S/O frustrated teachers: what career do you WISH you had

[texaslover]

This is in regards to the thread with so many teachers saying they do NOT recommend anyone to go into teaching. My DD thinks she wants to be a teacher someday, and when I asked her what it is that appeals to her about the profession, she thought about it and said, "For that moment when a student says, 'Oh, NOW I get it!"

I need to add that she is 9 years old But she's an old soul, she has been playing "teacher" since preschool, and is hilarious to watch, she wears a lanyard and "teacher outfits" and has all the mannerisms of speech patterns of whatever teacher she happens to have that year. She creates lesson plans and homework and as her "student", she can keep me busy for hours with her "lectures" and presentations. It's pretty easy to see she has a natural affinity for it.

At this age I'm not going to discourage her from her dreams, and I realize most people change their minds from what they thought they'd be at age 9 (but all of DD's teachers have said, 'I was JUST like her at that age' in reference to DD's dreams of teaching.) But out of curiosity for those of you who say you'd never recommend anyone to go into teaching, what do you wish you'd done instead? Are there careers you think of, that use those same teaching skills, but in a way that you think would be less stressful or more lucrative or better in whatever way you'd want it to be from teaching?

I think it's so sad to think of a day when we no longer have passionate, good potential teachers going into the field. But I totally get why, I am sure I'd find the field way more stressful than it's worth, especially if you can't make a good living doing it.

As a current 3rd grade teacher who has been teaching for 11 years I will answer honestly. I worked in corporate HR and training for 10 years until my son was born and then took 5 years off to be a stay at home mom. I got my master's degree while staying home and went into teaching because I was very involved with kids from running church programs to having in-home babysitting in the summer plus the hours were great for a mom raising a child with a husband who traveled a lot.

My first two years of teaching were awesome, the school was brand new and the teachers all worked together to build a community. I loved the teachers on my team and we worked together and had each other's backs. The kids were, for the most part, well behaved and easily taught and redirected. There were the one or two who were disrespectful or refused to work but those were the kids who were most rewarding when they showed progress or growth. The parents were polite and we worked as a team to do the best for their kids (there are always those one or two that are consistently dissatisfied but definitely not the norm). As the years have gone by the kids have become more and more disrespectful and have more and more problems following basic rules of the classroom/school. Much of my time is taken up teaching life skills, manners, and refereeing arguments. On top of that the curriculum has become more and more rigorous and I feel much of it is not developmentally appropriate. When that is mixed with the behavior issues kids are falling farther and farther behind, making each year's class lower academically than the last. With each class being lower and less behaved the expectations of a classroom teacher are steadily increasing. We have to differentiate for every students which includes meeting one on one or small group with each for every subject on a daily basis to provide different lessons than the ones we plan for the whole group. Over half of both my classes have IEP's or 504's which require accommodations by law. If half your class has preferential seating for attention issues, how do you do that?? . Parents are more demanding and increasingly hostile and rude. Most of the communication I get is nasty. When I offer to meet in person they often become less hostile than on email but constant meetings over small issues dominate my planning and after school hours. Administration does not have our backs as teachers and will let parents dictate policy and how we run our classrooms. Add to that meetings to decide when to meet, grading, evening school activities, etc. and the days are often 10-12 hours long.

Even with all of that I enjoy the kids and may only be frustrated but not ready to quit except for the fact that, now that I am divorced, I barely make enough money to pay a mortgage, utilities, and help my son out a little bit with college. Eleven years of experience means nothing, new teachers make the same amount. I have no room for growth if I stay in the classroom. It feels like I'm sacrificing my life for others and where that once felt noble it's quickly feeling like a bad choice. I love the students and the act of planning lessons and teaching. I just don't feel like I can continue knowing that I'm doing myself and my family a disservice by being stressed out and living paycheck to paycheck. I'm looking to go back into the corporate world after this year in order to take care of my family, receive better benefits (our insurance is very expensive and has a high deductible), and start saving for retirement.

 

[Wishing on a star]

everyone classified her students as "bad" kids. These kids gave her a heart attack by the age of 45, caused her to go bald, gave her so much stress that her doctor told her if she didn't quit her job, she was going to die before her 50th birthday.

Wow, the thought of someone blaming all of that on the kids (and 'those' parents)....
Yes, that is sad.

 

[katie01]

As a current 3rd grade teacher who has been teaching for 11 years I will answer honestly. I worked in corporate HR and training for 10 years until my son was born and then took 5 years off to be a stay at home mom. I got my master's degree while staying home and went into teaching because I was very involved with kids from running church programs to having in-home babysitting in the summer plus the hours were great for a mom raising a child with a husband who traveled a lot.

