I was a former teacher that transferred to the tech department at the beginning of COVID to help fill an unexpected vacancy. I spent 3 years running the department by myself, including coordinating all remote learning and creating mobile hotspots for students that didn't have internet at home. Recently, they changed the district wifi policy without informing staff, students, and the community. I ended up taking the brunt of the outrage, including by parents as I was out in the community, working the DoorDash job that I needed to work to help pay my bills. After one night of being yelled at by a parent in the middle of a grocery store, I ended up quitting. I sent an email saying that I needed a couple days off and they completely ignored my request, so I quit. I was killing myself for them, and they didn't care. I had lost 160 pounds in the last year and had begun abusing substances because I had such anxiety every day about my job and dealing with the community. I was on a spiral towards an early grave, and I just had enough and made the decision that I needed to focus on myself. A month later, and I feel so much better.
I just wanted to alert you that you wrote that you lost 160 pounds. In the case that was an error, I thought you might want to correct that before people question you about that (such as how/why you aren't dead from weight loss alone!).
The school district administration working in the United States tends to treat the working adults like children. I do not understand how school districts think that they can just make sweeping changes to anything without communicating. I worked in a school district like that… It was awful.
The problem with schooling is that it fails to provide the incompetent or rebellious kids with an experience of being fired and then reassigned to a different track so they can experience failure and adjust their perspectives accordingly. Under the one size fits all system they are really in a custodial daycare situation where nothing they do has an consequences so they become sullen and resentful and of course uncooperative.
When I went to grade school in Phila my principal would walk around the yard with a paddle and whack you if you did anything wrong. She was strict, but she liked me, I could tell. Parents would never argue with the teachers. The school was spotless, but then busing came around and the school became a dump with graffiti all over. African Americans took it over, they destroyed their schools and then would move in on nice schools and destroy
And that is because white teachers are afraid to discipline black kids. Prior to forced busing most of the black kids had black teachers. Admittedly that was at least de facto racial segregation, if not outright de jure segregation which was entirely intentional, but at least the black teachers were strict with the black kids. Today it would be extremely difficult to sort the kids out that way owing to all of the mixed race kids who’ve become so prevalent, not to mention that it is now illegal. But in the final analysis if kids are misbehaving it’s because they are being allowed to act out owing largely to the timidity of the administration.@@rockn997
@@jillsalkin7389 In reality were the schools run properly meaning realistically nobody would so foolishly be relying on assistance from the parents. I taught for 8 years and never expected much help from the mostly stupid parents. That’s why I made them do their reading and work in class rather than assigning homework. Kids who don’t want to behave need to be intimidated somehow. If the kids are so criminally inclined that they literally need to be beaten then it’s time to resign. I quit two teaching jobs without giving notice hence my 8 year career as a merchant seaman. One reason I went to barber college was because I wanted a job with no paperwork and no supervisory duties. And finally, most barbers are of course armed that is unless they are exceptionally foolish.
As someone who has never been a teacher, it seems the biggest problem is all of the hoops that teachers have to jump through for seemingly no reason. I keep hearing about teacher shortages while simultaneously seeing more requirements being added upon teachers than ever before.
After years and years in the field I quit. No support from parents, disrespectful students, unsupportive admin… the list goes on. Now I’m happily working a remote job from home and it’s wonderful. I can go to the bathroom whenever I want, no behavior problems, no duty, and the flexibility is so worth it!
No need to compare. But as someone who served 10 years in the Army and the past 12 as a teacher, I will tell you that teaching is BY FAR more stressful and at the end of each school year, I literally had to recoup from real PTSD. Making it through a school year, is making it through a battle.
Plus to me school is a bunch of meaningless busywork while the fundamentals of the 3 Rs get neglected, so their basic skills typically don’t develop. I’d rather just teach recreational reading and allow them to choose their own books but the current system is so FUBAR that it’s impossible to do just one simple thing like that undisturbed.
I am a third year high school teacher and I am planning on not renewing my contract after this school year and leaving teaching for a year, if not permanently. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing now? I am not sure what I could move to.
I commend every teacher that quits. No need to sacrifice your health and well-being. Parents today see teachers as babysitters not educators. Teachers deserve better pay and respect that they're unlikely to get. So quit and find something that makes you happy.
We get paid for 10 months not 12 months. The summer months are our 10 month paychecks being spread out over the full year. I have to explain this to others.
Thank you for making this Video. I am currently, a teacher and I loved my first couple of years of teaching. However, now I find myself working on weekends lesson planning and writing IEP’s. I feel bad because I have two kids and I feel like I am missing out on them growing up.
I quit after seven years back in the late ‘eighties after trying parochial junior high, public high school, Job Corps GED and community college GED where I was night coordinator at an adult learning center. The reason no one should bother teaching, at least in the public schools, is quite simple. First, due to social promotion you will be expected to teach the unteachable who are unqualified for the grade to which they have been promoted without passing their exams in the lower grades which presumably should have prepared them for your class. Then also there is virtually no disciplinary enforcement which means you are expected to be tolerant of widespread disruptive behavior which will inevitably turn you into an unarmed policeman rather than an educator. And then for the coup de grace there is the widespread phenomenon of unsuitable curriculum in which kids with low IQs are expected to persist in the academic track much as if they were actually “college material” which, as simpletons with low verbal and mathematical aptitude they clearly are not. By the fifth grade really the majority of the kids should be diverted into manual arts and various other programs to maximize their eventual vocational adjustment or in other words leave the currently prevailing phony liberal arts track which simply doesn’t work for kids with IQs of below perhaps 110 or so. So in a nutshell teaching school is a bad choice because of all of the unreasonable demands which will be placed upon you to perform miracles of transformation on maladaptive simpletons who have no business studying any sort of academic subjects preparatory to eventual college admission because if they do actually try college they will inevitably flunk out and end up working as restaurant servers or retail clerks, occupations which don’t pay a living wage as opposed to the skilled trades for which they should have been trained in.
This is the best summation I have ever heard of what is wrong with public education. May I use your comment to copy and paste in another venue? I will give you credit for the comment.
@@reachhonduras8955 By all means help yourself to use my comments. I got my BS Educ degree from Miami of Ohio graduating in 1977. I did my teaching during the 1980s after serving in the navy. When I quit teaching I became first a merchant seaman and then subsequently a barber for 20 years. Owing to inappropriate curriculum, unrealistic expectations, and insane expansion of student loans, education in this country has become a racket feeding the student loan industry. And then the bloated numbers of college graduates often cannot secure professional employment and end up being forced to either work in low paid service occupations or attend some sort of vocational school in order to enter the trades. In other words their degrees are largely worthless.
Thanks for the feed-back. In a nutshell teachers are asked to do the impossible. I say automate teaching out of existence by switching the public schools to open entry/open exit online tutorials supervised by daycare staff and security guards. If someone can pass out at sixteen then by all means let them go. And give them the GED not these phony high school diplomas anymore.@@elizam7648
The 2 biggest problems that I encountered was placing emotionally disturbed students in a regular education classroom and the amount of paperwork was unreal. 21-page lesson plans weekly, daily reports to admin about bad behavior or emotionally disturbed kids, data folders for each student and progress monitoring. If it weren't for these 2 main problems, I think I could've dealt with the low pay.
I work directly with many teachers and their sentiments are basically the same. All are fed up with the horrible conditions from the school itself, under paid and over worked, the droves of lazy abusive smartphone addicted kids and unreasonable parents who outright refuse to be held accountable for their kids behavior and failing grades. Teachers today are basically little more than abused babysitters of kids who are years behind in their cognitive ability/development. Dont trouble yourselves parents (as per usual) Tiktok and youtube will continue to raise and teach these kids all they need to know to prep them for the world, raised by the screen, live by the screen, fail at life by the screen. Well done! 👍
With no consequences for anything, these kids are going to end up yelling at a cop for pulling them over when they run a red light, and get shot by the cop. Kids don’t realize that rules apply to them and if they break them, bad things happen. They have no concept of that, so any cop in the adult world that enforces a law on them will seem like they’re just attacking them personally and the kids will freak out. They think it’s okay to curse out their teachers and argue with principals. I’ve seen it, and nothing happens to them. We are setting these kids up for failure in the real world.
I think every time I give a behavior consequence I am also punished. Like you taked about the "red tape". I have to document and call parents. If I give detention, I am stuck staying after school. I takes many interventions before administration will do anything.
Boo hood in the 70s there were always teachers assigned to detention. Not always the same ones. Yes you should be paid more, but honestly who gets every school holiday off work and summers too?
@@annabrahamson4320yeah, I can tell that you really didn’t listen to the video or haven’t taught in recent years because it sure isn’t the 70’s baby!!! Teachers’ hands are tied!!! Literally !! You should understand. Many teachers have to work extra jobs and even summers because the breaks and pay aren’t enough!
