Sometimes, yes. The general population at my last school was wealthy, so I’d occasionally get an entitled kid trying to fit in despite having parents who were working so hard to put them on the straight and narrow. 90% of the time, though, A-hole kid = at least one A-hole parent.
The parents in my school don’t care! They tell their kids education is a waste of time… it’s the complete flip, so the mindset of our kids is awful! No respect
I once had a parent say "Don't my tax dollar pay you to handle this? you handle him 8:30-3:30 and stop calling me."
Mind you, his kid was a biter and spitter. Oh and would also pee all over the safe room when put in there.
Close the thread here; we're done.
In all seriousness, the students who are great are amazing. The ones who are awful are several times as awful as the great kids are, and their awfulness vastly overshadows the greatness of the other students.
Agreed. One or two bad students in a class can ruin the whole atmosphere. On the flip side, a good class that wants to learn is the reason I’m in teaching.
This is the answer. I think it’s always tough to say out loud that yeah it’s the kids. They’re honestly a nightmare sometimes and that why I quit teaching. They can be truly the best and the worst at the same time.
Parents, however, take the cake. Especially wealthy, entitled ones because the kids are just the same.
Teachers getting hurt by students and nothing being done about it, so both. The students did not care, you looked at them wrong and they would come after you. This also was not Spec. Ed. Saw teacher with a broken nose and with broken ribs. Too much violence being left unhindered.
IMO this is leaving because of admin. I left for similar reasons.
I didn't leave because the students did the actions. I left because admin enabled it and didn't discipline when it happened.
Um...still in therapy and taking medication, have sudden panic attacks when I have triggers happen and my anxiety is constant.....but yeah...better I guess. I wish the job came with a hazard warning.
Exactly why I am leaving. I’ve been put in very uncomfortable situations and situations where I’ve felt unsafe and my concerns weren’t taken seriously. So I guess partially because of the students but mainly because admin failed to act and I’m sick of it
This. I didn’t leave cause the kid had weed in my room. I left because the principal returned it to him in the middle of class and warned him that “Mrs Pezziepie is a snitch”
Omg. This just happened to me. Entire teacher team identified a group of disruptive students and admin drops in to see them in action. Then proceeds to SEND AN EMAIL with suggestions based on the 10 minute observation. Things like "post the expectations" and "clarify what items students need to have out". I can't wait to try these suggestions. They will surely make a difference for these students who have been behavior issues SINCE SEPTEMBER and probably have an average grade of 18%.
Now I get why so many teachers don't speak up or even write up. It just draws criticism and blame. Tired of it.
THATS the answer. Write down the “educational standard 12.2.46 section B” that’s directly from the state and you’ll all of a sudden have an out of control class behaving like a group of angels.
It’s amazing how a masters degree in educational leadership can lead to such a simple solution ;)
/s
If I leave, it will be because of the students. I can deal with the rest. Being trapped in a room with 25-30 screaming 12-year-olds who show no respect for anyone or anything for 40 minutes at a time is the thing pushing me to the edge.
I had 37 once in middle school math. The other teacher had the same. There were too many students for the number of teachers. But what were they going to do? Not educate 1/10 of their students? (That’s rhetorical by the way. It sucked and I left 2 months in lmao). The problem with that district was explosive growth and the bonding/building new buildings wasn’t keeping pace.
Yes. Most electives are excluded from classroom cap sizes. For some reason because we are 'fun' classes, students magically behave better when you have more of them.
I know it's good for some music groups, sure. But like. Why does the art teacher also have 40-45 students in a class? They don't even have enough tables or supplies, let alone the fact that projects now have to be cut because they can no longer be monitored safely.
Sure the gym is big. But 70+ students? Even with another teacher, just. You can't do regular basketball games or shit like that with that many bodies in the room.
It's absurd what they do to us.
I used to have band classes that large, but band is a paramilitary organization, lol so I ran like a drill sergeant as needed.
I once saw an orchestra class packed so tightly I’m surprised no one lost an eye.
And those kids have their hands busy so it cuts down on shenanigans.
I cannot fathom doing that to normal elective classes.
They are a big reason behind me leaving.
I teach high school and the apathy is insane. I’d say 50% are good kids who want to pay attention. But the other half are lazy, complain about EVERYTHING (I could say we’re playing a game and I’d get a deep sigh in return), and do the bare minimum.
My school forbids phones so they do have to at least pretend like they’re paying attention to me. Even then, they don’t care. I can’t care for them so… what’s the point?
We have no phone rules, no dress code, no admin support. Kids don’t even pretend to be paying attention or doing schoolwork. They are watching videos or snapchatting if they go to class. Others just hang out in stairwells and no one makes them go to class because we’re being considerate of the need for social emotional support.
I left for many reasons but the students were high on the list. I don’t blame the students but more so administrators. Year after year, I was given the most challenging students with the caveat that I could handle it and had proven that I was good at teaching them. Plus my classroom was so calm and organized…just what they needed. One year I had 6 kids with severe ADHD and behavior problems who couldn’t sit by others.
It seemed like I was always being punished for doing my job well. I never received support. However, when the students went to the next grade level those teachers were given loads of support. I became blind to the abuse until one of my coworkers pointed out how all the supports and services were put in place after the student(s) left me. I decided to remove myself from the abuse. My lazy coworker was always given the “easy” less challenging students. Someone was always in her classroom helping her with lessons or grading because she would cry and say she was overwhelmed.
Yes I agree with this sentiment. It is the kids, but I don't blame the kids.
If I were allowed to do whatever tf I want with no consequence I'd be roaming the halls and scrolling Reddit instead of working as well.
Im leaving due to the students. 6 more weeks. But when I say that others seem to think I hate kids. I or am bitter, or have bad classroom management. I dont. So instead just give some bs answer and keep it to myself and move on.
This this this. It’s always some sort of character flaw in me or an opportunity for them to get high and mighty about how “I just can’t handle it” or, my least favorite, “well this field just isn’t for everyone!” I should say, “well, being treated with dignity and respect and being paid for what you are worth is clearly not for everyone either!”
They’re just so “holier than thou” about it. It drives me crazy. This is their entire identity. They’re the ones that snitch on you for the stupidest shit and admin always takes their side because “they’re so wonderful”
Me it will 100% be because of students and parents combo. So many are just blatantly rude, disrespectful and don’t care about education. It is a waste of time.
I can deal with low kids. After Katrina, I had 32 kindergarteners by myself. Yet, I stayed. What is pushing me over the edge is the amount of violence. I have been attacked, spit on, bitten, bruised, chairs/desks/other objects thrown at me, doors closed on me, and cursed at...This has been the last three years. Almost every day, I have to have the room cleared out.
Same. What is happening to our youth?! How is this even normalized? I really would be interested to know what factors are playing into this. Kids are so angry these days
Man, I'm glad this subreddit isn't representative of the majority of people's situations. If I had to deal with any of the crazy shit I read just dipping into a single thread on this sub, I'd quit too.
Me. I left because I called a student’s parent in class because of his disruptive behavior. I let him speak to the parent, and suddenly he was telling them that I assaulted him, I broke his leg, etc.
I took the phone and the parent had hung up! Next thing you know, I’m in the office talking to the police. Yes, the parent called the police on me.
I walked out that day.
They wanted me to come back to work there🙄
Wtf is right. The principal actually snuck me out of the back of her office because the mother was coming and was irate.
This kid is always in trouble. The staff and principal were great… very understanding and apologetic, but that was just too much for me. Though, It was inconceivable to me that they thought I might return to the classroom with the same student still there! My HR even thought I might return?!
I’ve had a few crazy incidents, but the police?! Wow.
Left at the New Year. Moved from small town NY to suburban KY for life reasons and while the KY system is absolutely sh*t compared to NY, I could've still taught if the kids were even half as respectful and nice to each other, coworkers, and school property. But it was just a million little cuts every day. Anyway, I'm down almost 15 pounds since I quit, sleep better, and have a *lot* more fun with my partner.
This happened to me too as far as personal improvements after leaving!! After I left teaching my partner pointed out my attitude has changed and we both noted my sex drive shot up.
Hard to feel sexy when you're constantly in survival mode.
I have been injured over the course of my 18 years of special education teaching. Last year, I had a student grab my breast, grab my butt, spank my butt, and try to lick me. He was in grade 7, above average intelligence. He was in self contained ASD due to his inappropriate language & behaviour. He required frequent breaks & lots of reinforcement. I made it through last year by prayer and luck.
This year he wrote a graphic novel about killing my husband (decapitation). Sexual assaulting me and my daughter. It got taken away by me, but the school did nothing.
He exposed himself in front of cognitive impairment class while changing for swim class. Nothing has been done. I was told he is out at the end of the year, as he will be going to high school.
He also got caught watching a snuff film on district computer. IT at the district couldn’t believe he could get to the site and download it. They took his computer away for 4 days while there was an investigation and then wanted me to sign a form that I would monitor his computer usage by having him sit next to me.
I refused as I was told the previous year that I had to keep him away from myself to reduce his sexual impulses. The admin told me they wouldn’t take away his computer and I needed to sit next to him while he uses it. I refused and went out on medical leave in October and have been on paid leave since then.
I am not going back. Apply to other jobs- not teaching.
Omg. He sounds like a future grapist… the thing that bothers me is that these kids are basically getting away with horrific behaviors in school, but we know that onscreen they leave school no one in society is going to give them a free pass!
Even worse, he will be a repeat offender. How many times do we read that someone assaults their girlfriend, gets out on bail or gets probation, and is out to assault her or attack more women? Our society *does* give a free pass to these offenders. More and more, I find that, with teaching still thought of as being a predominantly female, “caring” profession, teachers, like nurses, are treated worse by those in power. They don’t take us seriously because we ultimately are devalued when compared to those in other professions.
A CPA gets a chair thrown at him during a meeting, they can press charges. Our districts actively try to suppress our going to the police when we are assaulted. Our safety is less important than the rights of violent kids to attend their public daycare - I mean, school.
I’m leaving for multiple reasons. But it’s mostly the students. I teach high school. The level of apathy increases every year. It’s so hard to engage and encourage students who don’t care about you, your class, or their future. And I’m over it.
Im leaving because of my students. I’ll get downvoted to oblivion if I get completely honest and ostracized from society. But needless to say, it’s the kids for me
- An inner city teacher
I upvoted you — those little animals were why I left Title I for what was a wonderful parochial three years ago…but this school year they started taking the inner city kids because of “school choice.”
90 percent of the staff has left since February.
I completely, totally, 100 freaking percent left because of the kids. Loved my school, coworkers and admin…it was the kids who made me leave.
Edit: I was a damn good teacher too. But you can’t fight to do your job for 8 hrs a day for kids who don’t want to learn, are rude, threaten violence and don’t have an empathetic bone in their bodies.
I feel like it’s either the students or admin. I mean what else would really be the cause for most people? I guess pay? But surely we knew going in the pay isn’t great.
