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We have been teaching  through COVID and this pandemic and I think people do not really realize the extend of which we put ourselves through. Some people taught summer school just to help those students who would have benefited from being in the building last year. The tears, the sleepless nights, the pressure, the micromanaging, the constant nagging instead of sympathizing with us.. it was not easy on any of us but we were expected to continue with smiles and positivity every single day.. When will it end? we have no idea but we are tired, we are emotionally drained, we are TRYING OUR BEST...When do we get a break?

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Teachers are expected to do more than teach.  Even though society throws teachers under the bus all the time.

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I can no longer take the parents. Our commitments as teachers to their kids is greater than theirs. This is what is wrong with our education system but NO ONE will speak the truth.
Kid-8th grader has done nothing since 6th grade. In class, causes classroom disruptions. The rest of the 31 students are disrupted because Teacher has to take care of disrupter.
Principal-He needs restorative support. And now has IEP.
Teacher to Principal-OK, but where has mom been since 6th grade?
Principal-"Well, she just had a baby and has another child in 6th grade."
Teacher to self- So our commitment should be larger than hers? Huh??
I could write more and tell a hundred stories, but I am done with teaching.
21 years teaching.Retiring 4 years earlier than expected. And then, plan to let the truth come out about what teaching is REALLY LIKE!

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I am the only MS Science teacher (7/8) at my pk8 school. Most of our district follows the pk8 model. I meet with 2 other science teachers twice a month from neighboring same-district schools. As projected for next week, my caseload is 137. One of the neighboring school's science teachers' caseload is 130. The other neighboring school's science teacher's caseload is...79. One thing is not like the others. I didn't think I cared about how districts draw "draw area" lines...but...I am SO jealous right now.

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I ordered classroom supplies back in March...

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I ordered classroom supplies back in March...

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with my yearly allotment of $150 (eyeroll...like that's an adequate amount, but I digress). It is now September and my district is having "warehouse issues" and cannot deliver supplies to any of the teachers in the district. I had to panhandle for copy paper and glue sticks at back to school night. I spend all of my extra money (from my meager paychecks...) on this job. It's sad that this is the state of public education.

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I have been teaching young children for 25 years. I've grown so much over the years. I went from unsure new teacher trying hard to force my students to fit into the traditional classroom to being a staunch advocate for child-directed, interest driven curriculum. The pandemic is crushing me. My students must now stay in 3 person "pods" that I assign, stay in the play area that I assign, use only the materials they find there for the day, sit in rows, 3 ft apart with their pods while I stand in front of the classroom. (Sounds fine, but I teach Pre-K.) I was ready to give it the old Covid, "OK," but now I'm not sure I can do this for another year. I'm setting a standard for what we should expect from children. It's wrong. It's adult centered and has nothing to do with how they need to learn and interact.

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I remember liking teaching and being proud that I survived my first year. Now I don't even know who I am. What happened to that passion? Why don't I look forward to this? What happened to that person I was 2 years ago?

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... On anything. On preparing for next school year, on planning for my future. I just finished my first year and am feeling unmotivated and defeated since being alone since August 2020.

I feel guilty because my students deserve better. But I know that I can't keep neglecting my physical and mental wellbeing like this.

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After the hell and wishy-washy nonsense of last school year, I am DREADING going back to more uncertainty this fall.

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For some strange reason, teachers all over our district were enraged with those of us who were chosen to teach virtually. Now mind you, they also taught virtually, and complained about the schedule, and how it was impossible to keep the kids on that long.
Well, when we changed to F2F and Virtual, the district listened, and the virtual schedules were changed. They didn't follow the "normal" school day, and they ended earlier.
The F2F teachers were furious! "Look at what time the Virtual teachers are getting off!." (Really? Lesson plans? small group?) "They finish early and are hanging out!" (I'm sure some were.). "This isn't fair." They spent the entire rest of the year up in arms at all Virtual teachers.
This was so ridiculous to me. They know what it was like teaching virtually, wasn't easy. Hopefully, they can get over it when the new school year starts. smh