28 years in this year as a vocational education teacher. There wasn't a trade based job to be had in the early nineties. I've invested lots of time and money into retirement plus my health insurance was great until the last few years. Just going to get to the end in 3-4 years and do something else. The nice thing about my job is regular teachers and administrators know nothing about my area so they leave me alone and they know trying to find a vocational education/CTE teacher these days in like trying to find teeth on chickens. I talk every young person out of going into the profession. If today was like yesterday I would have never went into this profession. Administration sucks, they are control freaks, liars, and hypocrites, and are closet drunks and skirt chasers. I have almost no respect for them I just stay away from them do my job and do it well so they don't bother me. We get about 12+ students each year enter the trade areas. These are the poor kids, not the popular stupid jock crowd, many over the years have done very well over the years so this has been great to see especially when I see them at the parts store, grocery store, hardware store, etc. and talk to them. It's good to see them doing good, make $$, and enjoying life. So that at times is worth the effort letting them explore different options so they wind up in college debt and become indoctrinated into the mindless college campus stupid fest where you can't think for yourself. College educated people don't appreciate people like this until something breaks or need them to build something for them and it's great to see these young people being able to charge for their skill and knowledge. If you are a young teacher quit now!
I quit teaching to become a barber after first running off to sea for 8 years with the merchant marine, which was insanely fun after trying to be a stuffed shirt for 7 years while teaching school including GED at Job Corps. So the only thing I would even consider teaching would be barbering but I’d have to own my own barber college in order to put up with that. When I taught high school reading at this insane building in the Cleveland ghetto they actually fired the beautician teaching cosmetology to the incredibly bitchy “cosmo girls”. Apparently all those students wanted to do was to braid each other’s hair incessantly. I don’t think I would have trusted them with their own shears to be brutally frank. And of course my favorite thing about brutal frankness is the brutality part.
I remember being a kid in the 80s and 90s and there was a known rule almost that you show respect to your teacher. Things were so much better then, now...teachers are punching bags, no respect from kids.
Ditto, and same era - if anyone ever acted like an asshole to a teacher, they were treated like jerks to be admonished and shunned. A teacher had to be particularly sadistically cruel or something in order to lose respect, which was thankfully infrequently.
One has to finally conclude that maybe our school system is antiquated. One teacher in a classroom with 30+ kids, trying to teach them, really? Why not use our internet technology to school them, with an instructor guiding them. Also highschool should be trade schools teaching skills that would help them to get a job without having to go to college, which many aren't academically qualified for or parents can't afford. Free college for all is crazy. Not everyone is college material. Instead give those who are low government loans. College has become a huge corporate business, and sadly Americans are stigmatized if they don't go to college. Disgraceful!
I taught K-8 for 36 years. All what you say is true. I’m glad I stuck it out, I’m proud of what I accomplished. It’s certainly a self sacrificing profession.
I quit my substitute teacher job in 2008 for many reasons but mainly it was the politics that kept me from pursuing a regular teaching opportunity. NYC public schools are totally insane. I cannot work in a system that believes in the indoctrination of students. I can go on and on about why I left the DOE. I was emotionally exhausted and sad to see the corruption that keeps students ignorant as they are socially promoted (without being academically ready) to the next grade. The DOE in NYC is a joke in poor taste. There are many other reasons why I left the DOE.
I love teaching ESL students even in the American Community College setting. Behavior issue is not a problem like when I was teaching high school science classes. If you ever go back to teaching in America look for community colleges! I left the high school setting after 3 different school district and have been with the community colleges for over 10 years as an adjunct for multiple colleges. I also do private tutoring online and in person to supplement the low pay though :)
That’s great! I’ve had others recommend this for me as well! Luckily I found my niche teaching abroad. ESL is an important job, unfortunately in most state school systems it’s woefully underfunded and understaffed, making it difficult for the few who stand in that gap. Thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately that wasn’t my experience teaching on the Community College level. I had multiple students with behavior disruptions in the classroom. It felt like I was teaching extended high school. Not for me.
I had a good experience with community college as well! I was fortunate to have many younger students who were excited to learn and many adult students who were ecstatic to have a second chance at their education.
ESL is exactly what I want to do. This is what I am planning to transition to after this school year, hopefully sooner once a position becomes available.
Almost identical situation here in Czechia (Czech Republic, Central Europe). I quit teaching because of my health issues - I fell ill again after a few rougher days at school. Czech teachers experience basically the same plus incompetent minister of education coming with shitty ideas and disrespectfull comments towards teachers. I want to give Czech and English lessons on my own (and do coaching) because I want to teach but not under that much pressure and in these tiring conditions anymore.
I taught in a public high school for 5 years. I quit because admin refused to hold students accountable which created an extremely unsafe environment. They mishandled discipline and neglected to report students’ sexual harassment claims. I reported my principal to HR but he was promoted to assistant superintendent! That was the last straw!
It seems that the public school model is no longer fit for our culture. Teachers are just babysitters to most parents and that obligation needs to be put back on the parents. Children with behavioral issues need to be educated by professionals trained to handle those issues. Then parents can provide education that reflects their families culture instead of the governments.
Not sure what the solution is at this point but I agree with much of what you’ve said here. The public school model was developed at a specific cultural and economic moment in time that we seem to have long surpassed. Updates to the system, at the very least, would be a welcome change.
My first teaching overseas was in 2019, bad timing. Back home in Aus and I have to wait until my son finishes school and going back overseas is definitely something I want to go back to. The cost of living and respect are the two pulls to work overseas.
Couldn’t agree more. Feeling more and more disrespected at my job more this year. Politics all over the place, can’t make a schedule without getting reprimanded for something, and thankless paperwork. Love the kids, that’s about it. Four more years and good bye.
I will be staying due to a massive raise we got as well as a less stressful teaching job I obtained 3 years ago. I was fortunate. Not quitting because my pay in two years will be 117,000 dollars. I can go overseas when I retire
2/3rds? I kind of wish these numbers weren't thrown around. I am contracted for 192 instructional days (with 10 days "voluntary-mandatory" PD) so that is 202 days of work. This is just contract time. A college educated professional will work between 230 and 240 days a year. While I think 4 extra weeks off is nice and it is great to have a schedule similar to my child, 2/3rds suggest that others work 100% of the year. Heck, even hourly employees with little or no PTO work 250 days a year or 68% of the calendar year. My hours are before I add in the working weekends 36 weeks of the year. Now I am up to 274 days a year or MORE days than a worker with no PTO or vacation. This is before I add in the grading and lesson planning at night. Maybe folks can start to see why the job is exhausting.
Point taken! Perhaps I misrepresented the true nature of an educator's true work calendar. If I did so, it was unwittingly. The point I was trying to make is simply that teachers are responsible for more than you might guess from a cursory glance at the academic calendar. My apologies!
Next time, either have some direct experience with what you comment on or do your research. It’s people like you that make getting a fair wage and benefits impossible and it misleads the public as to the true consumption of personal time that teaching actually requires.
I’m quitting in June after 4 years of teaching and I’m leaving to become a pilot! I love teaching students that want to learn. Problem is the majority don’t! I always loved traveling so making the switch to make from 100k - 500k a year until age 65 is a no brainer! I had disrespectful students curse at me all the time, no discipline nor consequences from admin. I didn’t study and become a professional to be disrespected every day. I’ll leave the job to someone that doesn’t have dignity for themselves. I’m through!!!
I love teaching, but I don't think I can do it after this year. I'm living paycheck to paycheck again while supporting my family. Any problem like a blown tire, car repairs, or other emergencies will destroy my monthly budget. After the holidays I'm going to have to start submitting my resume to better paying positions. However, I am interested in international teaching positions. The problem though is I can't save for the moving expenses.
Peace Corps is a great option. I quit teaching/administration and joined. Taught in Africa for six years and now teaching , virtually, for Peace Corps. Rewarding-yes. Respected- yes. Beneficial to self and others -yes. Education is valued in many places other than the U.S. Go for it!
Our public schools are controlled by corrupt teacher's unions and populated by undiscipled, entitled kids and litiguous parents. Our only hope is school choice, where schools can be formed requiring discipline and rigorous academics. Parents and students who apply would sign a contact agreeing to a set of rules where the parent's recourse would be limited to removal of the student from the school. These schools will attract the best teachers and the best parents.
From what Ive heard - the Canadian and Ontario teachers also are fed up with entitled teens that don’t want to follow rules because their parents say they don’t have to. It’s an interesting current situation.