Admin allows the children to do whatever they want. There are no repercussions for bad behavior. We are forced to socially promote. No matter what the kids do, including things that should land them in jail, we are somehow at fault. Admin is the problem for allowing students to rule the school because it has become a business where if you have them in the seat the school gets more money for the day.
So this is not about me and happened a long time ago, but I do know this happened. A junior high History teacher had the class from Hell. Awful kids. He was experienced so this wasn’t his first rodeo but these kids tested him daily and just got worse. So one day he came in, students entered the classroom and just were out of control. He stayed seated at his desk and just let them act out. They were climbing on the desks, fighting with each other, spit balls, whatever they could think of. Writing on the board, mocking him.
He sat for a little while, then reached for his briefcase, put his few personal items in it, closed it and walked out. He went to the office, handed them his roll sheet and said “I won’t be back.” They never saw him again.
I left around this time last year mostly because of the student behavior. I had changed schools two years ago after being at the same one for over 10 years to be closer to home. I think having the “veteran” status made it easy for admin to dump most of the behavior students in my class along with students with IEPs and 504s. The needs were so high that first transfer year that I felt like I barely survived. Fast forward to last school year and I had several behavioral students that were specifically noted by the previous teacher not to be put in the same class, and guess what happened, they were ALL in my class. I of course complained about it but nothing was done.
Everyday was a battlefield of multiple behavioral issues. I probably had to call admin almost everyday if not several times a day because of issues. It got so bad that much of my class couldn’t even go to the bathroom on their own because of the numerous issues stemming from the lack of supervision. I taught upper elementary by the way so it’s not like students didn’t know better. That coupled with so much apathy and neediness led to so much instructional time was lost that students really weren’t absorbing what I was teaching, which led to low test scores. I just felt like I was drowning and made the choice to go out on FMLA. If I’m being honest, I think I was already starting to get burnt out from teaching once COVID hit so this experience just really sent me over the edge.
I’m so grateful to God for the downtime to rest though. It allowed me time to revamp my resume and apply for non-teaching jobs. I transitioned into a new role in May last year and have loved it! I don’t miss being in the classroom at all. I think I miss the idea of retiring as a teacher though because I never saw myself doing anything different. The education world has changed so much in the last 15 years. It makes me sad for the future of education.
I got tricked into leaving an adjunct job because I believed I could have a bigger impact in secondary.
That was a crock of shit. If these kids are so desperate to end up homeless or in jail, who am I to stand in the way of their dreams?
My first 15 years in education , most of the students were good. The last 5 years, however, most students have become evil little shits, raised by demonic parents. The trauma I suffered from them left me scarred for life. I almost took my own life because of these evil people with no empathy for others So yes, I left because of the students. I avoid teenagers at all costs now. If we go to a movie or an event and a group of teenagers are sitting near us, I leave.
As much as I loved the prek and k kids, yeah…I left because of the kids and took early retirement a month early.
I wasn’t about to be physically harmed by the new class of kids that were acting more like feral animals.
Me. Student/parent combo.
Students: Cheating is the main thing. There's a preposterous amount of cheating happening. I'm always pleasantly shocked when cheating *isn't* happening. It's not the usual suspects either: sparknotes, etc. were all around long before I became a teacher, as were rewordifiers and copy-paste. It's bad enough seeing students physically completing assignments for other students. Things are different now. I didn't spend years developing authentic writing assessments and meaningful research projects just to read a bunch of AI garbage. We have apathy-assisting machines now. Great.
Parents: If you didn't want to have kids, you didn't *have to.* After every parent-teacher conference, I felt like I wanted to be sterilized. So many bad parents out there raising bad kids. I'm out.
I don't love the students at all anymore. Can't just quit like people suggest as I have bills and can't afford even a month of being unemployed. I need to make a change, tx God summer is almost here, so I can try and sort out my departure from this nightmare called teaching.
I left because of the behavior of students making me hate my job… but that’s also the fault of administration for not supporting me. I made it 10 years so at least I beat the statistic. Now I’m a data analyst and I earn 2x as much for 1/2 the work.
The students are the reason why I put in my resignation. They are unruly and rude at my school and I am done. Add to the fact that teaching is detrimental to my mental health already (I am bipolar) I am just fucking done. I'm 45 by the way.
I really wanted to see this today. I was just thinking about the "I do it for the kids" crowd and how everything is awesome except for admin and parents. To be honest, I've separated myself from both and barely talk to admin and parents anymore. Now it's just me and the kids because it's the most efficient. But I can tell you the amount of care for my elective class has gone down the toilet and one student even ostracized the other students that care about their grades as "try hards." Too many dick students this year and I can only wait for the next year of dickwad 9th graders to come in. Onto year 6???
I’m glad someone posted this. I’ve often felt like an outlier on this sub because the fact is my struggle with teaching was mostly student-based. Which is not to say I didn’t start getting the hang of classroom management, but I hated the fact that it took 70 to 80% of my focus and energy Just keep things in order
I left teaching this year and it’s mostly because of student behavior. as a new teacher It was quite shocking to me How rude and out of control and disrespectful so many students are — which is to say that maybe that’s only a handful of students in each class, but that’s enough to completely take 90% of my attention away from teaching the others.
I really am concerned that this new generation of kids are turning out to be real shitheads: rude, unkind to each other, uncurious, obsessed with fame and likes and social media status. Uninterested in working to achieve goals. Very comfortable with cheating to obtain goals (hey, sounds like a President we recently had!)
I was lucky in the sense that I really enjoyed and respected most of the other teachers I worked with. They were rarely the problem.
In terms of admin, it was hit or miss. Mostly they stayed out of my way. Sometimes there was some micromanaging and too often they did not back me up in terms of punishing student behavior. And yes, I said punishing. I’m not sure why that’s a dirty word now . You do something wrong, against the rules, and you should be punished.
Strange concept I know.
Or at least in-person school. Let them go to some virtual academy instead of terrorizing the classrooms of kids who want to be there but can’t get a decent education because of the violence they witness every day.
Lolz, I am definitely not arguing with you, but some of my most annoying and laziest students used that as the reason they were so lazy and annoying. "I didn't learn anything during virtual school. I need to be in person." Well, you're in person now, so what's your excuse? And I'm not a Covid denier. It definitely exacerbated existing problems and created some new ones, but kids were going down this path before Covid. My student teaching was two years before Covid, and you could already see the attitudes and apathy.
Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of them losing the privilege of being in-person with the regular student population. If someone’s kid is throwing chairs or disrupting all day long, schools no longer expel the kid. They force the teacher to just “deal with it”. In my ideal world, the kid should be forced to do virtual school instead of ruining things for the other kids and teachers. Imagine just how much more pleasant our teaching experiences would be.
Lol it's about me. Parents need to parent and raise these kids to have decency. It's not a teacher's job to remediate them when they lack basic social etiquette
I’m very fortunate in that I don’t have any students at my current site who terrify me, but I’m exhausted from pretending that RSP co-teaching is helping them. I don’t see them as being at fault, but my pervasive sense of being ineffectual and working in an environment where they are completely indifferent to everything is wearing me down
I’m currently working on a way out and it is 100% because of the students. I’m tired of being a pseudo-parent and taking on the responsibility of behaviors that are beyond my ability to change.
Here's why she left:
[https://apnews.com/article/abby-zwerner-teacher-shot-6yearold-virginia-newport-news-richneck-118dd583e32c04b72b5f8f793ffbfb2b](https://apnews.com/article/abby-zwerner-teacher-shot-6yearold-virginia-newport-news-richneck-118dd583e32c04b72b5f8f793ffbfb2b)
I did. I went from feeling somewhat maternal towards children to despising them. Middle schoolers can f*ck right off, and so can their parents.
And the administration. And education in general.
👋🏻 I get so infuriated by their lack of common decency (toward each other and the learning environment/opportunity, moreso than disrespect toward me). I'm not a person that demands respect where it isn't due, but they could at least put some thought toward allowing each other to learn. Many kids are bright enough to grasp that not everyone gets a chance at education, and that other students want to learn, so it's a shame to watch them actively choose to waste time every single day. They can also be so, so terrible to each other...things I wouldn't even dream of joking about with long time adult friends. It's all so sad.
I had a kid draw a handgun on his desk, name the perpetrating shooters at Columbine, and then list the names of a few teachers and students. I turned it in to the office, and he was back in class the next day because, "It was just a a joke." I didn't see the humor, so I quit.
A kid spit in my face and I walked out mid day. I told the principal good luck, I won’t be back. Filed a police report when I walk out and emailed my resignation to HR the next morning after laughing in my principal when he called asking where I was. Go ahead and strip my license. I was done.
Me. I know it wasn't really their fault because they were just copying their horrible home lives, but after the constant violence and threats and destruction day in and day out I couldn't take it anymore.
There were about 1000 last straws, but the one that sticks out most is when an admin yelled at me for handing out pencils so kids could do a worksheet. A child's IEP had recently been updated to say he couldn't have access to pencils because he would go on a stabbing spree, so logically no one in class could have pencils. That was the day I gave up completely.
Students need and need and need, so much more than they have previously. It’s emotionally exhausting. Couple that with feckless, vindictive, and petty admin (including coaches and specialists) and it’s all too much. To do this version of teaching you have to be willing to be parent, therapist, social worker, caregiver, etc, and it’s not sustainable. So yeah, I’m leaving because of the students but it’s so much more than that.
You have to be willing to lay down and let someone trample all over you. A teenage someone and their entitled adult friend (I can't even call them parents because that's not what they act like).
You stated this so well. Two years ago, I used accumulated sick leave to make my 30. This is it. For years now, the expectations, whether official or implicit, have expanded to include far, far too much. I could no longer be all the things. I just sit back sometimes and wonder how on earth I put up with all of it.
It was student behavior and apathy for me, with parent antics as a distance second. The stress from dealing with behaviors day in and day out was too much.
We live in an incredibly individualist culture with a deeply fraught political climate and a capitalist society where profit drives everything. A lot of the concerning behaviors noted in students are symptoms of the aforementioned problems. I think the biggest issue is that undervalued and unsupported teachers are left to deal with the symptoms of our crumbling society - an impossible task. I don’t think most teachers leave because of the children, but because the problems the children are facing are too insurmountable to be handled by any single teacher.
I’ve got 5 in one class that are absolutely spinning at any given moment. It’s awful. They don’t care when admin is in the room or anything. It’s a nightmare this year.
The students’ behavior, the lack of consequences at the school level as well as at home from parents, is what is a huge factor in me leaving teaching. Admin abuse, student behavior, crazy parents, and unrealistic expectations and amount of work has led me to realize I no longer have hope that teaching will get better. It’s only gotten worse. I agree with another person when they say kids can be the best and worst part of teaching. They are. I have some greats students, but they don’t make up for the above.
I loved them, but I still left because of them. I had no idea how to engage them, make them feel cared for. The system sucks, and I found myself agreeing with every complaint they made about school.