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As a young teacher I am often laid off at the end of the school year due to budget cuts and not being tenure/last one hired, first one let go. After being laid off at the end of the 2019-20 school year I took the year off and started my own business. It did pretty well but I still need some additional income and I'm looking to return to school in some capacity. Here's where my struggle comes in, the state I live in is very competitive for teachers. I'm also coming to terms with how broken the public education system is. If I do not get a teaching job, I do not want to sub, been there done that.  I love the kids but the adults and the system make it so hard. What options do I have? Are there other jobs in education where I can advocate for other teachers and make positive changes to the system?  I don't think I can do another year where I get laid off again. The uncertainty is wearing on me.

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I want to want to go to school. My “teacher soul” is lost. 

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I want to want to go to school. My “teacher soul” is lost. 

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In person learning all year with masks, and nobody thinks it's a bloody friggin' nightmare because I am in person with my students. But...
There's no plexiglass available to put between me and the full class of kids?
My classes are still full size? Of course others have smaller classes (of 5 students to my 28+). Shocking.
Don't take days off because there are no subs, coworkers are being quarantined not one two week stretch but twice (and aren't sending sub plans, so it's a vacation they brag about upon return.) But you want me to cover the class of a teacher out with covid? Clorox everything before I touch it!
Fighting kids to keep all their face holes covered every minute of every class because I don't want to die.
Don't share materials, though most bring no materials.
No, don't pull your mask down when you sneeze or yawn as that breaks the mask seal (duh!).
Please don't tell me about the concert you attended in South Dakota with thousands of people and no masks this weekend.
Oh? Your whole family is quarantined right now because one has Covid again and you're sitting 2' from where I teach coughing? Awesome.
30+ kids quarantined at once, send them all updated work every second (though other teachers send them nothing & kids do ZERO work while they're out, even when showing no symptoms )
(How are you all teaching virtually? I admire your fortitude.)
We have the chance to be vaccinated?! I'm all over it. Get my family vaccinated too?! Yes! (A month of feeling less than completely panicked every minute at work. Stop cloroxing my lunch box before I take it in my home. Feeling a smidge better.)
The district is run by cowards (school board idiots!) who say masks are too restrictive. So the last 4 weeks of school there will be no mandated masking in schools!
Watch the local covid+ case #s shoot up on the news.
I've now made it through 6 days with 99% of my students unmasked (25+ kids unmasked per class). Masked students are bullied by unmasked teachers & peers (not in front of me!) Our health matters not at all. Masked students and I (still a masked teacher)  holding our breath on the edge of the room praying for this year to be over.
*Thank you for a place to express this.*

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The pandemic opened the door for students to build resilience, perseverance, etc.

Until the end of the year came along, and the kids that did NOTHING the entire year still received passing grades and trophies and moved onto the next grade without a single consequence. All while saying “I told you so!” to the teachers.

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Teachers at my school get punished for the actions of the students. No student is ever held accountable. Kid shows up out of dress code. Teacher is "lectured" about not having noticed as soon as they walked in the door. Kid pitches a fit and storms out of room. Teacher is "lectured" for "allowing" student to leave the room. Does not matter that these are teenagers. Teachers are always the ones taking the fall to the point that even our students notice and will say to each other. "Don't do that. Ms *** will get yelled at if you do that."  Latest incident was when teacher asked a counselor to check on a student (per protocol), and counselor informed teacher that  she had been handling "those things" all morning and then wrote a scathing email CCing half the building listing all the ways the teacher was responsible for the disagreement between the two students.  Guess what. Teacher has 10+ years of professional experience outside the classroom and too many degrees to be treated like a child. Teacher has resigned.

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This is so rediculous.

