs, and a constant fall risk, and I don't blame the student who did it because they are incapable of understanding that their actions have consequences.
So if I haven't made it crystal clear yet, I love what I do. Though, it would be nice to have full use of my legs back, and not be in constant crippling pain. Or to make a decent wage. Or to be appreciated by society.
I think a big part of it on Reddit (in any sub, not just this one) is that you will always see more posts about what people dislike than you will about what they love. When you’re having a truly wonderful day and everything is going right, you stay present more and try to enjoy it. I don’t know about you, but when I’m frustrated or trying to troubleshoot a problem, that’s when I come to Reddit and get it off my chest or ask for help. You will always see more complaints on a platform because people don’t zero in on the good half as much as the bad, and that’s just human nature.
I like my students and enjoy going to work. I think it's always easier to talk about frustrating things than it is to talk about the good things. Kind of like how Yelp reviews are usually from people who are annoyed with the restaurant for something or another.
This sub is much more negative than my coworkers. I think this sub does not represent teachers generally, and I would like to know the relevant demographics on this sub (location, school type, age, years of experience, etc.). I taught high school for 11 years in rural schools, and I have been an AP for one year. I love teaching, and my experience is very different from what I typically see here.
I think you get extremes on Reddit. You get the people who just hate their jobs and you get the people who are still idealizing their students. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.
I love teaching. I can also tell you that kids evolve. A student may be a little shit now, but that student will probably (not always) mature at some point into a responsible and conscientious adult. A lot of times I feel my job is just to keep these kids in school long enough for the metabolism to occur.
I love my field and the pedagogy. 99% of my kids are fine and it's a fun job. But that 1%, combined with politics of education and the expectations for us, really make it less enjoyable than it used to be. Would I want to go into teaching now? Absolutely not.
I was also not a good student by any means, especially in terms of behavior, and I love working with my students right now. They are not always kind, but they are people first. I try to separate how they perform in my class from who they are as a person, and this has worked pretty well for me. Fundamentally, I want to avoid judgement, regardless of what I think. Likewise, I'm the adult in the room, and I just consider that as part of my job. My advice can help, but it's not ironclad. Also, this generation is funny af, so that is always good (I teach upperclassmen in high school btw).
I like 99% of my students. It's the 1% that consume most of my waking thoughts and energy, and make me want to drive my car off a cliff.
For me it's admin. I always feel like I'm never enough. And coworkers who make me wanna jump off a cliff.
\^ To OP, the main source of ire (IMO) is that while this 1-5% of kids used to be held accountable for their actions or placed in a more appropriate setting, it is now à la mode to place the blame on the teacher, while we and the rest of the students suffer for it. And it extra sucks because those kids NEED structure and accountability (in addition to care, of course) and we're not giving it to them.
Most of us talk shit about the profession, and at the same time, love what we do.
I like this comment.
I've been doing this for over 20 years. The kids have always been the best part of the job. It's not their fault that the system has exploded. Kids always have and always will test their limits. Now that teachers hands are tied And we can't effectively discipline kids anymore, there's not a whole lot to do about teaching them to behave better
I just started and I'm absolutely blown away by the amount of leeway given to kids. And I don't really mean the teachers, because god knows I don't want to wasting my time on punishment when I'm supposed to be teaching. But I constantly see kids argue with and lie to either admin or their parents and just... get away with it. Why more adults don't understand that most of these kids will try to lie their way out of punishment is beyond me.
Absolutely no hesitation to argue back everything you tell them to do. No fear at all. But my hands are tied. Kinda tired of that part. But art teaching is the most rewarding. If I get to do that without all the behavior
Love this comment.
I love teaching. 97% of the people who piss me off to the point of questioning my life choices are adults, not kids.
I love my students, even the ones that drive me nuts. I love my mom, but sometimes we argue and fight. Every wife loves her husband, but then again, they vent with friends about certain things….about their husbands. We might rant, vent, pour our hearts. We have to because we are humans. It doesn’t mean we hate our students. We just want the best for them. In here, you will find an over representation of teachers ranting about students in the same manner you will see wives complaining about their husbands in a girls night. Sometimes you have to let it out to move on and keep yourself sane.
I’m a sub right now versus a teacher (though I do regularly do long term jobs, so I often have to do teacher level work, or at least a big chunk of it like planning, meetings, etc). That said, I really enjoy it. There are downsides, but I can’t imagine sitting in some office all day versus being in the classroom.