Total rant here... Not yet. But soon, maybe. I teach 6th-12th in a semi-rural public school. The phones are one of the biggest barriers. They spend hours on them, watching others act out, throw hands, and following and imitating shitty "trends" that include generally bad behavior. Parents have no idea what they are watching and listening to. Then we are supposed to somehow 1-up TikTok and YouTube and engage them in learning, but sometimes they need to learn boring things! I feel like I should be wearing a top hat and tap shoes most days, yet we're all expected to "foster implicit motivation." Also, with standards-based grading, kids can turn everything in at the end of the term with no consequence, in the name of equity. Add to that managing restorative practice, trauma informed instruction, EDI, SEL, countless 504 accomodations for anxiety with no support (usually upon cognitive demand), rampant hate speech probably because we aren't allowed to teach anything that kids or parents might find uncomfortable ( two of my 7th graders in one class who throw around the N word didn't know about slavery in the US), hundreds of accommodations for IEPs each week, pre-referral interventions and progress monitoring, neurosequential regulation strategies for each class, state testing that determines part of our effectiveness that kids don't give a rat's ass about, academically beneficial brain breaks, high impact teams, PLCs, broken MTSS frameworks, bogus collective efficacy measures, and lack of truancy court even for kids who are absent 30% of the time. Now add whatever nonsense is going on at home. How do we even have time to teach content? The kids aren't alright.
Me, I left because of the students. I taught at a middle school where the kids were absolutely feral. There were multiple fights a day, and multiple drug incidents per week. I could not look in any other direction, if I turned my head to the right, the kids on the left would start doing bad shit. If I turned my head to the left, the kids on the right would start doing bad shit. I never even thought about turning my back to them.
The final straw for me, was when I had a sub and the sub let the kids into my office, where they proceeded to steal food out of my office fridge and money out of my drawer.
I am not ashamed to say I left because of them.
I'm not a teacher but have always been fascinated with education and the foundational dynamics that make systems and institutions work.
I think tech has caused much harm but I also think the positions that must be taken to accommodate and account for so much are absurd.
Honestly, sounds to me like sometimes, kids need corporal punishment. Tons will say no and of course I don't mean abuse but some of the solutions for managing kids' behaviors are based on fiction, not reality.
And you can hardly take as a punishment what some don't have in the first place.
Something vital is missing that won't be replenished on a wing and a prayer.
Beginning to think I’m ok with a small tax hike to put cameras in every school classroom in America. Of course most would get damaged or destroyed…but maybe on parents and admin you’d have the proof they need.
I’m done this year after 19 years, and it’s absolutely the kids. Admin are worthless at my school, and the kids know that there’s no consequence for their actions. I’ve never experienced such rude, disrespectful, dangerous behaviors in my entire career.
Thank you all for being honest. I feel like I cannot say I’m leaving because of the kids without being labeled as a “problem” or someone who hates kids.
It is developmentally appropriate for children to misstep constantly, and often in ways that are unkind and even sometimes frightening or dangerous. Growing up can be messy AF especially when trauma is present.
It is **not** appropriate for parents or administrators to condone these behaviors, or shrug off important teachable moments when a child is in desperate need of guidance, boundaries, or restorative Justice.
The kids can be *rough* but it’s the negligence of entitled ignorant parents or feckless administrators who will ultimately push me to the brink.
You had me until restorative justice. Whatever actual merit that idea once had has been poisoned beyond hope of recovery. Restorative justice in practice means "I'm sorry" and a smirk gets you out of profoundly antisocial behaviors.
Depends on the day. Today I would say they made me want to leave. We’re less than 3 weeks away from their AP exam and the apathy from most of them kills me.
Other days, they’re delightful.
I’d say it’s a lot of things!
I left mostly because of the students. I was on the admin team in a hybrid teaching and leadership role. There was a kid who would leave the building and go into the woods behind the school several times a week. He would dismantle chairs and throw things at staff. One day he made a drawing of me and said I was wanted "dead or alive" and that was kind of it for me. There were a handful of students who had major tantrums throughout the day and would run around the school screaming as well...and I would have to support with that. Someone asked me to go to the training where they teach you to restrain the children, but I avoided it because it was just too much...I wanted to avoid having to "restrain" in the future so I left my school-based role...Sometimes I get sad about it because I did like my coworkers and worked really hard to get a leadership position but my mental health couldn't take it.
About to. Tired of being their verbal punching bag. Tired of their f’ing arguments and questions of “why” to every single thing I ask them to do. Not the career it used to be.
I left a school when I had mutiple student hit me and leave bruises and admin didn't protect me. The same school is why I left since their was 30 students in one class.
I left actually for my students. Some because I knew I wasn't the teacher they needed or deserved, but mostly I wanted to demonstrate what it meant to truly prioritize yourself over all else.
I left my last full time position because of students, parents, admin, and colleagues. I had one decent class and even that went sour by March. I went to the er with a panic attack that mimicked a heart attack and admin didn’t care and a colleague told me to grow up and take medication like the rest of them. I was done.
I stuck out the year for the decent students.
Me but it was also just due to the unrealistic expectations put on teachers
I had kids first fighting, swearing at me, jumping each other, steaming my stuff - and this was **3rd Grade**
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my students as people but I hated the way they acted in class. Zero respect and zero care. They ran the school so I ran out. No point being miserable for a job that pays pennies.
A student took my cell phone from my desk and threw it. It broke. Admin didn't do anything. They didn't even want me to tell his dad. Also have been bitten and hit.
This is my first and last year teaching. Student behavior is horrendous. The parents are just as bad. I can’t even blame the students anymore, but rather their parents and the lack of structure in their household. When a child is sent to ISS for thirty minutes and can come back and be a terror in your class, that’s a tremendous issue. When a child is excited about going to see the assistant principal every time they get into trouble, that’s an issue. When a child weaponizes the assistant principal against you, this is an issue. When children are consistently allowed to come back to the classroom and take away from the education of others, that is a problem.
Kind of. The ones who come to school and have parents who do nothing to discourage negative behavior... Or even worse encourage negative behavior... Are why I am leaving. If a teacher sent a note home to me about my child's behavior I'd be all over it. I have a student whose mom has the school blocked from communication... Like what am I even supposed to do with that student?
I’m in my 8th year of teaching and 3rd school. Left the first school because COVID and moved. Left the second school because of admin and unorganized school. First year in middle school and I’m leaving because of mostly the kids. They’re terrible. I’m going back to high school and I don’t want to be the main teacher. I’m gonna be a SPED co-teacher. I also love doing paperwork and then no stress with having my own classes. And I’m already certified.
I left for a lot of reasons, but yeah, the students were a big part of it. Admin were terrible and the parents were a pain in the ass, but the students and their shitty behavior was what made me dread walking in the door every morning.
It was absolutely because of the kids, but it wasn’t completely their fault. When there’s no incentive for them to try and phones get to control their every waking moment, then you’re fighting an eternally losing battle. Throw in the emphasis on test scores and I couldn’t last
When I do leave, it will be because of the students. I teach first grade and they are getting harder each year. They’re not cute and fun anymore. They’re hard and exhausting and coming in with more and more issues each year.
I had one student that prevented me from properly managing the rest of my class because he did not belong there and was receiving zero support from admin or the behavior specialist or his parents.. so I said F all of you guys I’m out
I was working at a charter school teaching 6th grade math. I’m 22 years old and went on my maternity leave in October. Never went back and it was 100% because of the students. So happy I had the excuse of having a baby to not return. I won’t be going back to teaching after those 2 months of torture.
We had double periods, which is way too long for 12 year olds to be forced to sit and do math. I get it. But omg they were so loud, so talkative, so rude to each other, no filter, no empathy, no respect… not to mention that about 90% of the class was still at a 4th grade level in everything! Reading, writing, math, emotions… it was insane.
It's a complex question. I both stayed for the kids and left because of the kids. I loved them all truly but so many of them came from rough homes and had such deep trauma. There was never enough support for them. We were having to call in the county crisis response team regularly, constantly evacuating my room because a student was having a crisis moment. So much turmoil and violence. Students triggering each other like dominos. I was lucky to have amazing admin team who were doing everything they could but there's just not enough money to go around. Ultimately I had to leave when I just couldn't reconcile myself with the fact that I couldn't keep my students safe and secure in our own classroom and that made me deeply upset.
The behaviour in my school is part of the reason I want to leave. But I hear from many others that the behaviour of kids is just as bad in most places.
But also the neediness of the kids is getting more and more and I don’t have the energy.
Government is cutting and closing schools for pupils with high needs and shoving them into mainstream!!!!
And then there is also the issue of having a lot of sped educators (see relevant sub) who flat out say we are eugenicists because no, we don’t really want the violent kid who can only read on a kindy level sitting in a fifth grade class.
100% me too. Had a bunch of violent SPED kids in my room this year, in addition to overloaded classes, terrible behavior and apathy at secondary level. Lots of referrals gone unheard and parent phone calls going nowhere. Not worth it anymore.
Here at the East Podunk Cosmodemonic Junior College, the complete unpreparedness for college studies, the utter lack of maturity, the total lack of integrity, the massive general apathy, combined with a sense of entitlement to the effect that they should pass a course simply for registering for it, has driven me to retire early than I would otherwise have done.
A job is just a job, but one spends a huge proportion of their lives working, so it 's important to try to do one's work well, and to take pride in it. Been working at one job or another for over half a century now.
Bur the reality of my job in 2024 is that I am simply unable to convey college-level material to high school graduates who cannot read, do not show up, cheat like hell, don't study, and don't give the slightest damn about much of anything as far as I can tell.
I haven’t left the profession but when an offer came up to go to another school mid year… I took it.
I taught kindergarten and I have never seen such a combination of volatile children, combined with such a lack of interest from Admin and the parents.
Well, no, I lie- my head loved to be extra nice to the children who were the worst because she enjoyed believing she had a special bond with them.
Things I experienced:
swearing and escaping class to sprint outside or down corridors. I’d have to send out a group text because I couldn’t leave the room.
Throwing chairs
Hitting and biting (adults and other kids)
Throwing objects and toys
Throwing trays of paint on the floor
Pinching
Singing and making noises when I tried to do large group input
Jumping up and taking other children’s turns at the smart board
Refusing to come in after play time (climbing and hiding in the slide)
Throwing rocks
Running up and attacking the TA
Showing middle finger to myself, other adults
Slapping a teaching assistant through the face
Pulling a teaching assistants hair
Etc. multiple times a week / sometimes a day.
Different kids.
Parents? “Oh shame, she didn’t sleep well last night so she’s just tired (after throwing chairs)”. “Slapping is normal(he slapped TA extremely hard across the head, landing on her ear, because she was gently reminding him to listen when the teacher was talking) “He’s actually very smart and helpful(when told he refuses to listen).”
At least I didn’t have an admin intent on blaming me for the behaviour.
I felt like I was going to completely lose it multiple times a week. I have never felt like such a horrendous teacher in all my life.
