Why did you leave teaching? (degree, government, class, teachers)

[LittleMartha]

Are you a former teacher? Are you currently teaching but considering leaving? What made you leave (or considering leaving) teaching?

[endersshadow]

You need some serious thick skin. My mentor, one of the toughest people I know, breaks down every now and then from the harassment of a parent. In the parent's eye, my mentor can do no right.

[swampwolf]

For one thing, I had enough years in to retire.

I might have kept teaching if the government and administrators had not started doing everything they could against the best interests of children. There is only so much of that that a responsible adult can take.

And don't start on self-sacrifice for a cause. If the cause (educated, well adusted children) was achievable there would be a lot more teachers still in the field. You might look at how there are not nearly enough new ones to replace the retiring/leaving ones as it is. In our state (SC) we have to rely on foreign teachers to even partially fill in the gaps. There are still many permanent substitutes with no certification in classrooms handing out worksheets.

[chiak]

I see you are from Chicago too! I got burned out because many of the CPS as well as suburban schools cannot handle the angry, often violent students. My friends and I have experienced this in the poor neighborhoods where kids are neglected by their parents and many run with the gangs and in the rich areas where the kids are neglected by their parents yet given everything [and I mean THINGS] but true love. Many of these kids lose their innocence and become desensitised, unempathetic, angry, behavior issues!

I had so many spec. ed kids in my class with only 1 aid because there was no money [or enough room] for more aids. 6 special needs kids, 2 adults in a class of 29 kids is just insane! The last straw was when 1 kid got so violent- I am talking 5th grade! He was so mean and it was all because he was lacking attention from his mother! I cannot "teach" when there are these crazy outbursts! My "top school district" was getting more and more special needs kids every year. There needs to be a special classroom with special teachers to teach kids with such intense behavioral disorders! I wasn't trained in teaching BD- 1 short class that touched upon this issue!

I could go on and on... I loved teaching... I gave all the love I could to every student- BehaviorDisordered included- until I was totally burned out. I had always dreamed of being a teacher- I don't believe I have the skills to do any other job. I am really lost right now. I wish I could get back into teaching... but is there any school out there with a regular group of calm kids? I just cannot get back into a situation with violent children and no support from anywhere! I am actually on this forum researching other states hoping to find a smaller town that might be more peaceful -away from a big city like Chicago where the focus is on the haves and not haves.. I don't know if it exists.

[swampwolf]

I understand completely. It is my opinion that compulsory attendance is a terrible idea, as is the funding of a school based on average daily attendance, one of the big reasons why administrators will not do their jobs.

I never visited the schools there, but I have noticed very different appearances in the rural areas of Maine that lead me to believe that if you just get far away from big cities and into very rural settings that things would be different. Canada (Quebec) even moreso.

As for the violent students, I would expel them permanently with a LOT less provocation than what it seems to take now. It should be almost immediate and non-negotiable. Schools cannot replace parenting that never occurred.

[chiak]

Originally Posted by swampwolf

Schools cannot replace parenting that never occurred.

Amen to that!!!!

[TabulaRasa]

I got my degree in English and secondary education. I loved reading and writing, and loved working with middle school and high school aged kids, and felt it would be a perfect match for my interests and talents. I decided after my very negative student teaching experience that I didn't want to be a teacher, after all, at least not a traditional classroom teacher.

I loved the kids, I loved imparting knowledge. I hated the politics, I hated the a lack of professional courtesy and lack of a positive, collegial atmosphere between teachers and between teachers and administrators, and I hated the classroom management of a 30+ student classroom. So I went on to other things...working for a nonprofit, running a tutoring and mentoring program for the same age I had wanted to teach, and then on to community journalism, where I worked with student groups quite a bit. I always felt that my forte was in working with young people, helping them to learn, but I never liked the idea of me in front of a classroom. I loved working with them one on one, and in small groups.

Eventually, a full ten years after I decided I would probably not teach, I came to a crossroads in my professional life, and got the opportunity to take a job that was one-to-one teaching. I now work every day with developmentally disabled students, just me and one student at a time...not a para position, but an actual teaching position. It's a perfect match. Sometimes it takes time find your niche. Had I continued on with my plan to be a traditional classroom teacher, and toughed it out, I have no doubt I would not still be in the field. There's value in knowing what is and isn't for you, and working with it.

[bluebelt1234]

Originally Posted by swampwolf

Schools cannot replace parenting that never occurred.

Amen!!!!!!!

[pennquaker09]

I keep telling myself I'm on a temporary leave. I'm staying at home with my kids for the next few years and I plan on going back after they're in school.

[BuffaloTransplant]

I retired after 30 years in a tough urban district!