Most teachers got into teaching because they love kids. But kids can be annoying and frustrating at times, and if the working conditions are garbage, negative feelings can come out in all kinds of ways, including having a shorter fuse for misbehavior and other problems. It is a problem not so much that teachers are bitter but that being a teacher is, for a lot of people, an absolutely awful and thankless job that to be frank, isn't worth it. My partner is a teacher and is quitting, another friend of ours is a teacher, and is quitting, and we have a few other teacher friends as well who have low-key PTSD from the past two years. Frustration towards kids is just a symptom of the major issues with the job.
My partner is a teacher, and they want to get their administration degree so they can be a principal instead, because teaching is so thankless- but they could NEVER leave.
They're a nonbinary teacher with ADHD who CONSTANTLY fights for kids with IEP/504's, makes sure that trans kids feel comfortable/are gendered properly, has coded roll call spreadsheets so kids can check in without seeing deadnames (but the teachers can see exactly which student is checking in, in case they forget), and educate their colleagues on how to better treat LGBTQIA kids and kids with educational needs.
They want to be a principal so they can take care of a larger scope of students instead of just their classes, and to enact more school-wide policies to protect kids that need it.
But they are always so. SO. Exhausted at the end of the day. It really takes its toll- but they never take it out on the kids. It's not the kids' fault, it's the system.
I do, absolutely, and it worries me because I do think some teachers take the job to have control over kids because they genuinely dislike, even hate kids.
I had a teacher who literally told us "I hate kids, I only took this job because I couldn't get a job as a college professor."
He lost his job that year, but the point remains- some teachers take the job because they hate kids, or because they want to teach, but the age range they wanted isn't available.
because teaching is in most places a shit job that doesn't pay well, you don't attract the best talent who wants to be teachers. i went to a "good university" and no one i knew was considering being a teacher even if they'd otherwise enjoy the job simply bc the pay sucked and there's way too much oversight and paperwork (from lots of sources including admins). it's not even like it used to be when millennials were in grade school.
when i was in high school, i witnessed abuse from teachers and abuse towards teachers. i had a teacher quit one month into my freshman school year firsthand; while he walked out of the room, he threw a piece of chalk back in and we read on the board "the pleasure was all yours." i saw kids rip a substitute's prosthetic hand off of his wrist and throw it around the room. i had an english substitute teacher - mind you, we had **many** throughout that year, as not a single one could last through our real teacher's maternity leave - who allowed *strip grammar* in her classroom because she couldn't control us and didn't give a fuck anymore (she got fired). i had a math teacher who was super sweet and helpful year one and then next year turn super strict because his students took advantage of him left and right and put him through the emotional wringer to the point he broke down crying in class.
teachers deserve immensely more than they get. if working conditions were better for them, the worst of it could probably be mitigated. they have to bring work home, they have to play babysitter and referee for kids that aren't even theirs, get paid practically nothing with very few benefits unless they manage to adhere to the education system's standards for many years in a row; they're essential, but they don't get treated like it.
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Re: OT Thread
(Anonymous) 2022-04-07 10:35 pm (UTC)(link)Re: OT Thread
(Anonymous) 2022-04-08 01:26 am (UTC)(link)They're a nonbinary teacher with ADHD who CONSTANTLY fights for kids with IEP/504's, makes sure that trans kids feel comfortable/are gendered properly, has coded roll call spreadsheets so kids can check in without seeing deadnames (but the teachers can see exactly which student is checking in, in case they forget), and educate their colleagues on how to better treat LGBTQIA kids and kids with educational needs.
They want to be a principal so they can take care of a larger scope of students instead of just their classes, and to enact more school-wide policies to protect kids that need it.
But they are always so. SO. Exhausted at the end of the day. It really takes its toll- but they never take it out on the kids. It's not the kids' fault, it's the system.
Re: OT Thread
(Anonymous) 2022-04-08 02:29 am (UTC)(link)Re: OT Thread
(Anonymous) 2022-04-08 02:35 am (UTC)(link)I do, absolutely, and it worries me because I do think some teachers take the job to have control over kids because they genuinely dislike, even hate kids.
I had a teacher who literally told us "I hate kids, I only took this job because I couldn't get a job as a college professor."
He lost his job that year, but the point remains- some teachers take the job because they hate kids, or because they want to teach, but the age range they wanted isn't available.
It legit needs to be addressed.
Re: OT Thread
(Anonymous) 2022-04-08 03:14 am (UTC)(link)because teaching is in most places a shit job that doesn't pay well, you don't attract the best talent who wants to be teachers. i went to a "good university" and no one i knew was considering being a teacher even if they'd otherwise enjoy the job simply bc the pay sucked and there's way too much oversight and paperwork (from lots of sources including admins). it's not even like it used to be when millennials were in grade school.
Re: OT Thread
(Anonymous) 2022-04-08 03:56 am (UTC)(link)Re: OT Thread
(Anonymous) 2022-04-08 04:09 am (UTC)(link)teachers deserve immensely more than they get. if working conditions were better for them, the worst of it could probably be mitigated. they have to bring work home, they have to play babysitter and referee for kids that aren't even theirs, get paid practically nothing with very few benefits unless they manage to adhere to the education system's standards for many years in a row; they're essential, but they don't get treated like it.