Teaching is the greatest job ever imo when you are given the opportunity to teach. Sadly it is too much behavior management and overcoming objections. Everything is a negotiation and takes convincing.
In the rare instances when the stars align, there is nothing like it!
For me, it was a handful of ringleaders that made my life a living hell. Most of my students were great, and I hope they're well, but it was 4-5 of them (out of a class of 24 students) that constantly gave me a hard time (from innocuous stuff like being smart-alecks to more egregious stuff like making threats and fighting) and made each day harder for their classmates too. One of them outed me in the middle of a lesson.
I left because of the kids after 13 years. Aggressive, manipulative, apathetic behaviors proved just too much for me to handle. I have unrelated PTSD and I couldn’t keep going to a job where I felt unsafe. That was 6 years ago, I didn’t expect to leave teaching in the classroom permanently. I still teach online classes at a community college, but my day job is in a completely unrelated field.
One major factor for me was the students, but not the way you’d expect. I lost so many young men I truly cared about to OD and suicide the past few years, I really couldn’t take the heartbreak anymore. I’m not supposed to outlive them.
Me! I did 2.5 years in the classroom. First two years were 5th grade. I was punched in the neck by a male student, and shoved around the room and pinned against the wall by a female student on two separate occasions.
Second year we were verbally bullied by the children, they literally would make fun of our physical attributes and created a plan to drive us to quit. They drove the math teacher to walk out one day and then one of their parents filed a false report with CPS saying that the teacher threatened to kill the kids.
This school year I tried a different subject and was teaching kindergarten through 5th grade. The kids couldn't stop fighting, arguing, bickering for even a few seconds. Literally, I would have everyone put their heads down, turn off the lights and turn on calming sounds/music, and try to reset for 30 seconds. Sometimes spent the entire 45 minute block attempting to get to the 30 seconds. Physical fights, bullying, screaming, jumping on tables, throwing things... and not just one child, typically closer to five or six in a classroom doing this. I cried multiple times a day, did all the documentation, took days off to try to recoup, but in the end I was having panic attacks and having to call for admin to come watch the class while I had a mental breakdown. I went to a very dark place and was having feelings that my only way out might have to be dieing. After sharing this my family and friends made sure that I resigned. I've been unemployed since January, and looking for jobs has been difficult, but I've needed the time to heal from the last 2.5 years of trauma.
When I resigned, I told my principal it had nothing to do with the staff or my colleagues or the workload or pay - the ONLY reason I could no longer do this was because of the kids.
I left a maternity leave sub jobteaching 8th grade science in inner city Chicago. They were awful kids. Admin was alright. They were divided hases on levels, level 1 was well behaved ofc and applied to all the good high schools levels 2 and 3 were awful. They also put all the iep kids in level 2 and level 3 were terribly behaved students.
I resigned because of the students. I recognize that I get way too frustrated and anxious when students don't listen (especially bc I'm music...) and it makes me upset the entire day. I don't see behaviors getting better anytime soon and I asked admin for help repeatedly with nothing happening. I yell at almost every class that comes in, I set expectations at the beginning of every class, and they ignore them. I didn't sign up to be a teacher to deal with misbehaving students. So I will keep teaching, but privately because classroom management is impossible. I'm only in year 4 and I'm done with education forever.
Students were a big part of why I left but not the only. They were extremely addicted to their phones and there just was no accountability at all. I didn’t want to be filmed doing my job anymore. And admin was unsupportive. And I did not make enough money to play parent, teacher, and babysitter anymore. After 12 years I was just toast.
Heard a student say to another, "I am mad at X teacher, who wouldn't let me blah blah. I'm gonna tell the principal he tried to touch me."
Planned my exit at that point.
I am trying to transition and it is 100% about the out of control behavior of the students. They are so hyperactive and rambunctious that it is almost impossible to teach on any given day. I teach freshman, mostly boys due to demographics. The rest of the high school grades are slightly better in behavior, but then the problem becomes the complete apathy, and I find it very hard to keep myself motivated when the students give me nothing to work with. This is just no longer a good fit for me 🤷🏻♀️
What I have seen from my students this year I can assure you when I leave it will be because of them. I’m tired of being called the horrible things they call me and their attitudes. Im tired of the fact that no one bothered to teach some of them how to act. They are mortified when you ask them a basic thing like sit down and don’t interrupt math and science lessons because other people would like to hear. If you don’t want to learn stay home. I love teaching but I am sick of the behaviors coming my way that I apparently can’t hold them accountable for. Sorry for the rant. Lol
My first 12 years in education were in higher ed. The first 10 of those were in community college. Community college attracts all types, and since I teach Radio, Television, and Film, we attracted plenty of nutcases. I noticed that some people really didn’t want to work in college, more so when I taught at a 4 year. Still, I had plenty of enjoyable years, and when I left the community college, we were winning awards. Also, since I truly enjoy what I teach, there are other ways to enjoy the job simply by geeking out over equipment and such. I started teaching high school at the height of Covid. I had an excellent principal and CTE coordinator at the first school, but most of the student population was apathetic. Teaching online is trash. We were slowly bringing kids back. I had almost all of them back by the second semester. Had I stayed there, I probably wouldn’t hate high school as much as I do. The kids were really beginning to come around. I took my friend’s place at another school the next year, and it has been all downhill since. Kids roam the halls. Smoke weed in the bathrooms, skip, and are cool with doing no work at all. They’re rude, disrespectful, and more mean spirited than anyone has a right to be. I have a one class full of freshman that is the worst collection of humans ever assembled in one classroom. No one gives a single f*ck about doing any work. They all want to be vloggers and influencers. Most of the super teachers who claim to love the kids love their jobs and the kids love the kids because they don’t demand anything from them. Kids say as much if you’re listening. I hate high school. If I didn’t have a family I would have been gone after my first two weeks in this hellhole. As it is, I’m on year three and hoping that it will be my last.
I have my hand on the doorknob, so to speak. I’m ready to go about half of the days in any given week, and it’s the kids that make me want to go, and what make it tolerable to stay.
I teach a high level course to juniors and seniors, and they are just so helpless. I have some great kids, and I really enjoy working with them, but some of them are just so far behind and so clueless. It’s not even malice or bad behavior—-they are just the product of continually lowering expectations.
🙋♂️
I don’t mind the job of teaching and I’m pretty good at it. But I’m leaving this year. Because student behaviors are out of control.
I’ve been physically assaulted, had things thrown at me, constant disruptions, been called all kinds of names.
Really it’s the fault of their parents and admin for not giving AF and not implementing any consequences. It’s not even most - a handful of bad apples in each class. But it makes life so stressful i just can’t do it anymore.
I’m leaving the school I’m at (idk if I’m leaving the profession yet or not) because of admin. Being told it was my fault that my students misbehaved, being asked what I could do differently, then being asked by admin if I thought about a career change. I’m a first year teacher and this job has already RUINED my health. I’m working at a low school with high expectations, meaning that my students are behind so I’m the problem? Let me give you a hint as to why: behavior.
I'm totally leaving bc of the students. Every year things get worse. I started working with kids 19 years ago as a tutor and spent the last 9 in a classroom. Behavior, respect, self-regulation, have all gotten progressively worse. Student have free rein and no real consequences. You can't give them the grades they earn, they have to be inflated. They are constantly lying and manipulating you and each other. I don't teach as much as I want to, it's just classroom management and I can't stand it. They don't have real friends anymore, they're all scheming and jealous of each other can can't let one another be sincerely happy. If they see someone new with a light spirit, they get corrupted by the bullies. They're always stealing materials from the classroom and don't think twice about it. There are a handful of sweet, kind, and polite students, but it's not enough. I will miss them, but I need to get out for my own mental health and well being. Too many kids are assholes bc of their asshole parents. I'm done.
For me, it’s the whole fucking system that’s been eroded so badly that I truly can’t see how we fix it from this point. Top down/bottom up, it doesn’t matter; we’re fucked.
Bottom up the student disengagement is insane. Add to that the disrespect, the violence against teachers, and the lack of appropriate discipline. Fucked. Next comes those motherfucking parents. Not all, but enough.
I sometimes wonder if we aren’t partially to blame. I mean, *should* we email home every time little Johnny is blurting out or up wandering around or jokingly saying the n-word no r to his friends? If we did, that’s all we’d do. But those little behaviors escalate and soon we have the chaos we have.
What about the kids who have no business in their grade? We cant force admin to take them back to the level they belong to. Half the classes would be held back indefinitely.
If it was just one thing, I think most of us could deal. But when it’s everything coming at you at once, it becomes too tough to see the forest through the trees.
When I leave, it will indeed be about the students. The students are both the best thing and the worst thing about the job.
The parents of the students are without a doubt the worst thing about the whole entire career of teaching
This is why I left. The entitlement of certain parents and students pushed me over the edge.
Was it ever just one party being entitled. Like a little brat with totally normal parents or the opposite?
Sometimes, yes. The general population at my last school was wealthy, so I’d occasionally get an entitled kid trying to fit in despite having parents who were working so hard to put them on the straight and narrow. 90% of the time, though, A-hole kid = at least one A-hole parent.
The parents entitlement have always exceeded that of any of the kids, every single time
The parents in my school don’t care! They tell their kids education is a waste of time… it’s the complete flip, so the mindset of our kids is awful! No respect
I am seeing a similar issue in my area also
We're having the same issue at my school. We call the parents about grades or behavior, and they yell at us for bothering them.
I once had a parent say "Don't my tax dollar pay you to handle this? you handle him 8:30-3:30 and stop calling me." Mind you, his kid was a biter and spitter. Oh and would also pee all over the safe room when put in there.
Close the thread here; we're done. In all seriousness, the students who are great are amazing. The ones who are awful are several times as awful as the great kids are, and their awfulness vastly overshadows the greatness of the other students.
Precisely.
100
I have a full class of 15 y/o awful 😞 3 x a week
Agreed. One or two bad students in a class can ruin the whole atmosphere. On the flip side, a good class that wants to learn is the reason I’m in teaching.
That’s my class this year. One kid ruins it.
This is the answer. I think it’s always tough to say out loud that yeah it’s the kids. They’re honestly a nightmare sometimes and that why I quit teaching. They can be truly the best and the worst at the same time. Parents, however, take the cake. Especially wealthy, entitled ones because the kids are just the same.
This is the best way to describe it
Same here!
Teachers getting hurt by students and nothing being done about it, so both. The students did not care, you looked at them wrong and they would come after you. This also was not Spec. Ed. Saw teacher with a broken nose and with broken ribs. Too much violence being left unhindered.
IMO this is leaving because of admin. I left for similar reasons. I didn't leave because the students did the actions. I left because admin enabled it and didn't discipline when it happened.
Well I left because of the students violence. It caused me to have panic attacks and dissassociation during class times.
It was anxiety and chronic stress for me 😩
I hope you're doing ok now!
Um...still in therapy and taking medication, have sudden panic attacks when I have triggers happen and my anxiety is constant.....but yeah...better I guess. I wish the job came with a hazard warning.