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I am teaching from home with an ADA accommodation and I thought I would be good to go to school in the fall. Now that mask mandates are relaxing, states are pushing for "normal schedules," but people are still being diagnosed and dying of COVID in large numbers I am unable to imagine my life and work in 3 months. I wish I knew more about transferable skills and had other professional interests.

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Anyone else just sat in your classroom long after contract hours just watching your TV/Projector glitch out for the umpteenth time and wonder how you can justify a 6th state or national (that you know of) test in 3 weeks to burned-out students, or is that just me?

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I cried in the bathroom today during class. Over the course of the past 2 days 4 students have dropped out of our Model UN conference that is happening on Thursday. I understand they are feeling overwhelmed and stressed. So am I. I put a lot of work into making this club happen this year, chasing down information from the conferences, putting together trainings and materials. All on top of teaching in a hybrid environment with 2 brand new to me classes.
I just have no emotional reserves left. 5 weeks left, and I just want to be done now. I am trying to put on a brave face for the last class of the day, but I just want to curl up under my desk and cry.

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For the past year, our administration set all of our online college courses to start at midnight on Friday, even though tech support only works 8 AM-4 PM Mon-Fri. I'm pulling an all-nighter tonight to support those students who log in at midnight to start class.

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I really like my school but this week is such a joke... Our principal emailed saying that she made homemade granola bars that we could take if we wanted one. It's a nice gesture but that's the only acknowledgement we've gotten. It seems odd and maybe it's silly but I had higher hopes..

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Because of my health conditions, I've been teaching remotely all year.  There's been no recognition of how hard this year has been for virtual teachers, and now that it's Teacher Appreciation Week, all I see are emails with gifts and food for those in person.

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Right now, due to our hybrid model, we do not have any opportunity to use the restroom. We have to be with students all the time and since they eat with us in the classroom now, we have to find someone to watch the class while we walk down the hall to use the restroom. An EC teacher basically spends her entire -- limited--planning period going from door to door asking teachers if they need a break. I have held it in every single day for weeks now and pretty sure I got a UTI because of it.

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Highly Qualified does not mean Jack-of-all-Trades!

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Highly Qualified does not mean Jack-of-all-Trades!

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I am a National Board Certified Teacher in Science Adolescent/Young Adult.  I have a bachelor’s degree in my science field and a Master’s in Education.  So I would be considered a highly qualified teacher.  As the science I teach is considered an advanced science by many, I rarely have a full load of science classes.  But I am endorsed in physics, mathematics, and computer science, so when I have 2 regular and 2 AP science classes, I can pick up a 5th class in the other departments to have a full load.  Sounds fine, except…in 29 years of teaching I have prepared to teach over 20 new (to me or to the school) courses.  We all know how easy that first year is teaching anything new – finding resources, figuring out pacing, discovering where students will face unexpected challenges, etc.- it’s exhausting.  So this year, in the age of Covid and Hybrid teaching with needing to physically prep labs and find virtual alternatives, I get as my 5th course – Cybersecurity.  “You’re certified for computer science, right?”  There is a large distance between programming and the intricacies of network security on Windows and Linux system.  In this I am NOT highly qualified.  I am so tired of never getting to focus on my areas of expertise as I am pulled in too many directions forces to flounder like a first year teacher.  I no longer have the energy to keep striving for excellence.  I feel sometimes as if I am being deliberately set up for failure and criticism as I juggle the curricular demands.  Now lets talk student failure rates, SEL…

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For teacher appreciation week, I got:
-2 new students (both over the recommended cap for my classroom). This increases my workload by 30% and it's not like I have any more hours in the day to do this.
-0 thank yous so far this year from admin
-0 treats- all 3 of the food events this week are for staff teaching in-person only. Not very thoughtful, as a handful of us in my building are still teaching virtually.