I love teaching, and I have done it for 20 years. However, I can agree that nowadays we face serious problems. First, the workload is absolutely out of control. If we try to fulfill all state, local and school requirements, AND we want to do a good job, we have to work about 80 hours a week. Second, the insane social expectations placed on teachers are out of control. Parents have abdicated their job of raising and disciplining their children. As a consequence, teachers are being asked to fill that parental role. But it’s simply impossible to live up to that expectation.
Parents literally attack you now for failing their child who just plays on their phone and doesn't listen. undisciplined kids and our lousy incompetent admins will ruin our kids future and nobody seems to care.
I have been retired for 10 years. I totally understand exactly what you said. I saw the writing on the wall and left. I’d been unhappy for a few years. When I fell in my classroom and went on workman’s comp I left.
I taught half a year last year and I’m teaching freshman this year. I will finish out this year but I doubt I’m coming back next year. I’m a professional athlete and I would rather continue coaching and getting kicked in the head for a measley paycheck rather than risk my sanity and potential freedom dealing with these kids anymore. I’m over it already lol
Sped/Support Services/ELL folks really need to work with their unions to get time from admin for paperwork. Other than pay, I think getting time back to do our jobs well is one of the biggest issues for teachers.
I was ganna be a teacher, but quit since I hated teaching in front of the class (I liked working with the kids 1 on 1), and I make more dealing cards at a casino. Just not worth it being a teacher imo.
Teaching is more than a job because you are dealing with living, breathing young people. Each student is unique and needs lots of personal attention to learn. As a teacher works with them, each student becomes like your own children. To have a large number of students in your class is unfair to the students who need lots of personal attention to succeed and to the teacher who has a life outside the classroom. Unfortunately, the amount school districts get to operate is just not enough to survive and our classrooms become overcrowded. America is saving money by cheating their children!
Being a former teacher, what yall need to do is make your voices heard and reverse the degradation of the education system. Fix the problem, your country will thank you.
I'm a teacher in a public school in Switzerland and the conditions are great here! I'm not planning to stop anytime soon. 😊 however don't expect to come here and get employment as an English teacher easily. Specific swiss teaching degrees are necessary and take time to complete. Being a teacher in Thailand might be fun while you're young, but once you got children you might think about it twice. Will you be offering them all the future opportunities you are able to offer them?
Tutoring is an 'in demand' need in today's society. When a good teacher can apply what they know to instruct life skills upon willing to learn students, teaching can be fun. Abiding by someone else's rules and taking abuse on top of it, was not my idea of how I thought things should be. Generating an income stream outside of working for another is a learnable process, and allows the freedom to teach in a way that has value. Life is a growing process. When a school board can vote themselves a hundred million dollar bond increase, and the issues of 'education' remain 'unresolved' --- any sane person can reach conclusions that don't add up. 🙂
Thank you for your video! I am an electrical engineer who writes software, but some of the time, I have substitute taught. Your video was inspiring, that to reach out (outside of one's own country) is important. There are other cultures and other ways of doing things, and sometimes (maybe often times), these are better than what is found in the United States. Its an unfortunate circumstance I think the US finds itself in these days. The greater population knows there are significant problems, throughout the culture and society. However, education is mostly ignored, except for well off communities and families. We need to think well and with compassion of how to get our country to a better safer place. Yet the people who can help us learn how to think, and how to love learning, are often times being sidelined. The very solution and solution providers (that is teachers) are ignored, and the problems could get worse. Its like needing a hammer to fix something in a house, and throwing away the hammer (or letting it rust in the yard), before starting the project. Any chance of a young oldster like myself, very well educated, motivated, and accepting of other cultures, can become an international teacher? I do not have teacher credentials but the calculus and other subjects are still fresh in my mind. And I do have a graduate degree.
Amazing video, I agree with everthing being said here. I am very young & nearly finished with my first year of teaching Elementary. I am thinking of changing professions already it seems like the entire field of Education in America will just continue to get worse.
I get it. I live in Alabama. A teacher starting out right out of college making $38,000 a year with no experience is good. I majored in Business Administration and I had no experience made a lot less than that. My major was much harder than the education classes. Teachers work a lot of hours. Managers do slso. I’m grateful for our teachers that want to make a difference in a young person’s life. If that is not your passion, quit!
I LOVE the Spanish reggae intro ! Thanks for including song link. I lasted 7 years teaching World Language. Glad I left it. I would rather be poorer and have less stress in my life.
that is what happens when the institution of family is dissolved. Teachers need to teach- maths, science, lnaguage etc, at a level the student can be expected to learn. Put the parenting responsibilities back on the teachers, or appoint special professionals to hande them
My older sister is a middle school English teacher who’s class sizes just increased by 50% to accommodate a high influx of ESL (English second language) students. Every single class. She lives with our parents (which is pretty normal in our culture), but I doubt she could afford it if she wanted to move out.
Hi! I’m an ECT early career teacher in the UK. I got into teaching with the goal of one day being able to teach abroad. I am in love with Thailand. It is one of my favourite countries in the world. I would LOVE to get a job at an international school there in the near future, but I have absolutely no idea how to begin applying for jobs/moving countries like that. Do you have any ‘first steps’ advice? I had a look at the preface of your book and it resonated with me a lot. Do you go into detail of how you got your job? I feel like I have all the motivation and desire but no concrete steps to follow! Many thanks for sharing your experience. This video was very helpful!
@@ALBUMOF2008 Hi! The book goes into a bit more detail, but really it’s not that difficult. I should think you will have an easy time landing an interview considering the number of International IB schools in SE Asia. The first thing I would do is start building a portfolio for yourself. Touch up your CV, compile digital copies of all degrees, certifications (I.e. Google certified educator, etc.), and awards. Write out a brief cover letter template that goes into your personal pedagogy, a professional photo, and contact relevant references that wouldn’t mind taking a call or putting in an email on your behalf. Once you have this. You can create a customizable email template that you can attach your portfolio to and send out to schools of interest. The job I ultimately landed didn’t even have a listed position open at the time I applied. Look for cities you think would be great potential landing spots and send emails to the international schools in that area. Many schools do typically want to see 2 years of teaching experience, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule. You can also look into digital international teaching job fairs. I highly recommend teaching and living in Thailand 🇹🇭! Check out my other videos or my book for more info! Good luck!
Great advice ! All teachers should quit. Every one. Then what ? Who is going to help change all the difficulties you just described? What will happen to society? If you hate it that bad correct quit. However we should be collectively focusing on how to change the system. This is a cop out
@phillatella6470 Do I sense a hint of sarcasm? 😂 Listen, of course I don’t think all teachers should quit, but continuing in a career that makes you needlessly miserable because of a misguided hero complex isn’t the answer. I think education is changing, it’s time we introduce some fresh ideas and move the ball forward so American students don’t get left behind. Personally, leaving the US public school system to teach in a culture that shows some appreciation for my efforts is the best career move I’ve ever made. It’s not for everyone, but if I can save one miserable teacher from enduring another torturous year in a dead end role by showing them the opportunities they possess in international education then my efforts will have been worth it, despite what people like you may say. Quite frankly, the attitude you’re displaying here is the problem with education.
It left education. It was not the kids. It was the administration and the special education policies we have put in place. I also could not stand my colleagues. They were so toxic!
I completely understand where you’re coming from and the experiences you’re having are amazing. However, this mentality will leave an enormous void within our society- an insidious idea that focuses on one’s self- which is fine to an extent- and disregards the development of our culture and freedom. I never saw myself as a teacher and I ended up as one due to some poor decisions in my twenties but it was a placeholder profession while got myself together and continued my intended path but once I was in it I saw the impact I had on the lives of kids that are growing up lacking so many things I took for granted because of my extremely privileged upbringing it became increasingly difficult to leave. We’re talking about the lives of other people, kids, whose lives were destroying by perpetuating the surreptitious will of those that seek influence. My advice to people who truly want to be educators is to find your talents and exploit them both in the classroom, but more importantly, democratic process. Teachers need to be more vocal about the realities of the classroom. We need to attend school board meetings and educate parents and communities of what is going on behind the curtains. P.S. forgive my poor grammar and syntax- too busy with my own schoolwork
@mariog7213 Listen, I agree with you. I certainly don't think every teacher should leave public education, and I feel engagement in the democratic process is important. However, many teachers feel stuck in their current positions, and they don't understand the leverage they possess as US educators. While I did move to Thailand in part because I wanted to escape the frustrations of my previous job, it wasn't a purely selfish decision. I'm still an educator, I'm simply educating Thai, Korean, Chinese, and Burmese students instead of American students. I find just as much purpose in helping these young people find their path as I did in helping children in America. The fact of the matter is that culturally and systemically, I'm much better positioned to do that in this new environment than I was back home. Everyone has a different path. This isn't a question of right or wrong. It's a question of preference. I want people to know the opportunities they possess as educators. I'm not out to destroy the public education system. In fact, I believe if more teachers use the leverage they possess, school systems will be forced to improve. Introducing a little competition into this government-monopolized industry could make things better for everyone in the long run.