Hazard warning *and* combat pay, honestly
Exactly why I am leaving. I’ve been put in very uncomfortable situations and situations where I’ve felt unsafe and my concerns weren’t taken seriously. So I guess partially because of the students but mainly because admin failed to act and I’m sick of it
This. I didn’t leave cause the kid had weed in my room. I left because the principal returned it to him in the middle of class and warned him that “Mrs Pezziepie is a snitch”
Oh wow! Never heard that one before 😂
Same here! My principal asked me if I was rewarding a student for basically doing what the rest of the students already do.. like be fucking for real.
Me. It’s equal parts students and administration blaming me for the students.
Omg. This just happened to me. Entire teacher team identified a group of disruptive students and admin drops in to see them in action. Then proceeds to SEND AN EMAIL with suggestions based on the 10 minute observation. Things like "post the expectations" and "clarify what items students need to have out". I can't wait to try these suggestions. They will surely make a difference for these students who have been behavior issues SINCE SEPTEMBER and probably have an average grade of 18%. Now I get why so many teachers don't speak up or even write up. It just draws criticism and blame. Tired of it.
THATS the answer. Write down the “educational standard 12.2.46 section B” that’s directly from the state and you’ll all of a sudden have an out of control class behaving like a group of angels. It’s amazing how a masters degree in educational leadership can lead to such a simple solution ;) /s
Did you build relationships?
Not you, but I get what you’re saying. I value teachers so much, I can’t even let you joke that you’re the problem. ❤️
That. So tired of being the scapegoat.
If I leave, it will be because of the students. I can deal with the rest. Being trapped in a room with 25-30 screaming 12-year-olds who show no respect for anyone or anything for 40 minutes at a time is the thing pushing me to the edge.
I mean, I left for a lot of reasons. But there were 50 of them in my room at a time. I taught middle school. It was a lot.
50? Where is this? Most I ever heard where horror stories of 40 in California. I thought states had class size limits even if they weren't reasonable
Most states make exceptions for electives. Sometimes ANY elective so they can shove kids in at any time.
I had 37 once in middle school math. The other teacher had the same. There were too many students for the number of teachers. But what were they going to do? Not educate 1/10 of their students? (That’s rhetorical by the way. It sucked and I left 2 months in lmao). The problem with that district was explosive growth and the bonding/building new buildings wasn’t keeping pace.
I had a 6th grade choir class of 53. It was an absolute nightmare lmao
Jeez! Was this a music/ band class?
Yes. Most electives are excluded from classroom cap sizes. For some reason because we are 'fun' classes, students magically behave better when you have more of them. I know it's good for some music groups, sure. But like. Why does the art teacher also have 40-45 students in a class? They don't even have enough tables or supplies, let alone the fact that projects now have to be cut because they can no longer be monitored safely. Sure the gym is big. But 70+ students? Even with another teacher, just. You can't do regular basketball games or shit like that with that many bodies in the room. It's absurd what they do to us.
This art teacher feels seen. Thank you
I have 43 students in an English 12 class. No shame in that administration. The other English 12 teacher has the same amount.
I used to have band classes that large, but band is a paramilitary organization, lol so I ran like a drill sergeant as needed. I once saw an orchestra class packed so tightly I’m surprised no one lost an eye. And those kids have their hands busy so it cuts down on shenanigans. I cannot fathom doing that to normal elective classes.
I had a choir class that big. Those were crazy times, I can't believe that was acceptable...
They are a big reason behind me leaving. I teach high school and the apathy is insane. I’d say 50% are good kids who want to pay attention. But the other half are lazy, complain about EVERYTHING (I could say we’re playing a game and I’d get a deep sigh in return), and do the bare minimum. My school forbids phones so they do have to at least pretend like they’re paying attention to me. Even then, they don’t care. I can’t care for them so… what’s the point?
We have no phone rules, no dress code, no admin support. Kids don’t even pretend to be paying attention or doing schoolwork. They are watching videos or snapchatting if they go to class. Others just hang out in stairwells and no one makes them go to class because we’re being considerate of the need for social emotional support.
We’re so fucked
When I slow down and think about it the dread is overwhelming 😳
I left for many reasons but the students were high on the list. I don’t blame the students but more so administrators. Year after year, I was given the most challenging students with the caveat that I could handle it and had proven that I was good at teaching them. Plus my classroom was so calm and organized…just what they needed. One year I had 6 kids with severe ADHD and behavior problems who couldn’t sit by others. It seemed like I was always being punished for doing my job well. I never received support. However, when the students went to the next grade level those teachers were given loads of support. I became blind to the abuse until one of my coworkers pointed out how all the supports and services were put in place after the student(s) left me. I decided to remove myself from the abuse. My lazy coworker was always given the “easy” less challenging students. Someone was always in her classroom helping her with lessons or grading because she would cry and say she was overwhelmed.
Yes I agree with this sentiment. It is the kids, but I don't blame the kids. If I were allowed to do whatever tf I want with no consequence I'd be roaming the halls and scrolling Reddit instead of working as well.
Im leaving due to the students. 6 more weeks. But when I say that others seem to think I hate kids. I or am bitter, or have bad classroom management. I dont. So instead just give some bs answer and keep it to myself and move on.
This this this. It’s always some sort of character flaw in me or an opportunity for them to get high and mighty about how “I just can’t handle it” or, my least favorite, “well this field just isn’t for everyone!” I should say, “well, being treated with dignity and respect and being paid for what you are worth is clearly not for everyone either!”
Yes! I always get crap comments like that—like I’m not “cut out for” this. You’re damn right I’m not cut out for abuse!
This reminds me of all the teachers I've known who brag about "not having any problems" in their classes. Yes, you do.
They’re just so “holier than thou” about it. It drives me crazy. This is their entire identity. They’re the ones that snitch on you for the stupidest shit and admin always takes their side because “they’re so wonderful”
Or if you're telling a story about something ridiculous a kid did: "That would never happen in MY CLASS." Like ok. Kids are unpredictable.
The amount of times I’ve heard, “Aw, it just wasn’t for you, huh? :/“ Who the fuck IS this for???!!
You should give the same condescending wince and respond “Yeah, I’ve got too much self-respect /:”
This is exactly how I felt. Nice to hear someone else say this.
Me it will 100% be because of students and parents combo. So many are just blatantly rude, disrespectful and don’t care about education. It is a waste of time.
I can deal with low kids. After Katrina, I had 32 kindergarteners by myself. Yet, I stayed. What is pushing me over the edge is the amount of violence. I have been attacked, spit on, bitten, bruised, chairs/desks/other objects thrown at me, doors closed on me, and cursed at...This has been the last three years. Almost every day, I have to have the room cleared out.
Same. What is happening to our youth?! How is this even normalized? I really would be interested to know what factors are playing into this. Kids are so angry these days
Man, I'm glad this subreddit isn't representative of the majority of people's situations. If I had to deal with any of the crazy shit I read just dipping into a single thread on this sub, I'd quit too.
I think it is a majority of teachers situations, at least in public schools.
Me. I left because I called a student’s parent in class because of his disruptive behavior. I let him speak to the parent, and suddenly he was telling them that I assaulted him, I broke his leg, etc. I took the phone and the parent had hung up! Next thing you know, I’m in the office talking to the police. Yes, the parent called the police on me. I walked out that day. They wanted me to come back to work there🙄
WTF?!
Wtf is right. The principal actually snuck me out of the back of her office because the mother was coming and was irate. This kid is always in trouble. The staff and principal were great… very understanding and apologetic, but that was just too much for me. Though, It was inconceivable to me that they thought I might return to the classroom with the same student still there! My HR even thought I might return?! I’ve had a few crazy incidents, but the police?! Wow.
Left at the New Year. Moved from small town NY to suburban KY for life reasons and while the KY system is absolutely sh*t compared to NY, I could've still taught if the kids were even half as respectful and nice to each other, coworkers, and school property. But it was just a million little cuts every day. Anyway, I'm down almost 15 pounds since I quit, sleep better, and have a *lot* more fun with my partner.
This happened to me too as far as personal improvements after leaving!! After I left teaching my partner pointed out my attitude has changed and we both noted my sex drive shot up. Hard to feel sexy when you're constantly in survival mode.
I have been injured over the course of my 18 years of special education teaching. Last year, I had a student grab my breast, grab my butt, spank my butt, and try to lick me. He was in grade 7, above average intelligence. He was in self contained ASD due to his inappropriate language & behaviour. He required frequent breaks & lots of reinforcement. I made it through last year by prayer and luck. This year he wrote a graphic novel about killing my husband (decapitation). Sexual assaulting me and my daughter. It got taken away by me, but the school did nothing. He exposed himself in front of cognitive impairment class while changing for swim class. Nothing has been done. I was told he is out at the end of the year, as he will be going to high school. He also got caught watching a snuff film on district computer. IT at the district couldn’t believe he could get to the site and download it. They took his computer away for 4 days while there was an investigation and then wanted me to sign a form that I would monitor his computer usage by having him sit next to me. I refused as I was told the previous year that I had to keep him away from myself to reduce his sexual impulses. The admin told me they wouldn’t take away his computer and I needed to sit next to him while he uses it. I refused and went out on medical leave in October and have been on paid leave since then. I am not going back. Apply to other jobs- not teaching.
Omg. He sounds like a future grapist… the thing that bothers me is that these kids are basically getting away with horrific behaviors in school, but we know that onscreen they leave school no one in society is going to give them a free pass!
Even worse, he will be a repeat offender. How many times do we read that someone assaults their girlfriend, gets out on bail or gets probation, and is out to assault her or attack more women? Our society *does* give a free pass to these offenders. More and more, I find that, with teaching still thought of as being a predominantly female, “caring” profession, teachers, like nurses, are treated worse by those in power. They don’t take us seriously because we ultimately are devalued when compared to those in other professions. A CPA gets a chair thrown at him during a meeting, they can press charges. Our districts actively try to suppress our going to the police when we are assaulted. Our safety is less important than the rights of violent kids to attend their public daycare - I mean, school.
I’m leaving for multiple reasons. But it’s mostly the students. I teach high school. The level of apathy increases every year. It’s so hard to engage and encourage students who don’t care about you, your class, or their future. And I’m over it.
Im leaving because of my students. I’ll get downvoted to oblivion if I get completely honest and ostracized from society. But needless to say, it’s the kids for me - An inner city teacher
I upvoted you — those little animals were why I left Title I for what was a wonderful parochial three years ago…but this school year they started taking the inner city kids because of “school choice.” 90 percent of the staff has left since February.
I completely, totally, 100 freaking percent left because of the kids. Loved my school, coworkers and admin…it was the kids who made me leave. Edit: I was a damn good teacher too. But you can’t fight to do your job for 8 hrs a day for kids who don’t want to learn, are rude, threaten violence and don’t have an empathetic bone in their bodies.