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This morning I read our principal’s weekly message to staff.  It’s teacher appreciation week.  She told everyone to keep an eye out in their rooms for some ‘special treats and gifts’.  One third of our staff (electives and specialists) are not teaching F2F, nor do we have any ‘live’ zoom-type classes.  We’ve been forced to be completely asynchronous for over a year.  Alone. Invisible. Isolated. We each have 250-300 students on our caseload.  My only interaction with any of them is the comments in google classroom. Apparently only some teachers (core, in this case) deserve any token of appreciation and I am not one of them.  It’s ok though, I have enough branded water bottles and coffee mugs after 20 years of teaching.  All I really want is for someone to validate how hard this year has been. For EVERY teacher.  How lonely....,And I’ve been doing it all while simultaneously parenting and grieving the death of my father.  Nobody knows that.

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This year has been relentless as a new teacher. My grade-level teaching partner was pushed out mid-year. Instead of hiring another teacher, they gave all the students to me. I was not given a choice. Now they are asking us if we will work Saturdays next year to combat "learning loss." I don't think I or the kids would survive it.

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Being an academic during this pandemic feels like dealing with my silent death no one knows and cares about.

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They are denying personal days because they are scheduling revenge PD that has us all doing extremely stupid "work" for hours and hours every week on top of remote teaching. They tell us that we are doing this PD because we are incompetent, even though the majority of teachers at our independent school have PhDs and the PD involves ridiculous corporate "team building" stuff that is a giant waste of time. They hate us. I have never in my life felt this reviled. I have to get out, but there is nowhere to go that isn't this. I can't even find the time to apply for other jobs. I'm exhausted, I hate myself, and I hate my life.

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I have been in education for over 20 years and have experience in all levels. Returning to teaching has been the most valuable experience and one that proved to me (from current feedback & my "gut") that I still have what it makes to be a great teacher.  Teaching is a tough job and all administrators  should try it again especially during COVID. Here is a perfect example of why. I was a hybrid teacher prior to us returning to all face to face.  Hybrid teachers have been remote, hybrid, remote, hybrid and now full face to face.  During hybrid I had to create double the lesson plans, one for my async group and one for my in class group.  I don't need to mention the additional health and safety risks. Hybrid teachers have had to flip back and forth and ensure all students SEL and academic needs are met every time while others (many full remote) are receiving a stipend for larger class sizes. We need to recognize all teachers with equity as we do with our students in the classroom.  This is just one of the "awakenings" I have experienced and hope others begin to recognize that not only do teachers need to be valued but also treated with equity.

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I like teaching; I just wish admin would stop dictating one-size fits-all interventions. 

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I like teaching; I just wish admin would stop dictating one-size fits-all interventions. 

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No, every struggling student in the entire district is not struggling for the same reason. If a child needs intervention, it means the child is not learning in the standard way. More of the same is not going to be enough for all students. Some administrators have some teaching under their belts in some area of Please move over and let me do my job.

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Can't even ask off  work because there's not enough staff available to cover my classes.

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Why even have safety advisories anymore?

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Why even have safety advisories anymore?

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Franklin County, Ohio is purple (greatest threat) again, but instead of a stay-at-home order like purple used to mean, we've been directed to "continue normal and necessary activities such as school and work"... so what is the point of even having levels, if we're not even asking people to modify their behavior anymore? Schools here are all-in, 5 days a week now. Unmasked neighbor kids are playing with each other all the time, and if I see another acquaintance announce they're going on vacation I will scream.

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I'm struggling to get work done for my own classes. I'm also supposed to be helping students that are failing. I feel like I'm being torn apart. No matter what I do, it seems like they won't listen. My heart hurts and I feel like a failure.

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I feel like I'm writing detailed sub plans every day.  I'm so tired.

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Was: careful of student number
Now: anyone can come back
Was: Notification about a Covid case
Now: No one needs to know, even if the person was in your classroom
Was: Rigor, rigor, rigor
Now: pass them no matter what

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I am so tired of zoom and all this screen time that is required for school. We've been doing this for over a year and I still can't believe that the school board tried to make distant learning normal.

