[dmvdoug]

> Why would anyone want to teach these days?

Now let me answer this question more directly. It’s actually worse than a lot of people think. There is an intense and overwhelming amount of utter bullshit that gets rolled down the hill starting with Congress, added to by state legislatures, and further reinforced by local school districts. And of course teachers are at the bottom of the hill. When you focus on that, and all the ways that the system is utterly dysfunctional, and not beneficial for students, it can be defeating.

But when you focus on your job, which is students, it’s the single most rewarding thing you can do, in my judgment. I was a lawyer for 5-6 years before getting into education. I hated every day of my life. Now I wake up excited to see my students and be with them. It’s genuine fulfillment I never thought I would have in my life. So, if you can withstand all the bullshit, and there is a metric shit ton of it for sure, it’s an amazing job. If you can’t stand up for yourself, or if you can’t deal with irrational requirements imposed by people fully out of touch with reality—-if you can’t, in other words, set aside, or ignore to the maximum extent possible, dealing with other adults, you should definitely avoid it.

I can do those things. Becoming a teacher was the single best decision I’ve ever made.

[gypsy2023]

I’ve taught school for more than 20 years, starting at an alternative high school and following that with a rural high school, middle school, and even some college. What I’ve learned is that a teacher who speaks up won’t have a job (Questioning why it was okay for our male students to go the gym, with administrators’ approval, to play ball with a male teacher who was supposed to be a role model, instead of attending class.). A teacher who doesn’t watch every word they speak (Explaining that in formal writing, one should not use 1st and second person pronouns and being told by a parent that their precious child shouldn’t be taught the word gender, even though that word was never even spoken.)will end up as a target for uneducated parents or those with a misguided agenda. I’ve been in both of those situations more than once and after 20 years of crying for my kids, crying from the stress, and just generally questioning my sanity at staying in a profession that has become the scape goat for all the problems that our society faces, I’ve just grown tired. I try to discourage former students from going into the profession and have watched 3 young gifted teachers leave the profession in the last year alone. I’ve had training on how to properly search a backpack for drugs. I’ve had training on how to do triage on gunshot victims. I’ve had training and drills on how to barricade myself and my students in my classroom in case of an active shooter situation. And I did it all for one of the lowest pay scales in a state that already is woefully underpaying it’s teachers. I did not sign up for any of those things. If I had wanted to risk my life, I would have been a first responder or soldier. So I’m sure someone will ask, “Why did you stay?” There are multiple reasons to stay: job security, retirement pension, and mainly, my students. I love being able to help my kids and I love helping them realize their potential. That said, I’m counting down days until retirement. I’m looking forward to a new career in which I don’t feel like I have a bullseye painted on my back, being able to sleep at night without the stress, and mostly, I’m looking forward to not having to monitor every word I say and bite my tongue around everyone for fear of community tongue wagging. I only have a few years left and the end can’t come quickly enough.

[triceratops]

You're a saint. I meant that sincerely.

[dmvdoug]

I'm not, of course, but I appreciate the sentiment. :)

[uxcolumbo]

In your view, what are the key (realistic) things to fix this?

[dmvdoug]

That's a really difficult question. I thought about it for a while, but I don't think I have any answers that would qualify (given the requirement to be "realistic").

It is super important to keep in mind, though, when thinking about public education that public schools are expected to serve a multitude of functions that are related to education only in the sense that they involve the same children who are our students (nutrition, counseling, social work services, etc.). And that's fine, I guess, if schools are where the social safety net has to catch vulnerable children. But that needs to be acknowledged and factored into how we think about schools.

[uxcolumbo]

What I mean with realistic was things that are not achievable in this decade.

Other than voting for the right political candidates, what can people do?

And how can we raise the status of teachers - like it is in Finland for example?

What isn't realistic in the short term is to solve poverty, which would help would to improve this situation.

[monk_e_boy]

Have anyone who is in charge be someone who has X number of years teaching experience.

Or they should own at least half a brain

[inconceivable]

sounds like having a law degree and lawyering experience is the perfect background.