I am aspiring to be a middle school or elementary school art teacher in USA. Can you help to advise if it is as bad for art teachers as well? Since we are not classroom teachers.
I hope I’m not deterring anyone from pursuing a career in education if it’s something they’re dreaming of doing. I’m simply sharing some of the frustrations with my experience teaching in the US public school system. I know plenty of teachers who love their US teaching jobs, I just wasn’t one of them… please hear me say that not everyone’s experience is the same. As an art teacher, you likely won’t have to face some of the struggles I faced as an ESL teacher. That being said, the more systemic elements of my frustration will probably affect you as well. I think you aspiring to be an art teacher is a wonderful thing. Just don’t be naive about some of the more difficult aspects of the job on the front end. Hopefully your experience will be much better than mind was! If not, consider teaching abroad! There are tons of opportunities for licensed English-speaking teachers!
YES! It is as bad - you are treated as a below-par babysitter and handy live-in substitute teacher for starters. Get used to the phrase "My parents don't care what I get for a grade for Art" and that barely gets the ball rolling. I hope you are independently wealthy as you will be footing the bill for most, if not all, the art supplies for all your students. You may be teaching a one to four schools a week, maybe not full-time. You most likely won't have a classroom and will have to transport all of your supplies with you to each class all day long. (Do you have a big trunk in your vehicle?) Your planning time, such as it is, will be cut into ten to 20 minute "bites" so you can accomplish nothing. Plan on staying late and working after hours every night (hope your commute isn't to long), including weekends, "holidays" and breaks. Prepare to travel out of the county and pay out of pocket hundreds of dollars to take classes in your field to keep your certificate current. Plan on spending hours and hours prepping, putting up and taking down bulletin boards with art lessons and student work each month for the entire school. Your class sizes will vary from hour to hour - 25 to 42, depending if any of the classroom teachers are absent and all the specialist get to divide a class up - or the class is just that large. Students will not have any basic supplies so be prepared to have pre-sharpened pencils, erasers, scissors (large and small if you teach elementary), rulers (they don't know how to use them), water (for portables that don't have running water), etc. Some months you may only see a class twice because of fire drills, assemblies, half days and so forth. And report cards - a nightmare, as if the rest wasn't already.
@@phillipsmith7759 In my district/state it is/was tested at the 5th, 8th and 10th grade levels, if I recall correctly. And for a time it was required up to a certain grade level. Don't know what the standards are now as I am blissfully retired.
Those who _can_ move, should- moreso places paying better and have a better quality of life, I think it’d be worth leaving this burning ship. (Not just teachers tho-)
Thailand is a great country! Quit teaching myself in 2008 after 10 years for many of the reasons he pointed out. Working in a different field, but for retirement gig, I am considering teaching in Thailand.
I’m a teacher (middle school for 18 years). I can’t find a job that comes close to my salary - 50k. I don’t have a masters. Any suggestions? I’d make a great administrative assistant. I just can’t break through to the interview stage. Suggestions are appreciated.
Why not Replace school teachers with AI presenters? Then concentrate resources on officers, aides and disciplinary measures.? We no longer need students. Inmates run the asylum!
I have a number of coworkers with nothing more than a BA or MA in the field in which they teach. As far as I know, in Thailand, there is a 3-6 year period in which you can obtain employment and keep your work permit without having a teaching license. However, if you remain beyond that you are expected to enroll in a postsecondary program to obtain the license from an accredited institution in a recognized country. Some of these coworkers taught elective subjects like IT or Business and brought real-world experience to the students. Others I know are teaching subjects like History and Science. Many of them have applied for the licensure program at the University of the People, which is an online education platform that Thailand recognizes. I believe it is US-based. A TEFL certification isn't required to teach at an international school, but of course, it doesn't hurt. The answer to your question depends entirely on your destination, but in Thailand, at least, you should still be eligible for employment at most international schools. Native English speakers are what they're after!
@@kelly_out_and_about2670 Hey Kelly! I have foreign coworkers in their 60s, and most of the expats in my city are over the age of 40. The world is your oyster! I highly recommend Thailand though!
Because they need to learn to be with people not like themselves Schools teach more than subjects. And really??? Takes two wage earners to survive so now you know why you are supposedly babysitting. You always were responsible foe shaping kids you teachers have them for the majority of their waking hours.
@@annabrahamson4320Spend some time among PS students whose entire days are spent around psople "not like themselves". There's not a single *individual* in the bunch. Homeschooling is the best choice.
Not selling anything Mary, just sharing what worked for me. I certainly think collective bargaining is one way to solve the problem. I’m just not sure the unions have really delivered on the promises they’ve made to us over the last 100 years. I found an opportunity to teach for an organization that appreciates what I bring to the table. This has exponentially increased my level of satisfaction with my job and has allowed me to live out some of my childhood dreams. I have a hunch there are many others like me who would like the same. I’m not calling for all teachers to quit, but I do wonder if each educator pursuing what’s in their own best interest might eventually lead to more widespread change in the long run. My point is that the problem is much broader than improving teacher benefits. We need to change the culture. Perhaps if more teachers take their future into their own hands and better leverage their skill sets, states will recognize they need to step up their game! It’s just a thought, but I think it deserves a place in the arena of ideas. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
The mass exodus of teachers is actually what has evoked the most recent changes. It’s not ideal for many or most teachers to leave, but, unfortunately, we are actually seeing (in reality) that this seems to be the only thing getting politicians’ attention to start making changes. We’ve had unions and have been protesting for years, and education has only gotten worse. Education doesn’t need change, it needs to be torn down and rebuilt.
Just some advise, the sound difference between you talking and your intro video is too much, I had to reduce the volume quickly because it hurt my ears.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
I was a former teacher that transferred to the tech department at the beginning of COVID to help fill an unexpected vacancy. I spent 3 years running the department by myself, including coordinating all remote learning and creating mobile hotspots for students that didn't have internet at home.
Recently, they changed the district wifi policy without informing staff, students, and the community. I ended up taking the brunt of the outrage, including by parents as I was out in the community, working the DoorDash job that I needed to work to help pay my bills.
After one night of being yelled at by a parent in the middle of a grocery store, I ended up quitting. I sent an email saying that I needed a couple days off and they completely ignored my request, so I quit.
I was killing myself for them, and they didn't care. I had lost 160 pounds in the last year and had begun abusing substances because I had such anxiety every day about my job and dealing with the community. I was on a spiral towards an early grave, and I just had enough and made the decision that I needed to focus on myself.
A month later, and I feel so much better.
Good for you for getting out of that toxic environment.
I just wanted to alert you that you wrote that you lost 160 pounds. In the case that was an error, I thought you might want to correct that before people question you about that (such as how/why you aren't dead from weight loss alone!).
The school district administration working in the United States tends to treat the working adults like children. I do not understand how school districts think that they can just make sweeping changes to anything without communicating. I worked in a school district like that… It was awful.
I deal with disrespectful, ungrateful teens everyday....who resist every damn rule the school has. I hate teaching.
The problem with schooling is that it fails to provide the incompetent or rebellious kids with an experience of being fired and then reassigned to a different track so they can experience failure and adjust their perspectives accordingly. Under the one size fits all system they are really in a custodial daycare situation where nothing they do has an consequences so they become sullen and resentful and of course uncooperative.
When I went to grade school in Phila my principal would walk around the yard with a paddle and whack you if you did anything wrong. She was strict, but she liked me, I could tell. Parents would never argue with the teachers. The school was spotless, but then busing came around and the school became a dump with graffiti all over. African Americans took it over, they destroyed their schools and then would move in on nice schools and destroy
And that is because white teachers are afraid to discipline black kids. Prior to forced busing most of the black kids had black teachers. Admittedly that was at least de facto racial segregation, if not outright de jure segregation which was entirely intentional, but at least the black teachers were strict with the black kids. Today it would be extremely difficult to sort the kids out that way owing to all of the mixed race kids who’ve become so prevalent, not to mention that it is now illegal. But in the final analysis if kids are misbehaving it’s because they are being allowed to act out owing largely to the timidity of the administration.@@rockn997
@@marcmeinzer8859 WHERE ARE THE PARENTS????? No one wants to say this out loud. It all begins at home.
@@jillsalkin7389 In reality were the schools run properly meaning realistically nobody would so foolishly be relying on assistance from the parents. I taught for 8 years and never expected much help from the mostly stupid parents. That’s why I made them do their reading and work in class rather than assigning homework. Kids who don’t want to behave need to be intimidated somehow. If the kids are so criminally inclined that they literally need to be beaten then it’s time to resign. I quit two teaching jobs without giving notice hence my 8 year career as a merchant seaman. One reason I went to barber college was because I wanted a job with no paperwork and no supervisory duties. And finally, most barbers are of course armed that is unless they are exceptionally foolish.