My first two years of teaching were awesome, the school was brand new and the teachers all worked together to build a community. I loved the teachers on my team and we worked together and had each other's backs. The kids were, for the most part, well behaved and easily taught and redirected. There were the one or two who were disrespectful or refused to work but those were the kids who were most rewarding when they showed progress or growth. The parents were polite and we worked as a team to do the best for their kids (there are always those one or two that are consistently dissatisfied but definitely not the norm). As the years have gone by the kids have become more and more disrespectful and have more and more problems following basic rules of the classroom/school. Much of my time is taken up teaching life skills, manners, and refereeing arguments. On top of that the curriculum has become more and more rigorous and I feel much of it is not developmentally appropriate. When that is mixed with the behavior issues kids are falling farther and farther behind, making each year's class lower academically than the last. With each class being lower and less behaved the expectations of a classroom teacher are steadily increasing. We have to differentiate for every students which includes meeting one on one or small group with each for every subject on a daily basis to provide different lessons than the ones we plan for the whole group. Over half of both my classes have IEP's or 504's which require accommodations by law. If half your class has preferential seating for attention issues, how do you do that?? . Parents are more demanding and increasingly hostile and rude. Most of the communication I get is nasty. When I offer to meet in person they often become less hostile than on email but constant meetings over small issues dominate my planning and after school hours. Administration does not have our backs as teachers and will let parents dictate policy and how we run our classrooms. Add to that meetings to decide when to meet, grading, evening school activities, etc. and the days are often 10-12 hours long.

Even with all of that I enjoy the kids and may only be frustrated but not ready to quit except for the fact that, now that I am divorced, I barely make enough money to pay a mortgage, utilities, and help my son out a little bit with college. Eleven years of experience means nothing, new teachers make the same amount. I have no room for growth if I stay in the classroom. It feels like I'm sacrificing my life for others and where that once felt noble it's quickly feeling like a bad choice. I love the students and the act of planning lessons and teaching. I just don't feel like I can continue knowing that I'm doing myself and my family a disservice by being stressed out and living paycheck to paycheck. I'm looking to go back into the corporate world after this year in order to take care of my family, receive better benefits (our insurance is very expensive and has a high deductible), and start saving for retirement.

That does sound disheartening and very stressful. I wonder if more and more charter schools will open to break away from the bureaucratic pressure imposed on public school teachers. I don't know exactly how charter schools operate. My kids have always been in Catholic schools and the teachers there tend to have longevity, and they don't have to deal with some of the things public schools are required by law to do, but of course the salaries and benefits are not going to be equal to that of the public school. In one of my kids' (Catholic) schools, her homeroom teacher is 72 and had taught some of her students' parents. The math teacher is 75 and education was a second career for him. DD mentioned one other teacher she has (can't remember what subject) who also taught some of her classmates' parents. I am not sure if it's because they love it so much, or they can't afford to retire!! I hope for their sakes it is the former.

 

[katie01]

I'll throw kicker in there for you. The woman I call mom was not related to me in any way. She was an Alt Ed teacher at a school I went to. Her son and I became real good friends. She discovered I was living in an abusive household and tried to get me out of there. There was no legal way she was able to help so she pretty much would take me home every night she could and tell my evil step mother that I was spending the night with her son.

I spent at least 5 nights a week at her house, and most of the time 7.

The woman probably saved my life. She taught me what love was and how to be loved.

I may not be her biological child, but she will always be my mom.

How fortunate that you were brought into each other's lives at a time when you needed it, although I'm sorry for the pain you had to have experienced in that situation. I have kids by both birth and adoption, and know first hand that the love and bond you have is exactly the same. I'll bet your mom is as proud of you as you are of her.

 

[Magpie]

Wow, the thought of someone blaming all of that on the kids (and 'those' parents)....
Yes, that is sad.

I think you might have missed the point of what the previous poster was trying to say. This woman (who was not actually her biological mother, but an alt ed teacher who protected her from the abusive home she was living in) worked in an incredibly stressful environment and sacrificed her health to see these kids succeed. SHE wasn't calling the children "bad". She cried because other people called them bad. The children (and their very challenging educational and psychological needs) did cause her stress that impacted her health - but acknowledging that is not the same as blaming them. It's a testament to her remarkable dedication, instead.

Similarly, I know a man with a severely disabled daughter whose health has also suffered due to the stress of caring for her. Will he ever give up on her? No. He loves her. He's her father! But, it can't be denied that he'd be in better shape today (physically and psychologically and financially) if she'd never come into his life. He's a remarkable man, because of what he's sacrificed for her. (Her biological mother has bailed.)

 

[DawnM]

I started teaching in 1989. I have gotten multiple credentials through the years. I have 3 teaching credentials and a school counseling credential. I actually like them all but one (I don't really like teaching high school English, but I do it when necessary.)

I took a 10 year hiatus to raise my kids, but I tutored and taught some special classes during that time, so I didn't just stop completely.

I am back at it, full time. I still enjoy it. One thing that is kicking my butt though is all the new technology I am supposed to already know! I don't!

 

[nugov2]

I loved teaching, but I do think being a reading specialist would be a great job. When I get back into teaching in the next couple of years I am definitely going to pursue a masters in that field.

 

[scoutie]

I love teaching, but I don't like the current policies of my district. I would like to have been a school social worker. When I looked into getting my master's, the requirements were 1200 clinical hours, so I would have had to quit my job to get the degree. It wasn't feasible at the time. I've also wanted to be a SAHM, because when I'm off in the summers, there's nothing I love more.