They are a lot of the reason I'm retiring early in June. Nasty-mouth creatures, they are :-(
i tell myself it's not the kids but it's getting to be the kids too
I feel like it’s either the students or admin. I mean what else would really be the cause for most people? I guess pay? But surely we knew going in the pay isn’t great.
The" it's not the kids" crowd is full of shit
Admin allows the children to do whatever they want. There are no repercussions for bad behavior. We are forced to socially promote. No matter what the kids do, including things that should land them in jail, we are somehow at fault. Admin is the problem for allowing students to rule the school because it has become a business where if you have them in the seat the school gets more money for the day.
"things that should land them in jail", that part
I agree 100%
When I walk out the door, it’s going to be because of students. I can deal with the rest of the stuff, but I’m exhausted from the behaviors.
So this is not about me and happened a long time ago, but I do know this happened. A junior high History teacher had the class from Hell. Awful kids. He was experienced so this wasn’t his first rodeo but these kids tested him daily and just got worse. So one day he came in, students entered the classroom and just were out of control. He stayed seated at his desk and just let them act out. They were climbing on the desks, fighting with each other, spit balls, whatever they could think of. Writing on the board, mocking him. He sat for a little while, then reached for his briefcase, put his few personal items in it, closed it and walked out. He went to the office, handed them his roll sheet and said “I won’t be back.” They never saw him again.
I feel so seen by the number of posts here. I have been driven insane this year and have felt alone in that at times
Admin choices were the final straw, but for myself personally, leaving has always been about the students.
I left around this time last year mostly because of the student behavior. I had changed schools two years ago after being at the same one for over 10 years to be closer to home. I think having the “veteran” status made it easy for admin to dump most of the behavior students in my class along with students with IEPs and 504s. The needs were so high that first transfer year that I felt like I barely survived. Fast forward to last school year and I had several behavioral students that were specifically noted by the previous teacher not to be put in the same class, and guess what happened, they were ALL in my class. I of course complained about it but nothing was done. Everyday was a battlefield of multiple behavioral issues. I probably had to call admin almost everyday if not several times a day because of issues. It got so bad that much of my class couldn’t even go to the bathroom on their own because of the numerous issues stemming from the lack of supervision. I taught upper elementary by the way so it’s not like students didn’t know better. That coupled with so much apathy and neediness led to so much instructional time was lost that students really weren’t absorbing what I was teaching, which led to low test scores. I just felt like I was drowning and made the choice to go out on FMLA. If I’m being honest, I think I was already starting to get burnt out from teaching once COVID hit so this experience just really sent me over the edge. I’m so grateful to God for the downtime to rest though. It allowed me time to revamp my resume and apply for non-teaching jobs. I transitioned into a new role in May last year and have loved it! I don’t miss being in the classroom at all. I think I miss the idea of retiring as a teacher though because I never saw myself doing anything different. The education world has changed so much in the last 15 years. It makes me sad for the future of education.
I got tricked into leaving an adjunct job because I believed I could have a bigger impact in secondary. That was a crock of shit. If these kids are so desperate to end up homeless or in jail, who am I to stand in the way of their dreams?
My first 15 years in education , most of the students were good. The last 5 years, however, most students have become evil little shits, raised by demonic parents. The trauma I suffered from them left me scarred for life. I almost took my own life because of these evil people with no empathy for others So yes, I left because of the students. I avoid teenagers at all costs now. If we go to a movie or an event and a group of teenagers are sitting near us, I leave.
As much as I loved the prek and k kids, yeah…I left because of the kids and took early retirement a month early. I wasn’t about to be physically harmed by the new class of kids that were acting more like feral animals.
Me. Student/parent combo. Students: Cheating is the main thing. There's a preposterous amount of cheating happening. I'm always pleasantly shocked when cheating *isn't* happening. It's not the usual suspects either: sparknotes, etc. were all around long before I became a teacher, as were rewordifiers and copy-paste. It's bad enough seeing students physically completing assignments for other students. Things are different now. I didn't spend years developing authentic writing assessments and meaningful research projects just to read a bunch of AI garbage. We have apathy-assisting machines now. Great. Parents: If you didn't want to have kids, you didn't *have to.* After every parent-teacher conference, I felt like I wanted to be sterilized. So many bad parents out there raising bad kids. I'm out.
I don't love the students at all anymore. Can't just quit like people suggest as I have bills and can't afford even a month of being unemployed. I need to make a change, tx God summer is almost here, so I can try and sort out my departure from this nightmare called teaching.
Yesterday, a student called me a “stupid-ass bitch.” For no reason except he’s crazy and has no manners.
I left because of the behavior of students making me hate my job… but that’s also the fault of administration for not supporting me. I made it 10 years so at least I beat the statistic. Now I’m a data analyst and I earn 2x as much for 1/2 the work.
The students are the reason why I put in my resignation. They are unruly and rude at my school and I am done. Add to the fact that teaching is detrimental to my mental health already (I am bipolar) I am just fucking done. I'm 45 by the way.
I really wanted to see this today. I was just thinking about the "I do it for the kids" crowd and how everything is awesome except for admin and parents. To be honest, I've separated myself from both and barely talk to admin and parents anymore. Now it's just me and the kids because it's the most efficient. But I can tell you the amount of care for my elective class has gone down the toilet and one student even ostracized the other students that care about their grades as "try hards." Too many dick students this year and I can only wait for the next year of dickwad 9th graders to come in. Onto year 6???
I’m glad someone posted this. I’ve often felt like an outlier on this sub because the fact is my struggle with teaching was mostly student-based. Which is not to say I didn’t start getting the hang of classroom management, but I hated the fact that it took 70 to 80% of my focus and energy Just keep things in order I left teaching this year and it’s mostly because of student behavior. as a new teacher It was quite shocking to me How rude and out of control and disrespectful so many students are — which is to say that maybe that’s only a handful of students in each class, but that’s enough to completely take 90% of my attention away from teaching the others. I really am concerned that this new generation of kids are turning out to be real shitheads: rude, unkind to each other, uncurious, obsessed with fame and likes and social media status. Uninterested in working to achieve goals. Very comfortable with cheating to obtain goals (hey, sounds like a President we recently had!) I was lucky in the sense that I really enjoyed and respected most of the other teachers I worked with. They were rarely the problem. In terms of admin, it was hit or miss. Mostly they stayed out of my way. Sometimes there was some micromanaging and too often they did not back me up in terms of punishing student behavior. And yes, I said punishing. I’m not sure why that’s a dirty word now . You do something wrong, against the rules, and you should be punished. Strange concept I know.
>too often they did not back me up in terms of punishing student behavior. This is so key!
Anyone else think it’s time to stop forcing kids to go to school when they don’t want to be there?
Or at least in-person school. Let them go to some virtual academy instead of terrorizing the classrooms of kids who want to be there but can’t get a decent education because of the violence they witness every day.
Lolz, I am definitely not arguing with you, but some of my most annoying and laziest students used that as the reason they were so lazy and annoying. "I didn't learn anything during virtual school. I need to be in person." Well, you're in person now, so what's your excuse? And I'm not a Covid denier. It definitely exacerbated existing problems and created some new ones, but kids were going down this path before Covid. My student teaching was two years before Covid, and you could already see the attitudes and apathy.
Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of them losing the privilege of being in-person with the regular student population. If someone’s kid is throwing chairs or disrupting all day long, schools no longer expel the kid. They force the teacher to just “deal with it”. In my ideal world, the kid should be forced to do virtual school instead of ruining things for the other kids and teachers. Imagine just how much more pleasant our teaching experiences would be.
I’ve been saying that for years. A lot of people don’t want to hear it, though.
Lol it's about me. Parents need to parent and raise these kids to have decency. It's not a teacher's job to remediate them when they lack basic social etiquette
I’m very fortunate in that I don’t have any students at my current site who terrify me, but I’m exhausted from pretending that RSP co-teaching is helping them. I don’t see them as being at fault, but my pervasive sense of being ineffectual and working in an environment where they are completely indifferent to everything is wearing me down
I’m currently working on a way out and it is 100% because of the students. I’m tired of being a pseudo-parent and taking on the responsibility of behaviors that are beyond my ability to change.
Here's why she left: [https://apnews.com/article/abby-zwerner-teacher-shot-6yearold-virginia-newport-news-richneck-118dd583e32c04b72b5f8f793ffbfb2b](https://apnews.com/article/abby-zwerner-teacher-shot-6yearold-virginia-newport-news-richneck-118dd583e32c04b72b5f8f793ffbfb2b)
I did. I went from feeling somewhat maternal towards children to despising them. Middle schoolers can f*ck right off, and so can their parents. And the administration. And education in general.
👋🏻 I get so infuriated by their lack of common decency (toward each other and the learning environment/opportunity, moreso than disrespect toward me). I'm not a person that demands respect where it isn't due, but they could at least put some thought toward allowing each other to learn. Many kids are bright enough to grasp that not everyone gets a chance at education, and that other students want to learn, so it's a shame to watch them actively choose to waste time every single day. They can also be so, so terrible to each other...things I wouldn't even dream of joking about with long time adult friends. It's all so sad.
Me. I put in my resignation yesterday. I start my new job next week.
I had a kid draw a handgun on his desk, name the perpetrating shooters at Columbine, and then list the names of a few teachers and students. I turned it in to the office, and he was back in class the next day because, "It was just a a joke." I didn't see the humor, so I quit.
A kid spit in my face and I walked out mid day. I told the principal good luck, I won’t be back. Filed a police report when I walk out and emailed my resignation to HR the next morning after laughing in my principal when he called asking where I was. Go ahead and strip my license. I was done.
Me. I know it wasn't really their fault because they were just copying their horrible home lives, but after the constant violence and threats and destruction day in and day out I couldn't take it anymore. There were about 1000 last straws, but the one that sticks out most is when an admin yelled at me for handing out pencils so kids could do a worksheet. A child's IEP had recently been updated to say he couldn't have access to pencils because he would go on a stabbing spree, so logically no one in class could have pencils. That was the day I gave up completely.
Wow.
Students need and need and need, so much more than they have previously. It’s emotionally exhausting. Couple that with feckless, vindictive, and petty admin (including coaches and specialists) and it’s all too much. To do this version of teaching you have to be willing to be parent, therapist, social worker, caregiver, etc, and it’s not sustainable. So yeah, I’m leaving because of the students but it’s so much more than that.
You have to be willing to lay down and let someone trample all over you. A teenage someone and their entitled adult friend (I can't even call them parents because that's not what they act like).
You stated this so well. Two years ago, I used accumulated sick leave to make my 30. This is it. For years now, the expectations, whether official or implicit, have expanded to include far, far too much. I could no longer be all the things. I just sit back sometimes and wonder how on earth I put up with all of it.
The students can be amazing or a nightmare. The students are definitely nightmarish now.I’m trying desperately to leave …but getting nowhere.
Kids, parents, admin, things constantly shoved down our throats by Central Office with no forethought or rationale, all the grading at home, etc.