As someone who has never been a teacher, it seems the biggest problem is all of the hoops that teachers have to jump through for seemingly no reason. I keep hearing about teacher shortages while simultaneously seeing more requirements being added upon teachers than ever before.
After years and years in the field I quit. No support from parents, disrespectful students, unsupportive admin… the list goes on. Now I’m happily working a remote job from home and it’s wonderful. I can go to the bathroom whenever I want, no behavior problems, no duty, and the flexibility is so worth it!
No need to compare. But as someone who served 10 years in the Army and the past 12 as a teacher, I will tell you that teaching is BY FAR more stressful and at the end of each school year, I literally had to recoup from real PTSD. Making it through a school year, is making it through a battle.
Plus to me school is a bunch of meaningless busywork while the fundamentals of the 3 Rs get neglected, so their basic skills typically don’t develop. I’d rather just teach recreational reading and allow them to choose their own books but the current system is so FUBAR that it’s impossible to do just one simple thing like that undisturbed.
I quit after 3 years. Reason: poor admin, no financial support, horrid parents, disrespectful children. The end.
I'm sorry this was your experience. I hope you find a career in which you're able to professionally thrive and garner the respect you deserve.
I am a third year high school teacher and I am planning on not renewing my contract after this school year and leaving teaching for a year, if not permanently. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing now? I am not sure what I could move to.
And incredibly there are numerous RUclipsrs whose stock in trade is ridiculing teachers describing them as having “part time jobs”.
I quit first year of teaching because all of the above. I even stopped smiling, sleeping and eating healthy. Constantly stressed out. Fk teaching
I commend every teacher that quits. No need to sacrifice your health and well-being. Parents today see teachers as babysitters not educators. Teachers deserve better pay and respect that they're unlikely to get. So quit and find something that makes you happy.
We get paid for 10 months not 12 months. The summer months are our 10 month paychecks being spread out over the full year. I have to explain this to others.
Thank you for making this Video. I am currently, a teacher and I loved my first couple of years of teaching. However, now I find myself working on weekends lesson planning and writing IEP’s. I feel bad because I have two kids and I feel like I am missing out on them growing up.
I quit after seven years back in the late ‘eighties after trying parochial junior high, public high school, Job Corps GED and community college GED where I was night coordinator at an adult learning center. The reason no one should bother teaching, at least in the public schools, is quite simple. First, due to social promotion you will be expected to teach the unteachable who are unqualified for the grade to which they have been promoted without passing their exams in the lower grades which presumably should have prepared them for your class. Then also there is virtually no disciplinary enforcement which means you are expected to be tolerant of widespread disruptive behavior which will inevitably turn you into an unarmed policeman rather than an educator. And then for the coup de grace there is the widespread phenomenon of unsuitable curriculum in which kids with low IQs are expected to persist in the academic track much as if they were actually “college material” which, as simpletons with low verbal and mathematical aptitude they clearly are not. By the fifth grade really the majority of the kids should be diverted into manual arts and various other programs to maximize their eventual vocational adjustment or in other words leave the currently prevailing phony liberal arts track which simply doesn’t work for kids with IQs of below perhaps 110 or so. So in a nutshell teaching school is a bad choice because of all of the unreasonable demands which will be placed upon you to perform miracles of transformation on maladaptive simpletons who have no business studying any sort of academic subjects preparatory to eventual college admission because if they do actually try college they will inevitably flunk out and end up working as restaurant servers or retail clerks, occupations which don’t pay a living wage as opposed to the skilled trades for which they should have been trained in.
This is the best summation I have ever heard of what is wrong with public education. May I use your comment to copy and paste in another venue? I will give you credit for the comment.
@@reachhonduras8955 By all means help yourself to use my comments. I got my BS Educ degree from Miami of Ohio graduating in 1977. I did my teaching during the 1980s after serving in the navy. When I quit teaching I became first a merchant seaman and then subsequently a barber for 20 years. Owing to inappropriate curriculum, unrealistic expectations, and insane expansion of student loans, education in this country has become a racket feeding the student loan industry. And then the bloated numbers of college graduates often cannot secure professional employment and end up being forced to either work in low paid service occupations or attend some sort of vocational school in order to enter the trades. In other words their degrees are largely worthless.
Well said!
Awesome explanation of what is going on with education
Is plain and simple a CLOWN SHOW!!!!
Thanks for the feed-back. In a nutshell teachers are asked to do the impossible. I say automate teaching out of existence by switching the public schools to open entry/open exit online tutorials supervised by daycare staff and security guards. If someone can pass out at sixteen then by all means let them go. And give them the GED not these phony high school diplomas anymore.@@elizam7648
The 2 biggest problems that I encountered was placing emotionally disturbed students in a regular education classroom and the amount of paperwork was unreal. 21-page lesson plans weekly, daily reports to admin about bad behavior or emotionally disturbed kids, data folders for each student and progress monitoring. If it weren't for these 2 main problems, I think I could've dealt with the low pay.
I work directly with many teachers and their sentiments are basically the same. All are fed up with the horrible conditions from the school itself, under paid and over worked, the droves of lazy abusive smartphone addicted kids and unreasonable parents who outright refuse to be held accountable for their kids behavior and failing grades. Teachers today are basically little more than abused babysitters of kids who are years behind in their cognitive ability/development.
Dont trouble yourselves parents (as per usual) Tiktok and youtube will continue to raise and teach these kids all they need to know to prep them for the world, raised by the screen, live by the screen, fail at life by the screen. Well done! 👍
I'm finishing up my 33 yr career as a high school History teacher. No regrets. But he's 100% correct.
With no consequences for anything, these kids are going to end up yelling at a cop for pulling them over when they run a red light, and get shot by the cop. Kids don’t realize that rules apply to them and if they break them, bad things happen. They have no concept of that, so any cop in the adult world that enforces a law on them will seem like they’re just attacking them personally and the kids will freak out. They think it’s okay to curse out their teachers and argue with principals. I’ve seen it, and nothing happens to them.
We are setting these kids up for failure in the real world.
I think every time I give a behavior consequence I am also punished. Like you taked about the "red tape". I have to document and call parents. If I give detention, I am stuck staying after school. I takes many interventions before administration will do anything.
Boo hood in the 70s there were always teachers assigned to detention. Not always the same ones. Yes you should be paid more, but honestly who gets every school holiday off work and summers too?
@@annabrahamson4320yeah, I can tell that you really didn’t listen to the video or haven’t taught in recent years because it sure isn’t the 70’s baby!!! Teachers’ hands are tied!!! Literally !! You should understand. Many teachers have to work extra jobs and even summers because the breaks and pay aren’t enough!
I got tired of being spoken to like I was at fault for little Johnny's rotten behavior any time I did a write-up.
I quit back in 07 after 18 years of teaching. Never regretted it. Things have gone terribly wrong in the past decade. especially since 2020.
Students are also suing school systems for not teaching them adequately. So dumbing down is not working either.
28 years in this year as a vocational education teacher. There wasn't a trade based job to be had in the early nineties. I've invested lots of time and money into retirement plus my health insurance was great until the last few years. Just going to get to the end in 3-4 years and do something else. The nice thing about my job is regular teachers and administrators know nothing about my area so they leave me alone and they know trying to find a vocational education/CTE teacher these days in like trying to find teeth on chickens.
I talk every young person out of going into the profession. If today was like yesterday I would have never went into this profession. Administration sucks, they are control freaks, liars, and hypocrites, and are closet drunks and skirt chasers. I have almost no respect for them I just stay away from them do my job and do it well so they don't bother me. We get about 12+ students each year enter the trade areas. These are the poor kids, not the popular stupid jock crowd, many over the years have done very well over the years so this has been great to see especially when I see them at the parts store, grocery store, hardware store, etc. and talk to them. It's good to see them doing good, make $$, and enjoying life. So that at times is worth the effort letting them explore different options so they wind up in college debt and become indoctrinated into the mindless college campus stupid fest where you can't think for yourself. College educated people don't appreciate people like this until something breaks or need them to build something for them and it's great to see these young people being able to charge for their skill and knowledge. If you are a young teacher quit now!
I quit teaching to become a barber after first running off to sea for 8 years with the merchant marine, which was insanely fun after trying to be a stuffed shirt for 7 years while teaching school including GED at Job Corps. So the only thing I would even consider teaching would be barbering but I’d have to own my own barber college in order to put up with that. When I taught high school reading at this insane building in the Cleveland ghetto they actually fired the beautician teaching cosmetology to the incredibly bitchy “cosmo girls”. Apparently all those students wanted to do was to braid each other’s hair incessantly. I don’t think I would have trusted them with their own shears to be brutally frank. And of course my favorite thing about brutal frankness is the brutality part.
