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Please tell me it gets better...
I am so done with my job. I got into teaching to work with CHILDREN, not because I wanted to get yelled at literally every.single.day by multiple parents.
Last night DH "poked" me in the eye (it didn't really hurt it) when he came to bed and I immediately started sobbing uncontrollably. I continued to sob for 15 mins because I am so ready to quit.
It is hard enough to be a teacher, but to have parents constantly questioning me and what I do for their child is just unbearable. I am tired of being grumpy and stressed 24/7, of having low patience with the kids because I am working 12 hour days or was dealing with nasty parents, and I am so tired of not getting to plan excellent lessons that will help the children as students and people.
I worked at a school last year that was absolutely amazing so I know how magical a classroom can be, but I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever have that again even if I leave my school. I can't imagine doing this for much longer as it is, not to mention teach while being a mom. By 4:00 I am so brain dead and wiped out I can barely function, and I usually have a couple more hours of work to either do or blow off so it piles up worse the next day.
Sorry for the massive rant, but I need to get some of this out in the universe.
ETA: It must be in the air, because I just read Tara's post.. Oy vey!
Thanks, everyone! I DD some details.
Re: Please tell me it gets better...
I can't say that it will get better, but I really hope it does. You're a great person which I'm sure is translating into great teaching. I'm sorry that there are douchey parents out their making it suck, though.
I also can't say that the grass is any greener out there in the corporate world. I barely get time to pee and by the end of the day I feel as though my body and brain have run a marathon.
Chin up! Spring Break is right around the corner
Hugs, girl! Something must be in the air... Is it a full moon?
I'm so sorry those parents are nasty.
I'm on a leave of absence this year from teaching, but I have felt every single emotion you described so many times! I'm going back full time this fall and will be at a new school, and I'm really hoping for a fresh start since I've only ever taught at one school.
All I can say is that I'm sure you are a wonderful teacher!! I hope tomorrow is a better day!
I think the hardest thing is that you cannot escape it. You have to take your job home with you if you even want to *dream* about keeping your head above water.
What's pissing me off right now is that everyone seems to forget the literally thousands of hours outside of school I have spent with these kids and not my own. That I'm spending my spring break with other people's kids and not my own. That I take phone calls and emails all weekend and at night when I should be paying attention to my family.
But all people want to do is criticize and complain about things they don't even understand. I'm soooooooo done.
Yes,I'm smiling...I'm a marathoner!
Bloggy McBloggerson
CO Nestie Award Winner-Prettiest Brain-Back to Back!
2011 Bests
5K-22:49 10K-47:38 Half Mary-1:51:50
2012 Race Report
1/1-New Year's 5K-22:11
2/11-Sweetheart Classic 4-mile-29:49
3/24-Coulee Chase 5K-21:40
5/6-Colorado Marathon-4:08:30
5/28-Bolder Boulder 10K
*hugs*! Hang in there. IMO, this is absolutely the hardest time of year. The next few weeks will be tough, but it'll be spring break soon!
For me, things have definitely gotten a lot better since my first year with my own class (I'm not counting co-teaching at a private school, which was fairly easy since I wasn't the lead teacher). My first year was sooooo hard. I'll never forget the first time a parent yelled at me (the second week of school in front of all the kids with another parent standing nearby watching!).
I can only speak for myself, but for me things have definitely gotten easier over the past 7 years. For a while I was so scared of getting yelled at that I went overboard in trying to keep people happy. For the most part, I've learned how to keep a balance between having high expectations and holding kids accountable while keeping parents and kids happy. It's still a hard job of course, and I've learned to really appreciate the time off and do what it takes before breaks so that I can relax and not have to work much during the break. My life is a lot better since I found a way to make that happen. Another thing that makes it do-able is that I don't have kids so I can work uninterrupted for several hours when I get home. I don't know if I could keep this job if I had kids.
The first few years are extremely hard no matter what, but I do think you could be a lot happier at another school.
Between you and Tru, I think the teachers on this board deserve some extra love tonight!
I'm so sorry. I hope things turn around for you sooner rather than later.
J-it hurts me to see you and T so upset. I can't understand why parents think they know better. I have always told my girls' teachers that they should know best, they've been teaching longer than I've been a parent in some cases. I've never been a teacher how can I tell them how to do their job?
Sometimes I felt badly for not automatically taking my kids' side but I know there is more to the story than I'm getting at home. And now at their ages I ask if they are just venting or if I need to get involved (which for me is an email asking what my kid did and how I can help), I know my kids are not perfect and I don't understand people who don't give their kids the tools to be good students by first being good people.
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