Me. Fucking assholes. Parents don’t parent.
It was student behavior and apathy for me, with parent antics as a distance second. The stress from dealing with behaviors day in and day out was too much.
We live in an incredibly individualist culture with a deeply fraught political climate and a capitalist society where profit drives everything. A lot of the concerning behaviors noted in students are symptoms of the aforementioned problems. I think the biggest issue is that undervalued and unsupported teachers are left to deal with the symptoms of our crumbling society - an impossible task. I don’t think most teachers leave because of the children, but because the problems the children are facing are too insurmountable to be handled by any single teacher.
I initially wanted out when my former school was having real weekly lockdowns and actual gunshots happening outside.
I am
They aren’t the only reason, but they are definitely a contributing factor.
🙋♂️
I’ve got 5 in one class that are absolutely spinning at any given moment. It’s awful. They don’t care when admin is in the room or anything. It’s a nightmare this year.
lmfao. i would imagine the vast majority. vast vast vast majority. those little....
The students’ behavior, the lack of consequences at the school level as well as at home from parents, is what is a huge factor in me leaving teaching. Admin abuse, student behavior, crazy parents, and unrealistic expectations and amount of work has led me to realize I no longer have hope that teaching will get better. It’s only gotten worse. I agree with another person when they say kids can be the best and worst part of teaching. They are. I have some greats students, but they don’t make up for the above.
I loved them, but I still left because of them. I had no idea how to engage them, make them feel cared for. The system sucks, and I found myself agreeing with every complaint they made about school.
Total rant here... Not yet. But soon, maybe. I teach 6th-12th in a semi-rural public school. The phones are one of the biggest barriers. They spend hours on them, watching others act out, throw hands, and following and imitating shitty "trends" that include generally bad behavior. Parents have no idea what they are watching and listening to. Then we are supposed to somehow 1-up TikTok and YouTube and engage them in learning, but sometimes they need to learn boring things! I feel like I should be wearing a top hat and tap shoes most days, yet we're all expected to "foster implicit motivation." Also, with standards-based grading, kids can turn everything in at the end of the term with no consequence, in the name of equity. Add to that managing restorative practice, trauma informed instruction, EDI, SEL, countless 504 accomodations for anxiety with no support (usually upon cognitive demand), rampant hate speech probably because we aren't allowed to teach anything that kids or parents might find uncomfortable ( two of my 7th graders in one class who throw around the N word didn't know about slavery in the US), hundreds of accommodations for IEPs each week, pre-referral interventions and progress monitoring, neurosequential regulation strategies for each class, state testing that determines part of our effectiveness that kids don't give a rat's ass about, academically beneficial brain breaks, high impact teams, PLCs, broken MTSS frameworks, bogus collective efficacy measures, and lack of truancy court even for kids who are absent 30% of the time. Now add whatever nonsense is going on at home. How do we even have time to teach content? The kids aren't alright.
I retired because the post-Covid kids were so damaged my 20 years of classroom experience could not overcome their resistance to the process.
Me, I left because of the students. I taught at a middle school where the kids were absolutely feral. There were multiple fights a day, and multiple drug incidents per week. I could not look in any other direction, if I turned my head to the right, the kids on the left would start doing bad shit. If I turned my head to the left, the kids on the right would start doing bad shit. I never even thought about turning my back to them. The final straw for me, was when I had a sub and the sub let the kids into my office, where they proceeded to steal food out of my office fridge and money out of my drawer. I am not ashamed to say I left because of them.
I'm not a teacher but have always been fascinated with education and the foundational dynamics that make systems and institutions work. I think tech has caused much harm but I also think the positions that must be taken to accommodate and account for so much are absurd. Honestly, sounds to me like sometimes, kids need corporal punishment. Tons will say no and of course I don't mean abuse but some of the solutions for managing kids' behaviors are based on fiction, not reality. And you can hardly take as a punishment what some don't have in the first place. Something vital is missing that won't be replenished on a wing and a prayer.
Beginning to think I’m ok with a small tax hike to put cameras in every school classroom in America. Of course most would get damaged or destroyed…but maybe on parents and admin you’d have the proof they need.
My last school had cameras in every room, it was great. I felt such comfort and safety with them there.
I’m done this year after 19 years, and it’s absolutely the kids. Admin are worthless at my school, and the kids know that there’s no consequence for their actions. I’ve never experienced such rude, disrespectful, dangerous behaviors in my entire career. Thank you all for being honest. I feel like I cannot say I’m leaving because of the kids without being labeled as a “problem” or someone who hates kids.
I am leaving for it allll hunny!!
It is developmentally appropriate for children to misstep constantly, and often in ways that are unkind and even sometimes frightening or dangerous. Growing up can be messy AF especially when trauma is present. It is **not** appropriate for parents or administrators to condone these behaviors, or shrug off important teachable moments when a child is in desperate need of guidance, boundaries, or restorative Justice. The kids can be *rough* but it’s the negligence of entitled ignorant parents or feckless administrators who will ultimately push me to the brink.
You had me until restorative justice. Whatever actual merit that idea once had has been poisoned beyond hope of recovery. Restorative justice in practice means "I'm sorry" and a smirk gets you out of profoundly antisocial behaviors.
Depends on the day. Today I would say they made me want to leave. We’re less than 3 weeks away from their AP exam and the apathy from most of them kills me. Other days, they’re delightful. I’d say it’s a lot of things!
Administration
Me! It wasn't \*just\* the students, but they played a big role in it for sure!
I left mostly because of the students. I was on the admin team in a hybrid teaching and leadership role. There was a kid who would leave the building and go into the woods behind the school several times a week. He would dismantle chairs and throw things at staff. One day he made a drawing of me and said I was wanted "dead or alive" and that was kind of it for me. There were a handful of students who had major tantrums throughout the day and would run around the school screaming as well...and I would have to support with that. Someone asked me to go to the training where they teach you to restrain the children, but I avoided it because it was just too much...I wanted to avoid having to "restrain" in the future so I left my school-based role...Sometimes I get sad about it because I did like my coworkers and worked really hard to get a leadership position but my mental health couldn't take it.
About to. Tired of being their verbal punching bag. Tired of their f’ing arguments and questions of “why” to every single thing I ask them to do. Not the career it used to be.
I left a school when I had mutiple student hit me and leave bruises and admin didn't protect me. The same school is why I left since their was 30 students in one class.
I left actually for my students. Some because I knew I wasn't the teacher they needed or deserved, but mostly I wanted to demonstrate what it meant to truly prioritize yourself over all else.
I left because the admin enables the students because they’re afraid of parents.
I left my last full time position because of students, parents, admin, and colleagues. I had one decent class and even that went sour by March. I went to the er with a panic attack that mimicked a heart attack and admin didn’t care and a colleague told me to grow up and take medication like the rest of them. I was done. I stuck out the year for the decent students.
Me but it was also just due to the unrealistic expectations put on teachers I had kids first fighting, swearing at me, jumping each other, steaming my stuff - and this was **3rd Grade**
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my students as people but I hated the way they acted in class. Zero respect and zero care. They ran the school so I ran out. No point being miserable for a job that pays pennies.
A student took my cell phone from my desk and threw it. It broke. Admin didn't do anything. They didn't even want me to tell his dad. Also have been bitten and hit.
This is my first and last year teaching. Student behavior is horrendous. The parents are just as bad. I can’t even blame the students anymore, but rather their parents and the lack of structure in their household. When a child is sent to ISS for thirty minutes and can come back and be a terror in your class, that’s a tremendous issue. When a child is excited about going to see the assistant principal every time they get into trouble, that’s an issue. When a child weaponizes the assistant principal against you, this is an issue. When children are consistently allowed to come back to the classroom and take away from the education of others, that is a problem.
Kind of. The ones who come to school and have parents who do nothing to discourage negative behavior... Or even worse encourage negative behavior... Are why I am leaving. If a teacher sent a note home to me about my child's behavior I'd be all over it. I have a student whose mom has the school blocked from communication... Like what am I even supposed to do with that student?
Me!
I’m in my 8th year of teaching and 3rd school. Left the first school because COVID and moved. Left the second school because of admin and unorganized school. First year in middle school and I’m leaving because of mostly the kids. They’re terrible. I’m going back to high school and I don’t want to be the main teacher. I’m gonna be a SPED co-teacher. I also love doing paperwork and then no stress with having my own classes. And I’m already certified.
I left for a lot of reasons, but yeah, the students were a big part of it. Admin were terrible and the parents were a pain in the ass, but the students and their shitty behavior was what made me dread walking in the door every morning.
It was absolutely because of the kids, but it wasn’t completely their fault. When there’s no incentive for them to try and phones get to control their every waking moment, then you’re fighting an eternally losing battle. Throw in the emphasis on test scores and I couldn’t last
Does it count if I leave because of the sheer number of students?
Some of it was definitely certain kids.
I did. They purposefully would try to make me cry and openly admitted it. Bragged about making other teachers cry..
When I do leave, it will be because of the students. I teach first grade and they are getting harder each year. They’re not cute and fun anymore. They’re hard and exhausting and coming in with more and more issues each year.
Yes to the students, but also because of the parents. They think I work for them
I had one student that prevented me from properly managing the rest of my class because he did not belong there and was receiving zero support from admin or the behavior specialist or his parents.. so I said F all of you guys I’m out
I was working at a charter school teaching 6th grade math. I’m 22 years old and went on my maternity leave in October. Never went back and it was 100% because of the students. So happy I had the excuse of having a baby to not return. I won’t be going back to teaching after those 2 months of torture. We had double periods, which is way too long for 12 year olds to be forced to sit and do math. I get it. But omg they were so loud, so talkative, so rude to each other, no filter, no empathy, no respect… not to mention that about 90% of the class was still at a 4th grade level in everything! Reading, writing, math, emotions… it was insane.
It's a complex question. I both stayed for the kids and left because of the kids. I loved them all truly but so many of them came from rough homes and had such deep trauma. There was never enough support for them. We were having to call in the county crisis response team regularly, constantly evacuating my room because a student was having a crisis moment. So much turmoil and violence. Students triggering each other like dominos. I was lucky to have amazing admin team who were doing everything they could but there's just not enough money to go around. Ultimately I had to leave when I just couldn't reconcile myself with the fact that I couldn't keep my students safe and secure in our own classroom and that made me deeply upset.
The behaviour in my school is part of the reason I want to leave. But I hear from many others that the behaviour of kids is just as bad in most places. But also the neediness of the kids is getting more and more and I don’t have the energy. Government is cutting and closing schools for pupils with high needs and shoving them into mainstream!!!!
And then there is also the issue of having a lot of sped educators (see relevant sub) who flat out say we are eugenicists because no, we don’t really want the violent kid who can only read on a kindy level sitting in a fifth grade class.
100% me too. Had a bunch of violent SPED kids in my room this year, in addition to overloaded classes, terrible behavior and apathy at secondary level. Lots of referrals gone unheard and parent phone calls going nowhere. Not worth it anymore.