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My dad is dying, my family is crazy, I'm 25 years old, in my residency year before my first year teaching, I'm behind on grad school assignments, have to apply to teaching jobs, the school just reopened, i'm leading my grade level's in-person pod... my students are the only thing getting me through this year in so many ways because they are so great, but also, fuck this! i hate this! i don't want to be juggling this much emotionally while also doing all this work. it takes such a toll on my body. i can feel the stress accumulating in my head, in my chest. i am too young to be feeling like this. plus i was recently diagnosed with ADHD and i can't find a single place to make a fucking appointment so i can get medicated so i can do my work. and i need to be COVID negative so i can travel to see my dying dad. whom i love so much. who cannot talk anymore, he is so sick. i am so overwhelmed and living in a new city and just need a big hug and a lot of time off. thanks for listening.

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tiny amount of Zoom time to do test prep when my kids are already 2 or 3 years behind and I could be actually teaching them the skills. Why are board members telling us what to do AT ALL when 

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student teaching being unpaid is stupid. I am working around 50 hours a week with no pay for my internship and then going to a part time job on top of that. then told that submitting a plan at 12:05 instead of 11:59 is unacceptable. “Grace” has been thrown out the window I guess. Really wondering if I just wasted 4 years

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In what other profession would the employer be allowed - encouraged, really, to continue putting more unrealistic demands on their employees while also decreasing the amount of time the have to get their jobs done? Teaching is an abusive career.

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I called in sick today. I couldn't handle it anymore. WHAT'S THE POINT? I am a physically healthy person and I feel like I am slowly dying of stress. I am completely self-destructive and to top it off, I am drowning in suicidal ideations.

What kills me right now is knowing how quickly my district would just hire someone to replace me, rather than acknowledging that THEY did this; that they had a chance to help prevent it, but chose not to.

In fact, I think more than anything, if I were to disappear, they would just be annoyed that they had to find someone to cover for me.

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The term "professional" needs to be updated. 

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The term "professional" needs to be updated. 

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How's it going? Young teacher here. Just wanted to see if anyone else felt the same way about these severely outdated standards for being a professional educator.
I feel that the world views the way you express yourself as a direct correlation to how you do your job. Granted, there is always going to be a line, but I feel like these rules haven't changed in YEARS. The world is changing. Teachers should be able to express themselves!

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What a joke. A man that taught for less than five years. Was AP for 2/3 year. Was Principal for 3 years and became superintendent. No one should become an Admin unless they have 10 years of teaching in different grade. Ap for at least 6 and Principal for at least 10 to know what teacher really go through and be knowledgeable to do the job of a superintendent. Students are not stepping stones for someone's career. And he hopes to get a job in the stated edu department. We are working with no curriculum since the year after he got the job. We have no materials to work with. We only have google suit. We create everything ourselves or buy from TPT and adjust it to suit our students needs. We look at neighboring districts curriculum to get ideas of what to teach. In todays newpaper he blamed teacher of an outbreak of Covid in one of our Middle schools. but yet we are not give the proper PPE and have to supply most ourselves. He makes policies or amends others to suit his needs and when they don't work he blames the teachers. I pray he gets a job in the state edu depart. so we can hire someone that will actually do the job right and help us and students. Poor excuse for a superintendent "Of the Year"!

