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RePost from the Scott Budget Thread
I have been teaching for 8 years now and I love the kids, my school, and I don't even mind the pay! I also consider myself motivated, conscientious, and "in it for the kids." I hate the red tape, FCAT, hate mongering against teachers, and all of the other major issues which have cropped up snce I recieved my Bachelor's and Master's. I am now seriously considering going back to school to get a Master's in Family Therapy (not even school counseling).....and with my kids' test scores I WOULD be eligible for the possible bonuses coming down the pipe.....but what about next year, and the next? I am not sure I can see myself doing this for the rest of my career, ALL because of the BS bureaucracy. I am not saying not to go into education, I am just speaking from experience!
Other teachers out there, how are you feeling??? If you are not a teacher, are you sick and tired of this smae issue cropping up over and over again??? 
Re: RePost from the Scott Budget Thread
While I've heard complaints from teachers about being told to teach only things on standardized tests, I've never heard any hate mongering. Yikes! Would you mind elaborating on any of this? Is it just a FL thing or is it pretty much nationwide? I'm planning on taking the FTCE Test here next fall, or if we move taking it in whatever state we move to. This is a little concerning for me.
All those reasons are why I'm an editor today and why I let my permanent teaching certificate expire last year. It wasn't the kids or the subject matter, it was the adults and bureaucracy. Every year it was something new. Some new report you had to do, some new lesson plan, some new method, some new meeting, blahblahblahblah on top of the other 47 things they had you doing BESIDES preparing for class, teaching it, and grading papers.
Ashlee, teaching is great, but it is far and above one of the most underappreciated jobs when it comes to other adults. People think you work 5 hours a day and get 3 months off, or blame you for their child's ill behavior because apparently you are supposed to shape their entire lives in that one hour you have them a day. They don't understand that you actually work from dawn til 10 pm and work on your curriculum all summer for no pay. I'm not saying there aren't perks to being a teacher, and some teachers have easier schedules than others, but it's an all consuming job that is not at all romantic. Then if you complain, people tell you that you're obviously in it for the wrong reasons or that you're a whiner. I don't really see that reaction for any other jobs out there.
First let me tell you that I am still very proud to be a teacher and there are plenty of people, teachers and non-teachers alike, that respect the profession. However, nowadays, "poor teacher quality" has become a hot-button issue. Namely, teachers are being blamed (by some) for the downfall of education.
This is where the accountability factor comes into play. Teachers need to be "accountable" for the education they provide to the children of Florida. By all means, hold me accountable! But don't base 50% of my evaluation and salary on ONE test given on ONE day a year (FCAT). I teach 9th grade Reading and English 1 to ESE students (many of whom come to me reading at an elementary level). Instead of the rigid FCAT, let me give my students a state-created pretest and then a posttest and judge me on their GROWTH. Teachers have so MANY ideas of how to fix the situation with FL education. Instead, we are not invited to the discussion table and we have to hear that the state is cutting funding (again), taking away pensions, and at the same time raising the stakes. This is happening all over the country.
Well said DP. I wish someone had broken it down for me BEFORE I changed my major! However, everything happens for a reason!