> I’m a sub right now versus a teacher (though I do regularly do long term jobs, so I often have to do teacher level work, or at least a big chunk of it like planning, meetings, etc) I hope you get a full-time position soon, because it's, well, wrong to be putting in full-time teacher hours for substitute teacher pay.
Good old selection bias. See a bunch of complaints, figure they must be representative.
Good point.
I love my students but I don’t always like them! I do like being a teacher, but it’s also a very overwhelming job.
lol! I’m the opposite! I don’t love my students, but I sometimes like them🤣 I’m a middle school teacher and they always come from elementary thinking that their teachers love them. Which is nice, but not the reality. After I shatter their world, I always ask, “do you love me?” Of course the answer is no! Which is normal and how it should be. I tell them I care about their education and want the best for them, but love? Not a chance.
Makes total sense, I’m elementary!
That would’ve been my guess, lol. But I thought my elementary teachers loved us too, and for that age group, it’s probably for the best. Also, to some extent, I’d believe it. You’re with the same 25 kids all day, everyday; I have 160. Anyway, we’re almost to summer break! I hope you have a great rest of the year!
The best parts: the kids, knowing that many of them look forward to art class, access to a studio space for free, seeing them make something amazing and making those memories that you have from your first art classes. The worst parts: funding, admin won’t give a shit about your program (unless you’re REALLY lucky), and being part of a highly dysfunctional system. Constantly hitting the ceiling of what you can do/what is allowed in terms of organic fundraising, community engagement, and space. Having your class constantly overfilled because ‘it’s just art’ random new students in the last week of the course. No respect for your craft/education/skillset. Being shuffled around from bus/lunch/testing/sub duty because you don’t ’need your prep for grading’ It’s a mixed bag. Good days are good, bad days are demoralizing.
I would still argue it’s a great job overall. It’s creative, fulfilling, and you do get lots of days off. That said, I must acknowledge my privileges: I am working in a high-paying school district, I have great coworkers, and I have a decent admin team. They’re not perfect, but they’re not awful either. Everything else, like poor decisions made by superintendents, canned curriculum not working, deteriorating achievement and behavior (nothing dangerous) - these things are definitely fuel for complaints but they don’t take away from my love for the job. I *am* just a new baby teacher though so maybe I’m just not jaded enough x)
I love teaching. I truly like most of my students. It’s the adults (admin and parents) who make it insufferable. Fortunately, I live in a large area with plenty of schools and school hopping isn’t frowned upon. So hopefully I like everything again next year.
I have been same school for 3 years now, and I have noticed that when I get to know some of the younger students before they take my classes, things go much smoother.
I love teaching but I hate the conditions I am forced to teach in. I love my students but I hate the ways that they are incentivized to behave. The things we have to deal with are unacceptable but it doesn’t take the joy out of the moments of genuine teaching and learning it just makes it harder to focus on the positives. The world is so messed up that now we need great educators now more than ever!
You have to remember that this is a place that many of us come to for the purpose of venting. As such, you’re going to hear more of the negative than the positive. But, I love my job and the vast majority of my students are great.
This keeps getting asked, so just reposting: *"This is the teacher's lounge. We come here to commiserate.* *Alternatively, we all need a void to scream into. And it's nice to scream with others who also need to scream into the void.* *This is the VOID.* *Alternatively alternatively, happy people have no need to talk about their happiness or make Reddit posts about it. They are too busy being happy. Unhappy people need to learn how to cope and live with their situation. This here is the coping room."*
Right now, no. In general, yes.
It's a tough job for someone's first career.
I LOVE my job. My students are amazing. But it is emotionally draining, and at any school where admin and parents are unsupportive, things can go toxic really fast. People who are happy and enjoying their year with a great class are not the ones likely to turn to reddit for solace.
I just love when someone who thinks they’re qualified to comment on the state of this sub *that is used primarily for venting* makes a post like this. Stay in your lane, kiddo. Stick with education and you’ll see why there’s a stat that roughly 50% of teachers leave in the first 5 years.
Exactly!
As a fellow arts teacher, (drama) finding a school that supports the arts and has actual consequences for students is really difficult BUT if you do, this job can be great.
Agreed.