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By thanksgiving I started to have crying spells. I was overwhelmed by everything and everyone. From the district level, constantly putting more and more on our plate, to the parents fighting and arguing because they have to do for their own kids. They didn't want to see that they made those monsters but never really dealt with them until now.
By the first week of December I would drive to work and felt sick. I thought I was having a heart attack or asthma attack. I couldn't go in. I couldn't sleep and everytime the alarm clock would ring I would cry. I was tired and wasted. I had a nervous breakdown. I acted like those nutjobs from the movies swaying back and forth. I could go back. I took and unpaid leave from december to March 1st.  During the time I was out of school I tried not to think about work. I locked my home office and had my husband hide it from me. I asked all my friend not to contact me about school or answer any of my question related to the job.  When February 1st can around I started to look for jobs with my educational skills. I even called our retirement system about "what if I can't return to teaching". Sunday Feb. 28 came and I cried until I feel asleep. when I woke up that evening I did what I could to prepare for the the next day. I decided to do what I can with what is provided for me by the district and administrators but I  won't put my mental health and my physical health on the line again. I have 6 more years plus the three months of unpaid leave. I will work only one hour pass my work day. This will have to do and if they don't like it they can fire me if they can. I have come to the realization that I was a great teacher that went far beyond the call of duty for my students, my school and the community. Now I will become one of those that go in, do what I can and leave when it's time. This summer I hope to look into my next career and leave teaching as soon as possible.

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Finishing this school year will make 3 full years teaching for me, but I am ready to just walk away. I have not experienced a single "normal" year teaching between the strikes my first year and admin that really could care less, COVID starting as well as witnessing a student try to commit suicide in front of the entire 8th grade class my second year, and now this year. I am broken, run down, and overall drained to the point that I feel lifeless. I feel like I am walking around in a fog constantly. I will be leaving teaching this year. I feel like a complete failure and have no idea what to do in life now. I came into teaching excited and full of life and now I am leaving it nothing more than a hollow shell that it seems like everyone hates.

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I think the bags under my eyes are permanent now...

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I think the bags under my eyes are permanent now...

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I am a 5th year teacher. I have gained 40 pounds since the beginning of the school year. 40 pounds. I am so overwhelmed with school that I don't have the energy to cook, and my emotional support calls for high amounts of chinese food. My therapist agrees that this should be my last year in the classroom for a bit. How do you grieve the loss of a community without being able to say goodbye to the children who you gave your heart to for the past three years?

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I am a specialist teacher in two schools servicing over 700 students. The state I work in has told me I must see all 700+ kids in person starting in April. I live in a separate state. I pay taxes in both states. Neither state will allow me to return to work vaccinated. I hate this.

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My high needs charter school is one in which students have teachers' personal phone numbers + it is commonplace for students to text and call teachers after school hours about HW, life, etc. I am really struggling with the zero boundaries, and am feeling like I'm not cut out for the profession due to how exhausted I feel having to be "on" basically 24 hours a day.

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I'm Done Enabling an Unethical System - Hoping for a Massive Teacher Shortage.

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I'm Done Enabling an Unethical System - Hoping for a Massive Teacher Shortage.

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I love teaching, but I am not returning to teaching next year and I hope some of you will consider doing the same.

This year of teaching over Zoom has opened my eyes to ethical issues that I can no longer ignore.

How often do you even get to teach anymore? I am done with months and months of test prep and weeks and weeks of tests that are developmentally inappropriate and not even aligned with the standards most times (instead full of confusing "gotcha" questions that assess nothing). Board members are requiring us to use our tiny amount of Zoom time to do test prep when my kids are already 2 or 3 years behind and I could be actually teaching them the skills. Why are board members telling us what to do AT ALL when some of them have never taught and NONE have ever taught over Zoom?

I have over $50,000 in student loans from my student teaching days and can barely make enough each month to afford the minimum payment after rent and other bills. I have a BS, a credential, and over a thousand dollars worth of professional tests, but then I get treated and paid like (or worse than) a babysitter? I can't make decisions for my students even when MY decisions are backed by research and THEIRS are based on whims and wishes.