I remember being a kid in the 80s and 90s and there was a known rule almost that you show respect to your teacher. Things were so much better then, now...teachers are punching bags, no respect from kids.
Ditto, and same era - if anyone ever acted like an asshole to a teacher, they were treated like jerks to be admonished and shunned. A teacher had to be particularly sadistically cruel or something in order to lose respect, which was thankfully infrequently.
One has to finally conclude that maybe our school system is antiquated. One teacher in a classroom with 30+ kids, trying to teach them, really? Why not use our internet technology to school them, with an instructor guiding them. Also highschool should be trade schools teaching skills that would help them to get a job without having to go to college, which many aren't academically qualified for or parents can't afford. Free college for all is crazy. Not everyone is college material. Instead give those who are low government loans. College has become a huge corporate business, and sadly Americans are stigmatized if they don't go to college. Disgraceful!
I quit teaching years ago and even decided to homeschool my children because it was so bad.
I taught K-8 for 36 years. All what you say is true. I’m glad I stuck it out, I’m proud of what I accomplished. It’s certainly a self sacrificing profession.
I have been teaching for over 27 years. I am very happy with the job.
I quit my substitute teacher job in 2008 for many reasons but mainly it was the politics that kept me from pursuing a regular teaching opportunity. NYC public schools are totally insane. I cannot work in a system that believes in the indoctrination of students. I can go on and on about why I left the DOE. I was emotionally exhausted and sad to see the corruption that keeps students ignorant as they are socially promoted (without being academically ready) to the next grade. The DOE in NYC is a joke in poor taste. There are many other reasons why I left the DOE.
I currently teach in China and I have no desire to teach in the US.
I love teaching ESL students even in the American Community College setting. Behavior issue is not a problem like when I was teaching high school science classes. If you ever go back to teaching in America look for community colleges! I left the high school setting after 3 different school district and have been with the community colleges for over 10 years as an adjunct for multiple colleges. I also do private tutoring online and in person to supplement the low pay though :)
That’s great! I’ve had others recommend this for me as well! Luckily I found my niche teaching abroad. ESL is an important job, unfortunately in most state school systems it’s woefully underfunded and understaffed, making it difficult for the few who stand in that gap. Thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately that wasn’t my experience teaching on the Community College level. I had multiple students with behavior disruptions in the classroom. It felt like I was teaching extended high school. Not for me.
I had a good experience with community college as well! I was fortunate to have many younger students who were excited to learn and many adult students who were ecstatic to have a second chance at their education.
That’s find and dandy, but you don’t get health benefits as an adjunct.
ESL is exactly what I want to do. This is what I am planning to transition to after this school year, hopefully sooner once a position becomes available.
Almost identical situation here in Czechia (Czech Republic, Central Europe). I quit teaching because of my health issues - I fell ill again after a few rougher days at school. Czech teachers experience basically the same plus incompetent minister of education coming with shitty ideas and disrespectfull comments towards teachers. I want to give Czech and English lessons on my own (and do coaching) because I want to teach but not under that much pressure and in these tiring conditions anymore.
You’re lucky you’re still young. I’m 48 and it isn’t easy finding work at my age so I’ll just stick with teaching. 😅
I taught in a public high school for 5 years. I quit because admin refused to hold students accountable which created an extremely unsafe environment. They mishandled discipline and neglected to report students’ sexual harassment claims. I reported my principal to HR but he was promoted to assistant superintendent! That was the last straw!
It seems that the public school model is no longer fit for our culture. Teachers are just babysitters to most parents and that obligation needs to be put back on the parents. Children with behavioral issues need to be educated by professionals trained to handle those issues. Then parents can provide education that reflects their families culture instead of the governments.
Not sure what the solution is at this point but I agree with much of what you’ve said here. The public school model was developed at a specific cultural and economic moment in time that we seem to have long surpassed. Updates to the system, at the very least, would be a welcome change.
What could go wrong???? Some kids will not get an education at all.
@@annabrahamson4320 like the ones in public schools you mean
My first teaching overseas was in 2019, bad timing. Back home in Aus and I have to wait until my son finishes school and going back overseas is definitely something I want to go back to. The cost of living and respect are the two pulls to work overseas.
Couldn’t agree more. Feeling more and more disrespected at my job more this year. Politics all over the place, can’t make a schedule without getting reprimanded for something, and thankless paperwork. Love the kids, that’s about it. Four more years and good bye.
I will be staying due to a massive raise we got as well as a less stressful teaching job I obtained 3 years ago. I was fortunate. Not quitting because my pay in two years will be 117,000 dollars. I can go overseas when I retire
Word! What state are you in? Maybe I’ll come home 😄
@@nickyfrizen California
How did you get your pay so high
@@harneet9709big raise. Just received the same raise.
Is 117k even a lot of money in California?
I quit after 21/22 and went to law school. That was after 5 years in the elementary classroom.
2/3rds? I kind of wish these numbers weren't thrown around. I am contracted for 192 instructional days (with 10 days "voluntary-mandatory" PD) so that is 202 days of work. This is just contract time. A college educated professional will work between 230 and 240 days a year. While I think 4 extra weeks off is nice and it is great to have a schedule similar to my child, 2/3rds suggest that others work 100% of the year. Heck, even hourly employees with little or no PTO work 250 days a year or 68% of the calendar year. My hours are before I add in the working weekends 36 weeks of the year. Now I am up to 274 days a year or MORE days than a worker with no PTO or vacation. This is before I add in the grading and lesson planning at night. Maybe folks can start to see why the job is exhausting.
Point taken! Perhaps I misrepresented the true nature of an educator's true work calendar. If I did so, it was unwittingly. The point I was trying to make is simply that teachers are responsible for more than you might guess from a cursory glance at the academic calendar. My apologies!
Next time, either have some direct experience with what you comment on or do your research. It’s people like you that make getting a fair wage and benefits impossible and it misleads the public as to the true consumption of personal time that teaching actually requires.
Teaching is one of the most flexible careers depending on what state and school you work in.
People who are salaried work all week long, staying late and weekends too. No overtime. Truck drivers are lucky to even have two days of a weekend.
I lived next to two elementary teachers. They left for work at 7:30 were home by 3:30 every day, kids are out of school at 3 here. Give me a break.
I’m quitting in June after 4 years of teaching and I’m leaving to become a pilot! I love teaching students that want to learn. Problem is the majority don’t! I always loved traveling so making the switch to make from 100k - 500k a year until age 65 is a no brainer! I had disrespectful students curse at me all the time, no discipline nor consequences from admin. I didn’t study and become a professional to be disrespected every day. I’ll leave the job to someone that doesn’t have dignity for themselves. I’m through!!!
I love teaching, but I don't think I can do it after this year. I'm living paycheck to paycheck again while supporting my family. Any problem like a blown tire, car repairs, or other emergencies will destroy my monthly budget. After the holidays I'm going to have to start submitting my resume to better paying positions. However, I am interested in international teaching positions. The problem though is I can't save for the moving expenses.
Peace Corps is a great option. I quit teaching/administration and joined. Taught in Africa for six years and now teaching , virtually, for Peace Corps. Rewarding-yes. Respected- yes. Beneficial to self and others -yes. Education is valued in many places other than the U.S. Go for it!
Some places will pay your expenses worth checking out if you can get one of those.
It is the parents who have been so abusive that I have one hand on my purse and one foot out of the door.
I substitute taught at a Yes Prep school in Houston ONE DAY, and it was HORRIBLE!
Part of the problem is that fewer teachers who are qualified are avaliable, and it's not like the schools can close to play cath-up.
its so easy to get a credential now. theyll take a BS in anything
Our public schools are controlled by corrupt teacher's unions and populated by undiscipled, entitled kids and litiguous parents. Our only hope is school choice, where schools can be formed requiring discipline and rigorous academics. Parents and students who apply would sign a contact agreeing to a set of rules where the parent's recourse would be limited to removal of the student from the school. These schools will attract the best teachers and the best parents.
….except - if implemented - a whole bunch of laws would be broken.
Make America 🇺🇸 respect teachers again ✊
From what Ive heard - the Canadian and Ontario teachers also are fed up with entitled teens that don’t want to follow rules because their parents say they don’t have to. It’s an interesting current situation.
I love teaching, and I have done it for 20 years. However, I can agree that nowadays we face serious problems. First, the workload is absolutely out of control. If we try to fulfill all state, local and school requirements, AND we want to do a good job, we have to work about 80 hours a week. Second, the insane social expectations placed on teachers are out of control. Parents have abdicated their job of raising and disciplining their children. As a consequence, teachers are being asked to fill that parental role. But it’s simply impossible to live up to that expectation.