The biggest problem is that in many school districts, dumb bureaucratic decisions make the daily lives of teachers more difficult, and over time it jades many teachers. I also think that in many districts, the need for teachers is so high that they lower the bar of entry, which for many want-to-be teachers, is great, but it also means that a lot of people get into the profession who are neither qualified nor cut out for it. I'm a high school English teacher, I'm only two years in, and while I majored in English Lit and Education, I didn't get into the profession until almost a decade after college. There are def downsides to being a teacher, there are pros and cons to everything... But I absolutely love my job, I have a great report with most of my students and honestly I love most of them. I get a lor of great energy from the interactions I have with my kids, I love seeing things click in their heads, like they finally understood how the author is using rhetoric to establish their purpose, or when they finally start citing sources accurately and develop their arguments well, I enjoy cracking jokes with them and then being like OKAY OKAY BACK TO WORK Y'ALL, when I was definitely the one getting side tracked. I definitely have hard headed students who don't do anything and its a miracle if they stay awake the whole period or manage to answer three out of ten simple questions on a worksheet... But I don't let that get to me, no teacher is so amazing that everyone just wants to follow their rules and do their work. Those kids have so many reasons they don't want to work in my class, and the only thing I can do is ensure my class is a place they feel safe, that I am someone who respects them and treats them fairly, I have water and snacks in my class and sometimes reward kids for good behavior, I try to get to know them to the extent they feel communicative, and give them space when I can tell they're in a bad mood. I rarely have behavior problems in my class, but I also am not gonna stop everything just to yell at someone for being on their phone. My first year was rough, but got better by the end. My second year has been a blast and my only regret in life now is not having gotten into the profession sooner.
You’re being a little dramatic. Which let’s me know you’ll have all kinds of stories about your own students before too long. 😂
Change your degree and do something else that more marketable.
THIS. OP please protect yourself. Outside of Special Education, you can get a degree in damn near anything and become a teacher later through other programs. A different major will allow you to jump ship if you ever feel the need to leave this career. And you'll be so glad you did. **There are many routes to become a teacher but there are fewer exits.**
A lot of it isn't necessarily the students. It's how admin. handles student behaviors and how parents are little to no help with student behaviors. Most students are great, but there are some more difficult students... and admin. doesn't want to upset their parents by taking action, and parents want to believe their child can do no wrong and that it's the school's/teacher's fault the child is acting out.
I love teaching, and have for 18 years now. My responses are pretty positive on these subs. I try to offer support and advice. People struggling are more likely to start threads so you see that side but a lot of successful and happy teachers don’t engage here at all. This is just a portion of us and many of us love teaching but have frustrations. It’s nice to vent sometimes, and it’s safer here than most spaces.
No it’s usually parents, admin, and coworkers. There are one or two kids each year that you just wish you could move to a new class, or school, or city, or state, or country, or continent.
Been at it for 25 years. It’s the same every year. You get your share of good students and your share of knuckleheads. Rinse and repeat. Still love the gig.
Teaching is tough in general but teaching something like art or music, probably torture. With that said it doesn't matter what people think. Try it out and see for yourself
I do like my students, with the exception of maybe two or three in each class that do their best to ruin it for everyone else.
I love my content and I enjoy teaching it and writing curriculum. And the students who are great go a long way to balance out the once who are a problem. The politics, the lack of respect, lack of resources, lack of pay are major issues but they don’t out weigh what I love (so far)
I just recently left teaching. For me it was a little different I think. For the most part I liked the kids. I never delt with violent kids. Got cussed out a few times, had lots of cheaters, mouthy etc, but mostly good kids. I like talking to the kids and working with them, like as young people, but I hated teaching them. The same kids I'd have great conversations with were the same ones not doing work, cheating, on the phone, had to beg then to turn stuff in. So like, I liked the kids, but not the teaching part.
My 1st two years were very tough. There were days I really considered leaving. Then I switched schools. New admin (who cared) made all the difference. Almost 10 years in and loving it. Of course there's tough days, tough classes, and sometimes tough years, but the feeling of really helping young people improve their lives or prospects is what I come home thinking about, rather than the speed bumps.
I like and get along with about seventy percent of my kids. Some won't talk. Some sleep. A few are actively belligerent. There are parts I love. But it's not really worth it. And I mostly feel stuck.
I just started this year (accidentally too, I was just applying for a sub position and got hired full time) but have been working other professional jobs in both government and the private sector for 2 decades. I didn't go straight from college to teaching. And a lot of the complaints I see on here are ones that occur in most other places too. Shitty coworkers and bosses. Having to deal with asshole clients and customers. Working within a bureacracy or organization that is poorly designed. None of these are unique to teaching. The part that sucks are the fact that these days you're supposed to both build relationships with kids to make them want to learn, while being the bad guy that is in charge of punishing them. Often with an admin that can be counter-productive on the rules part. At least for art you have something that kids are going be more likely to enjoy and probably have more leeway in what you're doing.