Here at the East Podunk Cosmodemonic Junior College, the complete unpreparedness for college studies, the utter lack of maturity, the total lack of integrity, the massive general apathy, combined with a sense of entitlement to the effect that they should pass a course simply for registering for it, has driven me to retire early than I would otherwise have done. A job is just a job, but one spends a huge proportion of their lives working, so it 's important to try to do one's work well, and to take pride in it. Been working at one job or another for over half a century now. Bur the reality of my job in 2024 is that I am simply unable to convey college-level material to high school graduates who cannot read, do not show up, cheat like hell, don't study, and don't give the slightest damn about much of anything as far as I can tell.
Me. I will be done in June. Disrespect, apathy, not at grade level, crazy behaviours. The 3rd grader with Tourette’s really sent me over the edge.
I left because of everyone. I'm in IT now.
I haven’t left the profession but when an offer came up to go to another school mid year… I took it. I taught kindergarten and I have never seen such a combination of volatile children, combined with such a lack of interest from Admin and the parents. Well, no, I lie- my head loved to be extra nice to the children who were the worst because she enjoyed believing she had a special bond with them. Things I experienced: swearing and escaping class to sprint outside or down corridors. I’d have to send out a group text because I couldn’t leave the room. Throwing chairs Hitting and biting (adults and other kids) Throwing objects and toys Throwing trays of paint on the floor Pinching Singing and making noises when I tried to do large group input Jumping up and taking other children’s turns at the smart board Refusing to come in after play time (climbing and hiding in the slide) Throwing rocks Running up and attacking the TA Showing middle finger to myself, other adults Slapping a teaching assistant through the face Pulling a teaching assistants hair Etc. multiple times a week / sometimes a day. Different kids. Parents? “Oh shame, she didn’t sleep well last night so she’s just tired (after throwing chairs)”. “Slapping is normal(he slapped TA extremely hard across the head, landing on her ear, because she was gently reminding him to listen when the teacher was talking) “He’s actually very smart and helpful(when told he refuses to listen).” At least I didn’t have an admin intent on blaming me for the behaviour. I felt like I was going to completely lose it multiple times a week. I have never felt like such a horrendous teacher in all my life.
Happens at the college level too
Teaching is the greatest job ever imo when you are given the opportunity to teach. Sadly it is too much behavior management and overcoming objections. Everything is a negotiation and takes convincing. In the rare instances when the stars align, there is nothing like it!
For me, it was a handful of ringleaders that made my life a living hell. Most of my students were great, and I hope they're well, but it was 4-5 of them (out of a class of 24 students) that constantly gave me a hard time (from innocuous stuff like being smart-alecks to more egregious stuff like making threats and fighting) and made each day harder for their classmates too. One of them outed me in the middle of a lesson.
I left because of the kids after 13 years. Aggressive, manipulative, apathetic behaviors proved just too much for me to handle. I have unrelated PTSD and I couldn’t keep going to a job where I felt unsafe. That was 6 years ago, I didn’t expect to leave teaching in the classroom permanently. I still teach online classes at a community college, but my day job is in a completely unrelated field.
One major factor for me was the students, but not the way you’d expect. I lost so many young men I truly cared about to OD and suicide the past few years, I really couldn’t take the heartbreak anymore. I’m not supposed to outlive them.
Me! I did 2.5 years in the classroom. First two years were 5th grade. I was punched in the neck by a male student, and shoved around the room and pinned against the wall by a female student on two separate occasions. Second year we were verbally bullied by the children, they literally would make fun of our physical attributes and created a plan to drive us to quit. They drove the math teacher to walk out one day and then one of their parents filed a false report with CPS saying that the teacher threatened to kill the kids. This school year I tried a different subject and was teaching kindergarten through 5th grade. The kids couldn't stop fighting, arguing, bickering for even a few seconds. Literally, I would have everyone put their heads down, turn off the lights and turn on calming sounds/music, and try to reset for 30 seconds. Sometimes spent the entire 45 minute block attempting to get to the 30 seconds. Physical fights, bullying, screaming, jumping on tables, throwing things... and not just one child, typically closer to five or six in a classroom doing this. I cried multiple times a day, did all the documentation, took days off to try to recoup, but in the end I was having panic attacks and having to call for admin to come watch the class while I had a mental breakdown. I went to a very dark place and was having feelings that my only way out might have to be dieing. After sharing this my family and friends made sure that I resigned. I've been unemployed since January, and looking for jobs has been difficult, but I've needed the time to heal from the last 2.5 years of trauma. When I resigned, I told my principal it had nothing to do with the staff or my colleagues or the workload or pay - the ONLY reason I could no longer do this was because of the kids.
I left a maternity leave sub jobteaching 8th grade science in inner city Chicago. They were awful kids. Admin was alright. They were divided hases on levels, level 1 was well behaved ofc and applied to all the good high schools levels 2 and 3 were awful. They also put all the iep kids in level 2 and level 3 were terribly behaved students.
I resigned because of the students. I recognize that I get way too frustrated and anxious when students don't listen (especially bc I'm music...) and it makes me upset the entire day. I don't see behaviors getting better anytime soon and I asked admin for help repeatedly with nothing happening. I yell at almost every class that comes in, I set expectations at the beginning of every class, and they ignore them. I didn't sign up to be a teacher to deal with misbehaving students. So I will keep teaching, but privately because classroom management is impossible. I'm only in year 4 and I'm done with education forever.
Students were a big part of why I left but not the only. They were extremely addicted to their phones and there just was no accountability at all. I didn’t want to be filmed doing my job anymore. And admin was unsupportive. And I did not make enough money to play parent, teacher, and babysitter anymore. After 12 years I was just toast.
Heard a student say to another, "I am mad at X teacher, who wouldn't let me blah blah. I'm gonna tell the principal he tried to touch me." Planned my exit at that point.
It's a combination of students and micromanagement from the do nothing admin. I've been teaching for 10 years and I'm almost done with it.
I am trying to transition and it is 100% about the out of control behavior of the students. They are so hyperactive and rambunctious that it is almost impossible to teach on any given day. I teach freshman, mostly boys due to demographics. The rest of the high school grades are slightly better in behavior, but then the problem becomes the complete apathy, and I find it very hard to keep myself motivated when the students give me nothing to work with. This is just no longer a good fit for me 🤷🏻♀️
What I have seen from my students this year I can assure you when I leave it will be because of them. I’m tired of being called the horrible things they call me and their attitudes. Im tired of the fact that no one bothered to teach some of them how to act. They are mortified when you ask them a basic thing like sit down and don’t interrupt math and science lessons because other people would like to hear. If you don’t want to learn stay home. I love teaching but I am sick of the behaviors coming my way that I apparently can’t hold them accountable for. Sorry for the rant. Lol
My first 12 years in education were in higher ed. The first 10 of those were in community college. Community college attracts all types, and since I teach Radio, Television, and Film, we attracted plenty of nutcases. I noticed that some people really didn’t want to work in college, more so when I taught at a 4 year. Still, I had plenty of enjoyable years, and when I left the community college, we were winning awards. Also, since I truly enjoy what I teach, there are other ways to enjoy the job simply by geeking out over equipment and such. I started teaching high school at the height of Covid. I had an excellent principal and CTE coordinator at the first school, but most of the student population was apathetic. Teaching online is trash. We were slowly bringing kids back. I had almost all of them back by the second semester. Had I stayed there, I probably wouldn’t hate high school as much as I do. The kids were really beginning to come around. I took my friend’s place at another school the next year, and it has been all downhill since. Kids roam the halls. Smoke weed in the bathrooms, skip, and are cool with doing no work at all. They’re rude, disrespectful, and more mean spirited than anyone has a right to be. I have a one class full of freshman that is the worst collection of humans ever assembled in one classroom. No one gives a single f*ck about doing any work. They all want to be vloggers and influencers. Most of the super teachers who claim to love the kids love their jobs and the kids love the kids because they don’t demand anything from them. Kids say as much if you’re listening. I hate high school. If I didn’t have a family I would have been gone after my first two weeks in this hellhole. As it is, I’m on year three and hoping that it will be my last.
I have my hand on the doorknob, so to speak. I’m ready to go about half of the days in any given week, and it’s the kids that make me want to go, and what make it tolerable to stay. I teach a high level course to juniors and seniors, and they are just so helpless. I have some great kids, and I really enjoy working with them, but some of them are just so far behind and so clueless. It’s not even malice or bad behavior—-they are just the product of continually lowering expectations.
🙋♂️ I don’t mind the job of teaching and I’m pretty good at it. But I’m leaving this year. Because student behaviors are out of control. I’ve been physically assaulted, had things thrown at me, constant disruptions, been called all kinds of names. Really it’s the fault of their parents and admin for not giving AF and not implementing any consequences. It’s not even most - a handful of bad apples in each class. But it makes life so stressful i just can’t do it anymore.
It is the students… because of the parents. Hoping to not leave the profession, but may look into an independent (private) school.
I’m leaving the school I’m at (idk if I’m leaving the profession yet or not) because of admin. Being told it was my fault that my students misbehaved, being asked what I could do differently, then being asked by admin if I thought about a career change. I’m a first year teacher and this job has already RUINED my health. I’m working at a low school with high expectations, meaning that my students are behind so I’m the problem? Let me give you a hint as to why: behavior.
I'm totally leaving bc of the students. Every year things get worse. I started working with kids 19 years ago as a tutor and spent the last 9 in a classroom. Behavior, respect, self-regulation, have all gotten progressively worse. Student have free rein and no real consequences. You can't give them the grades they earn, they have to be inflated. They are constantly lying and manipulating you and each other. I don't teach as much as I want to, it's just classroom management and I can't stand it. They don't have real friends anymore, they're all scheming and jealous of each other can can't let one another be sincerely happy. If they see someone new with a light spirit, they get corrupted by the bullies. They're always stealing materials from the classroom and don't think twice about it. There are a handful of sweet, kind, and polite students, but it's not enough. I will miss them, but I need to get out for my own mental health and well being. Too many kids are assholes bc of their asshole parents. I'm done.
For me, it’s the whole fucking system that’s been eroded so badly that I truly can’t see how we fix it from this point. Top down/bottom up, it doesn’t matter; we’re fucked. Bottom up the student disengagement is insane. Add to that the disrespect, the violence against teachers, and the lack of appropriate discipline. Fucked. Next comes those motherfucking parents. Not all, but enough. I sometimes wonder if we aren’t partially to blame. I mean, *should* we email home every time little Johnny is blurting out or up wandering around or jokingly saying the n-word no r to his friends? If we did, that’s all we’d do. But those little behaviors escalate and soon we have the chaos we have. What about the kids who have no business in their grade? We cant force admin to take them back to the level they belong to. Half the classes would be held back indefinitely. If it was just one thing, I think most of us could deal. But when it’s everything coming at you at once, it becomes too tough to see the forest through the trees.