Thanks for the info! I can relate to this since I’m a former educator too:)
I think every teacher needs an aide because of the workload!😢Definitely, too much paperwork!
🎯
Even having two parents does not ensure good discipline. They throw technology at their kids to avoid spending time with them.
Two parents makes a huge difference with or without tech.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience abroad! You have opened my eyes to the opportunities I can have!
Parents literally attack you now for failing their child who just plays on their phone and doesn't listen. undisciplined kids and our lousy incompetent admins will ruin our kids future and nobody seems to care.
Travel seems to be everyones solution to everything these days.
I have been retired for 10 years. I totally understand exactly what you said. I saw the writing on the wall and left. I’d been unhappy for a few years. When I fell in my classroom and went on workman’s comp I left.
I taught half a year last year and I’m teaching freshman this year. I will finish out this year but I doubt I’m coming back next year. I’m a professional athlete and I would rather continue coaching and getting kicked in the head for a measley paycheck rather than risk my sanity and potential freedom dealing with these kids anymore. I’m over it already lol
Sped/Support Services/ELL folks really need to work with their unions to get time from admin for paperwork. Other than pay, I think getting time back to do our jobs well is one of the biggest issues for teachers.
I was ganna be a teacher, but quit since I hated teaching in front of the class (I liked working with the kids 1 on 1), and I make more dealing cards at a casino. Just not worth it being a teacher imo.
😂...Yup...I QUIT...
Best day of my life.
Teaching is more than a job because you are dealing with living, breathing young people.
Each student is unique and needs lots of personal attention to learn.
As a teacher works with them, each student becomes like your own children.
To have a large number of students in your class is unfair to the students who need lots of personal attention to succeed and to the teacher who has a life outside the classroom.
Unfortunately, the amount school districts get to operate is just not enough to survive and our classrooms become overcrowded.
America is saving money by cheating their children!
You are so right! Teachers deserve more pay.
Being a former teacher, what yall need to do is make your voices heard and reverse the degradation of the education system. Fix the problem, your country will thank you.
It would help if I was in a union. Teachers' unions (public employees) are illegal in my state.
I'm a teacher in a public school in Switzerland and the conditions are great here! I'm not planning to stop anytime soon. 😊 however don't expect to come here and get employment as an English teacher easily. Specific swiss teaching degrees are necessary and take time to complete. Being a teacher in Thailand might be fun while you're young, but once you got children you might think about it twice. Will you be offering them all the future opportunities you are able to offer them?
Tutoring is an 'in demand' need in today's society. When a good teacher can apply what they know to instruct life skills upon willing to learn students, teaching can be fun. Abiding by someone else's rules and taking abuse on top of it, was not my idea of how I thought things should be. Generating an income stream outside of working for another is a learnable process, and allows the freedom to teach in a way that has value. Life is a growing process. When a school board can vote themselves a hundred million dollar bond increase, and the issues of 'education' remain 'unresolved' --- any sane person can reach conclusions that don't add up. 🙂
Kids don't need Teachers when they have Google and a AI Chat Bot :)
Thank you for your video! I am an electrical engineer who writes software, but some of the time, I have substitute taught. Your video was inspiring, that to reach out (outside of one's own country) is important. There are other cultures and other ways of doing things, and sometimes (maybe often times), these are better than what is found in the United States.
Its an unfortunate circumstance I think the US finds itself in these days. The greater population knows there are significant problems, throughout the culture and society. However, education is mostly ignored, except for well off communities and families. We need to think well and with compassion of how to get our country to a better safer place. Yet the people who can help us learn how to think, and how to love learning, are often times
being sidelined. The very solution and solution providers (that is teachers) are ignored, and the problems could get worse. Its like needing a hammer to fix something in a house, and throwing away the hammer (or letting it rust in the yard), before starting the project.
Any chance of a young oldster like myself, very well educated, motivated, and accepting of other cultures, can become an international teacher? I do not have teacher credentials but the calculus and other subjects are still fresh in my mind. And I do have a graduate degree.
Amazing video, I agree with everthing being said here. I am very young & nearly finished with my first year of teaching Elementary. I am thinking of changing professions already it seems like the entire field of Education in America will just continue to get worse.
I get it. I live in Alabama. A teacher starting out right out of college making $38,000 a year with no experience is good. I majored in Business Administration and I had no experience made a lot less than that. My major was much harder than the education classes. Teachers work a lot of hours. Managers do slso. I’m grateful for our teachers that want to make a difference in a young person’s life. If that is not your passion, quit!
EXCELLENT VIDEO. I TEACH ELL AND THE WORKLOAD AND LACK OF SUPPORT IS DISHEARTENING.
I LOVE the Spanish reggae intro !
Thanks for including song link.
I lasted 7 years teaching World Language. Glad I left it. I would rather be poorer and have less stress in my life.
that is what happens when the institution of family is dissolved. Teachers need to teach- maths, science, lnaguage etc, at a level the student can be expected to learn. Put the parenting responsibilities back on the teachers, or appoint special professionals to hande them
My older sister is a middle school English teacher who’s class sizes just increased by 50% to accommodate a high influx of ESL (English second language) students. Every single class. She lives with our parents (which is pretty normal in our culture), but I doubt she could afford it if she wanted to move out.
AI will replace teachers in a few years. It's not worth the stress to become a teacher.
Hi! I’m an ECT early career teacher in the UK. I got into teaching with the goal of one day being able to teach abroad. I am in love with Thailand. It is one of my favourite countries in the world. I would LOVE to get a job at an international school there in the near future, but I have absolutely no idea how to begin applying for jobs/moving countries like that.
Do you have any ‘first steps’ advice? I had a look at the preface of your book and it resonated with me a lot. Do you go into detail of how you got your job? I feel like I have all the motivation and desire but no concrete steps to follow!
Many thanks for sharing your experience. This video was very helpful!
@@ALBUMOF2008 Hi! The book goes into a bit more detail, but really it’s not that difficult. I should think you will have an easy time landing an interview considering the number of International IB schools in SE Asia.
The first thing I would do is start building a portfolio for yourself. Touch up your CV, compile digital copies of all degrees, certifications (I.e. Google certified educator, etc.), and awards. Write out a brief cover letter template that goes into your personal pedagogy, a professional photo, and contact relevant references that wouldn’t mind taking a call or putting in an email on your behalf. Once you have this. You can create a customizable email template that you can attach your portfolio to and send out to schools of interest. The job I ultimately landed didn’t even have a listed position open at the time I applied. Look for cities you think would be great potential landing spots and send emails to the international schools in that area. Many schools do typically want to see 2 years of teaching experience, but that isn’t a hard and fast rule. You can also look into digital international teaching job fairs. I highly recommend teaching and living in Thailand 🇹🇭! Check out my other videos or my book for more info! Good luck!
"12 percent felt very satisfied with their jobs" That number sounds too high to me, who are these satisfied teachers?
Teachers in the pacific northwest who aren't dealing with the same cultures.
Australian teachers too! After quitting teaching, I'm working in the government. So much happier.
The background music is distracting - just my opinion 😘
Great advice ! All teachers should quit. Every one. Then what ? Who is going to help change all the difficulties you just described? What will happen to society? If you hate it that bad correct quit. However we should be collectively focusing on how to change the system. This is a cop out
@phillatella6470 Do I sense a hint of sarcasm? 😂 Listen, of course I don’t think all teachers should quit, but continuing in a career that makes you needlessly miserable because of a misguided hero complex isn’t the answer. I think education is changing, it’s time we introduce some fresh ideas and move the ball forward so American students don’t get left behind. Personally, leaving the US public school system to teach in a culture that shows some appreciation for my efforts is the best career move I’ve ever made. It’s not for everyone, but if I can save one miserable teacher from enduring another torturous year in a dead end role by showing them the opportunities they possess in international education then my efforts will have been worth it, despite what people like you may say.
Quite frankly, the attitude you’re displaying here is the problem with education.
It left education. It was not the kids. It was the administration and the special education policies we have put in place. I also could not stand my colleagues. They were so toxic!
I completely understand where you’re coming from and the experiences you’re having are amazing. However, this mentality will leave an enormous void within our society- an insidious idea that focuses on one’s self- which is fine to an extent- and disregards the development of our culture and freedom.
I never saw myself as a teacher and I ended up as one due to some poor decisions in my twenties but it was a placeholder profession while got myself together and continued my intended path but once I was in it I saw the impact I had on the lives of kids that are growing up lacking so many things I took for granted because of my extremely privileged upbringing it became increasingly difficult to leave. We’re talking about the lives of other people, kids, whose lives were destroying by perpetuating the surreptitious will of those that seek influence.