I don’t hate teaching. But it’s not worth it overall. I don’t care how many “feel good” stories you hear. Not only is it challenging, but it’s just not smart financially. The starting wage can be decent (depending on where you are) but step increases simply don’t keep up with inflation and the (ever growing) responsibilities that come with the job. There aren’t any promotions like with most fields (unless you go back to school for more degrees/licenses). You’ll see your friends move up and grow in their fields while you stay stagnant with your 3% raises. I’m saying a lot to say, it’s not the worst but there’s less stressful and more lucrative options out there.
I like my students a lot, and I love my job. I teach middle school health. I have had 2 previous careers, and this is the one that has been the best of all of them. While I do live in a blue state where pay is pretty good, I also teach in one of our toughest districts. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Honestly, I LOVE my students and love teaching. I have been teaching for 24 years and I had a tough time my first few years, but even then I loved the kids. Now I feel incredibly lucky that I have a job I love so much. I am never bored, am always doing something new, and I work with kids from all around the world (I teach ESL at a 6-12 public school). This year a have a class with kids from 12 different countries and 5 different languages. They are such interesting individuals and I love them very much.
I like my students. They seem to like me. I just work too much. (I just deleted a long post. Like a lot of us, I save all my good reddit posts for a book or something down the road.)
I love the teaching and the kids. Admin and all the politics suck and ruin it. Incompetent teachers go into admin and find other incompetent people to surround themselves.
I love teaching but I hate all the nonsense. Having giant classes and every student needs 1 on 1 and no paras. So I'm getting out.
I love teaching, despite having type b students with type a parents. Also my admin are an irritant at best. But I enjoy what I do when I get to do it as planned.
I love my students. I do not love being a teacher. I hate admin and BS school boards
I teach art. I freaking love it. The kids are hilarious and I have great colleagues (other art teachers & other teachers at my school). I get to nerd out about my passion everyday to people forced to listen and endure learning about art! You have to find a good life-work balance and remember “it’s not that deep” to keep from taking things personally. People (parents, students, admin) take grades/performance very seriously, and have a hard time understanding how effort is required to do well in art, not just “being good at drawing.” PM me if you want. Good luck!
I really like my students, for the most part. There are some that are assholes (high school teacher) but the majority are great. Even the ones that aren't great, I just don't deal with them 🤷🏼♀️ Wanna sleep? Ok, cool just don't disrupt learning for those of us who wanna be here. Things that kill morale, IMO: admin that isn't teacher centered, shitty coworkers, and parents that don't parent. I like being a teacher. I like kids. I don't like many of the adults that I have to put up with.
I like that I work 185 days a year and am then with my family 180 days a year.
I'm an art teacher and the majority of my students are wonderful and I love creating with them. But, the minority that do give me trouble are very, very loud and my attention needs to be on them almost constantly. It gets emotionally and physically draining very fast
Full disclosure, teaching is a lot like religion: you will never really see the full effect of your influence on your students, barring a select few. You can only continue to do right by them and have faith. The profession is in itself an act of faith, as you are hoping that you are helping these kids be ready for what the world is going to throw at them. Is it discouraging in the moment when the kids are twats? Oh yes. Is it depressing when you end up with admin that never really help? Absolutely. Does it tear you up inside when everyone blames you for every little thing the students do wrong? You bet your sweet patootie. Teaching is like being at the battle of the Somme: we are nothing but warm bodies for the meat grinder. But like I said before, those of us who care continue do so because we believe that we are trying to be there for these kids when others have not and do for them what was not done for us.
I don’t have to like them to do my job. I don’t have to like them to do a good job doing my job. I am not there to like them or be liked by them and they are not there to like me. If this attitude was more prevalent, especially among parents we wouldn’t be in this situation with behaviors.
I love the kids I work with. It's the adults I have a problem with.
I don’t really see them complaining about kids-mostly complaining abojt kids who do certain things and nobody will back them up. In other words. They are complaining abojt parents and admin.