I will return to teaching when they:

1. Treat us like professionals - Eliminate most of the top/down decision making and instead respect OUR decision making as the CREDENTIALED ONES (unlike the board members). I like having standards (made by educators), but how about let us actually teach the standards?
2. Pay us like professionals - Min 75,000 a year at public schools. Yep. Anything less is ridiculous for how difficult it is to be a teacher nowadays. Also, a higher entry salary will attract better people!!! Why don't they get this?
3. Value student learning - Let teachers choose the curriculum in the district, let teachers adapt the curriculum as needed, ELIMINATE TEST PREP SEASON, test kids for a max of 1- 2 days in the spring and DO NOT use those tests to evaluate the teacher, use those tests to HELP STUDENTS THE NEXT YEAR. Stop only focusing on the "cusp" kids who can boost your test scores and actually prioritize the students who are most in need of help.
4. New teacher evaluations - I wouldn't mind having to take a (free) test every 5 years or something. I do understand that some teachers out there are very under-qualified and grandfathered in from previously relaxed rules. Observations are also fine.
5. Properly fund schools - School funding should not be tied to property taxes. It is outrageous that this has even continued to this day. I have only ever taught in Title 1 schools and I have NEVER spent less than $500 on things for my classroom. It is absolutely ridiculous. When I subbed in higher income areas it was a different universe. It wasn't even the same job anymore.
6. Restructure classrooms - If your kids are below grade level, and ranging from K reading levels to 6 grade reading levels, it is impossible to give them the help they need if we have 25 kids (which is a small class). In communities where many many students are far below grade level, class sizes should NOT be more than 15 students. Then real learning might actually happen.

All of this is only unrealistic if we keep enabling the system we have. I believe that we are doing more harm than good by staying at this point. They want you to think this is not possible. The truth is, if we can go to the moon and make atom bombs, we can decrease class sizes and pay teachers - I mean, give me a break.

I agree with the previous poster who said this is rooted in misogyny. They don't see teaching as a real profession because they see it as "childcare" (which IS a job but just not our job...but they should value that anyway....) and it is predominately women doing it. I'm done being a martyr and enabling this broken system that DOES NOT HELP KIDS IN TITLE 1 SCHOOLS AT ALL. Everyone wants to just check boxes and look good for the higher ups. I hope that many teachers leave this year and make our demands very clear.

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With our school set to return in the next couple of weeks our principal (for context, a white man at a 98% black school) held a "school reset" meeting. He made clear the expectation that everyone have their camera on and not speak or engage in chat conversation unless he instructed us to do so. (He is pretty zoom illiterate and clearly didn't realize he could turn off the chat feature or read chats while sharing his screen.)

He proceeded to berate us for the unacceptable "culture of complaining" that was taking place among teachers and reminded us that "he had never done anything to cause us to mistrust him". Citing that we need to suck it up for the students, he has banned any type of negative talk in the future, completely disregarding that those "complaints" are completely valid concerns. Not to mention he used chik-fil-a and the patriots football team as examples of what a good organization's culture looks like.

I've been in toxic relationships before, but yikes.

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I don't know how long I can keep doing this.

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I don't know how long I can keep doing this.

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I am a second-year teacher, and I feel like I am drowning. I am working from 7 in the morning often until midnight between creating curriculum, planning, grading, reaching out to parents and students, and trying to stay on top of everything else that gets dumped at my feet. I loved teaching last year; it was hard and exhausting, but it was something I could see myself doing for the next 30 years. Now, I don't know. I feel like everything is being blamed on teachers as if we aren't doing enough already. Somehow, it is my fault that kids are struggling academically and emotionally. Somehow, I am supposed to be able to fix everything that has happened, heal all the trauma and uncertainty from the last year all the while risking my life and the life of my immunocompromised husband. How is this supposed to work? No one has any real answers based on any real experience; we're told to just make it work but will bear the brunt of criticism when it fails, even though we were provided with no resources, no support? I just don't know how long I can keep doing this. I feel like a failure, but it's the truth.

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Our district just announced last week that we are reopening elementary schools TK-6. Our teacher's union has been working on getting an MOU for months, to no avail. Our district won't listen to the teachers.  And one of the problems is that the district has NO viable plan for this return, and every day we get different information as to the hours; the method we are teaching; the number of students we will have; how many days kids will come f2f, etc.  It's so INFURIATING!!  We, as teachers, feel expendable, unappreciated, and ignored!  How is this helping our kids??