My advice to people who truly want to be educators is to find your talents and exploit them both in the classroom, but more importantly, democratic process. Teachers need to be more vocal about the realities of the classroom. We need to attend school board meetings and educate parents and communities of what is going on behind the curtains.
P.S. forgive my poor grammar and syntax- too busy with my own schoolwork
@mariog7213 Listen, I agree with you. I certainly don't think every teacher should leave public education, and I feel engagement in the democratic process is important. However, many teachers feel stuck in their current positions, and they don't understand the leverage they possess as US educators. While I did move to Thailand in part because I wanted to escape the frustrations of my previous job, it wasn't a purely selfish decision. I'm still an educator, I'm simply educating Thai, Korean, Chinese, and Burmese students instead of American students. I find just as much purpose in helping these young people find their path as I did in helping children in America. The fact of the matter is that culturally and systemically, I'm much better positioned to do that in this new environment than I was back home. Everyone has a different path. This isn't a question of right or wrong. It's a question of preference. I want people to know the opportunities they possess as educators. I'm not out to destroy the public education system. In fact, I believe if more teachers use the leverage they possess, school systems will be forced to improve. Introducing a little competition into this government-monopolized industry could make things better for everyone in the long run.
Check your audio mixing. Your monologue is really quiet then the intro music is incredibly loud
I am aspiring to be a middle school or elementary school art teacher in USA. Can you help to advise if it is as bad for art teachers as well? Since we are not classroom teachers.
I hope I’m not deterring anyone from pursuing a career in education if it’s something they’re dreaming of doing. I’m simply sharing some of the frustrations with my experience teaching in the US public school system.
I know plenty of teachers who love their US teaching jobs, I just wasn’t one of them… please hear me say that not everyone’s experience is the same. As an art teacher, you likely won’t have to face some of the struggles I faced as an ESL teacher. That being said, the more systemic elements of my frustration will probably affect you as well. I think you aspiring to be an art teacher is a wonderful thing. Just don’t be naive about some of the more difficult aspects of the job on the front end. Hopefully your experience will be much better than mind was! If not, consider teaching abroad! There are tons of opportunities for licensed English-speaking teachers!
Art may be better because it is an elective, not required, nor tested.
YES! It is as bad - you are treated as a below-par babysitter and handy live-in substitute teacher for starters. Get used to the phrase "My parents don't care what I get for a grade for Art" and that barely gets the ball rolling. I hope you are independently wealthy as you will be footing the bill for most, if not all, the art supplies for all your students. You may be teaching a one to four schools a week, maybe not full-time. You most likely won't have a classroom and will have to transport all of your supplies with you to each class all day long. (Do you have a big trunk in your vehicle?) Your planning time, such as it is, will be cut into ten to 20 minute "bites" so you can accomplish nothing. Plan on staying late and working after hours every night (hope your commute isn't to long), including weekends, "holidays" and breaks. Prepare to travel out of the county and pay out of pocket hundreds of dollars to take classes in your field to keep your certificate current. Plan on spending hours and hours prepping, putting up and taking down bulletin boards with art lessons and student work each month for the entire school. Your class sizes will vary from hour to hour - 25 to 42, depending if any of the classroom teachers are absent and all the specialist get to divide a class up - or the class is just that large. Students will not have any basic supplies so be prepared to have pre-sharpened pencils, erasers, scissors (large and small if you teach elementary), rulers (they don't know how to use them), water (for portables that don't have running water), etc. Some months you may only see a class twice because of fire drills, assemblies, half days and so forth. And report cards - a nightmare, as if the rest wasn't already.
@@phillipsmith7759 In my district/state it is/was tested at the 5th, 8th and 10th grade levels, if I recall correctly. And for a time it was required up to a certain grade level. Don't know what the standards are now as I am blissfully retired.
Yes, it is.
Those who _can_ move, should- moreso places paying better and have a better quality of life, I think it’d be worth leaving this burning ship.
(Not just teachers tho-)
Thailand is a great country! Quit teaching myself in 2008 after 10 years for many of the reasons he pointed out. Working in a different field, but for retirement gig, I am considering teaching in Thailand.
Great video thank you so much for the inspiration, Kindest Regards from Sweden
Glad you enjoyed it! Opportunities are out there; go seize them!
He speaks the truth
Teaching has become a tyranny of policies and procedures!
I’m a teacher (middle school for 18 years). I can’t find a job that comes close to my salary - 50k. I don’t have a masters. Any suggestions? I’d make a great administrative assistant. I just can’t break through to the interview stage. Suggestions are appreciated.
Move. In New Jersey there are districts that pay 70k starting, but pay is relative to the economy in that certain state.
If I acted like students do now even in 2008 my school would have me in handcuffs.
Why not Replace school teachers with AI presenters? Then concentrate resources on officers, aides and disciplinary measures.? We no longer need students. Inmates run the asylum!
Poor Parenting is a HUGE problem ad yo why these kids are Wild. I just couldn’t anymoreZ
Truck driver make good money definitely recommend
I am 20 year old that has whated to teacher for aslong as I have know and all i hear is negative should I become one
I am not even a teacher in the school and I want to quit.
In Australia too.
This is about the same in Australia. Does the behaviour of students affect this decision
Teaching is now a game. There is now only one way to win. Don't play.
I quit teaching and found a real job.
Do you need a teaching credential/MA or TEFL to get a job in an international school? Or is a BA enough?
I have a number of coworkers with nothing more than a BA or MA in the field in which they teach. As far as I know, in Thailand, there is a 3-6 year period in which you can obtain employment and keep your work permit without having a teaching license. However, if you remain beyond that you are expected to enroll in a postsecondary program to obtain the license from an accredited institution in a recognized country.
Some of these coworkers taught elective subjects like IT or Business and brought real-world experience to the students. Others I know are teaching subjects like History and Science. Many of them have applied for the licensure program at the University of the People, which is an online education platform that Thailand recognizes. I believe it is US-based. A TEFL certification isn't required to teach at an international school, but of course, it doesn't hurt.
The answer to your question depends entirely on your destination, but in Thailand, at least, you should still be eligible for employment at most international schools. Native English speakers are what they're after!
@@nickyfrizenis there an upper end age limit to TESL in Thailand? I'm 53. Thank you!
@@kelly_out_and_about2670 Hey Kelly! I have foreign coworkers in their 60s, and most of the expats in my city are over the age of 40. The world is your oyster! I highly recommend Thailand though!
Homeschooling is so much easier now with technology and standarized testing - why subject kids to public schools if you dont have to.
Because they need to learn to be with people not like themselves
Schools teach more than subjects. And really??? Takes two wage earners to survive so now you know why you are supposedly babysitting. You always were responsible foe shaping kids you teachers have them for the majority of their waking hours.
@@annabrahamson4320Spend some time among PS students whose entire days are spent around psople "not like themselves". There's not a single *individual* in the bunch.
Homeschooling is the best choice.
12 percent are the ones with pink hair and nose rings, they/thems😂😂
A moment of silence for headphone users
@sammaier4485 😅 sorry, still trying to figure this stuff out. I should probably add a disclaimer 😬
If everyone leaves teaching then how will that help our world....real change comes from union building and protest not...buy my method...
Not selling anything Mary, just sharing what worked for me. I certainly think collective bargaining is one way to solve the problem. I’m just not sure the unions have really delivered on the promises they’ve made to us over the last 100 years.
I found an opportunity to teach for an organization that appreciates what I bring to the table. This has exponentially increased my level of satisfaction with my job and has allowed me to live out some of my childhood dreams. I have a hunch there are many others like me who would like the same.
I’m not calling for all teachers to quit, but I do wonder if each educator pursuing what’s in their own best interest might eventually lead to more widespread change in the long run. My point is that the problem is much broader than improving teacher benefits. We need to change the culture. Perhaps if more teachers take their future into their own hands and better leverage their skill sets, states will recognize they need to step up their game! It’s just a thought, but I think it deserves a place in the arena of ideas. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
The mass exodus of teachers is actually what has evoked the most recent changes. It’s not ideal for many or most teachers to leave, but, unfortunately, we are actually seeing (in reality) that this seems to be the only thing getting politicians’ attention to start making changes. We’ve had unions and have been protesting for years, and education has only gotten worse. Education doesn’t need change, it needs to be torn down and rebuilt.
They are counting on teachers not to leave, that's how they keep getting away with giving them the atrocious work environment and poor pay
Just some advise, the sound difference between you talking and your intro video is too much, I had to reduce the volume quickly because it hurt my ears.
Voice quiet intro loud. Fix it.
Teach punks ? Screw that !