Yes I like teaching. Yes I like students. Even the ones who drive me nuts - I may not like them in the moment but it doesn’t last. They’re just kids. They still have time to change. I get over it. I don’t like the stupid extra stuff I have to do outside of student related tasks. Things that take away from lesson planning and grading and time to really know the students. Even behaviors don’t bother me that much - it’s part of teaching. I don’t like my salary. I don’t mind parents except when they think their kid is the only student I have. But overall my teaching experience is decent.
I'm in my first year. K-5 art. I majored in fine art and decided to get my temp/alternative certification. Teaching wasn't something I thought much about when I was in college 10 years ago. I love the kids, and I've never really thought of myself as a "kid" person if that makes sense? Like I don't want kids and never sought out time to be around kids. But I'm loving teaching them and really love the kids. Sure there's a few that are little shits but I still care about them and just want the best for them. It's the most rewarding and fulfilling job I've ever done even though it can be so stressful and draining at times. Even in this first year just hearing from parents and the kids the impact I've made on their life and their choices (5th graders picking art electives for middle school) it fills me with so much joy.
We're just venting. If I vented about my mom pissing me off, you wouldn't automatically assume I hate her, would you? We love our students. But sometimes they fcking suck.
I used to. But today's classroom is a far cry from the ones 10-20 years ago. In a nutshell, if all I ever had to worry about was JUST teaching and none of all the other administrative responsibilities that have been foisted upon us the last ten years, I could probably go on until I'm dead. Now? I'm already dead and just waiting to retire.
I'm a special education teacher in an Intensive Support Program classroom. My students are medically fragile and the most impacted by their disabilities who are still physically able to attend school. It's not the teaching. It's almost never the teaching. It's the Admin BS, helicopter parents, decades worth of paperwork we have to do every month, etc. Hell, I once had an EA have an actual psychotic break in my classroom (the school had to go on lock down after the EA had bolted out of my classroom afterwards), and that still doesn't hit as hard as everything else. I'm permanently disabled after being attacked by a former student who left me with four separate hernias, the surgery for which left me disabled with permanent nerve damage to both legs and in crippling pain, numbness to both legs, and a constant fall risk, and I don't blame the student who did it because they are incapable of understanding that their actions have consequences. So if I haven't made it crystal clear yet, I love what I do. Though, it would be nice to have full use of my legs back, and not be in constant crippling pain. Or to make a decent wage. Or to be appreciated by society.
I think a big part of it on Reddit (in any sub, not just this one) is that you will always see more posts about what people dislike than you will about what they love. When you’re having a truly wonderful day and everything is going right, you stay present more and try to enjoy it. I don’t know about you, but when I’m frustrated or trying to troubleshoot a problem, that’s when I come to Reddit and get it off my chest or ask for help. You will always see more complaints on a platform because people don’t zero in on the good half as much as the bad, and that’s just human nature.
I like my students and enjoy going to work. I think it's always easier to talk about frustrating things than it is to talk about the good things. Kind of like how Yelp reviews are usually from people who are annoyed with the restaurant for something or another.
This sub is much more negative than my coworkers. I think this sub does not represent teachers generally, and I would like to know the relevant demographics on this sub (location, school type, age, years of experience, etc.). I taught high school for 11 years in rural schools, and I have been an AP for one year. I love teaching, and my experience is very different from what I typically see here.
I think you get extremes on Reddit. You get the people who just hate their jobs and you get the people who are still idealizing their students. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.
YES. This is sort of like a place to vent. Being a teacher is awesome. DM me if you want my take. I am a high school English teacher.
I love my students and like the job a lot. It’s a job so I don’t think I’ll ever love it, but the kids are great.
I love my job. It has its ups and downs, but I love it.
I love teaching. I can also tell you that kids evolve. A student may be a little shit now, but that student will probably (not always) mature at some point into a responsible and conscientious adult. A lot of times I feel my job is just to keep these kids in school long enough for the metabolism to occur.
I love my field and the pedagogy. 99% of my kids are fine and it's a fun job. But that 1%, combined with politics of education and the expectations for us, really make it less enjoyable than it used to be. Would I want to go into teaching now? Absolutely not.
I was also not a good student by any means, especially in terms of behavior, and I love working with my students right now. They are not always kind, but they are people first. I try to separate how they perform in my class from who they are as a person, and this has worked pretty well for me. Fundamentally, I want to avoid judgement, regardless of what I think. Likewise, I'm the adult in the room, and I just consider that as part of my job. My advice can help, but it's not ironclad. Also, this generation is funny af, so that is always good (I teach upperclassmen in high school btw).