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Every day I drive to school. I always wonder what would happen if I just kept driving in a loop and went straight home instead of to the school. I no longer feel valued.

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Our state just said that starting in April all elementary schools must reopen fully with every student in the building 5 days a week and that hybrid/remote learning won't count towards learning hours. Student's don't need to be 6 feet apart anymore either. But it's going to be okay, since children aren't really spreading COVID. It's as if people forget that many adults work in schools too!!! I feel like the government and society just sees me as this disposable tool to be used to try and fix all of the problems in our world. And if I can't fix them, then I am a horrible teacher and I need to try harder. I have a mental breakdown almost everyday. I can't keep doing this for 114 more days. (Yes, I have a countdown of how many days before summer vacation.) I am a first year teacher and I consider quitting every day.

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This site has really helped me through online "teaching." Since December, I have decided to let go of what I cannot change. I just do my best and that has to be good enough for now. Teachers, we did NOT create this pandemic. Teachers, we have no control over what our kids do during Sync time. We cannot stop them from texting, talking on the phone, playing video games, watching YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, knitting, cooking, etc. etc. etc. That's on the parents. We ALL have a job to do. So do they.

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Anti-teacher sentiment I see all over social media and in the news is just disguised misogyny. Taking care of children isn't valuable work and women should risk their lives for the sake of it. What we do is seen as women's natural duty and that we would complain or treat our job like a job goes against their beliefs. Most teachers are women. People hate women. Easy as that.

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My district says we're going back next month but have been stringing us along all year. It seems more real this time, but their plan sucks! We're bringing kids to allow them to not be kids?! To sit and stare at me just because their parents don't want them home anymore and politicians are feeling the heat? Let alone I hear about the students in my class having playdates, going out of town, having parties?! Gamble with someone else's life!

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Oh the cries of (whyte) parents to open schools,
As if teachers and children are just tools.
Suing districts left and right,
Ignorance and entitlement all in expedited flight,
Blaming and targeting a system,
Originally designed for Wisdom.
Shooting themselves in their own foot,
Forcing the youth to march into schools to dissolve into soot.
An epidemia di corruzione,
Self-absorbed and painted irony.
A multitude of conducive knowledge lost,
It is humanity they have blindly tossed.

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I keep seeing some variation, in the NYT and LAT and from my own students' parents, of, "I know it's scary for teachers but my kid isn't motivated at home." Do parents think that teachers wave a magic wand and kids are somehow all motivated in the classroom? I wish I could say to parents: Have you used positive reinforcement? Have you enforced meaningful, predictable, and consistent consequences? In the NYT this morning, at the very BOTTOM of the article, we finally got to hear from a teacher. The teacher was expressing their very understandable frustrations that their life is going to be risked for just a few weeks of in person learning, when the lack of structure and consistency will probably hinder learning rather than be beneficial. This quote was followed by a parent who said basically, "Well my teenager won't get out of bed." You want us to risk our LIVES because your TEENAGER won't get out of bed? Make them get out of bed. Give them something meaningful to do. Take away their phone if they won't listen. Why is it our job to parent your kid? This pandemic is really making me see how little people see teachers as human and how much they see us as magical fairy godparents who can fix any problem your kid has.

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Even before COVID hit, I realized how demoralizing the education profession has become. Now, as a single teacher who's dealt with isolation during the pandemic, the double bomb of "We'll support you in your new position" and "just go find the online video training and implement the program tomorrow" don't help me care for my students, much less myself. I truly don't believe that people really know what it's like for us to have to constantly scramble/pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, and take on all the "family" duties as one person - on top of dealing with the change of life on your own. While couples and families no doubt have their troubles, the single life can be worse. I'm tired of crying. I'm tired of hearing the horrible advice of "Just do ____". "Just go join an online group." I'm tired of the bad self-care "wisdom". I'm tired of watching teachers constantly get shafted for trying to take care of their mental well-being. (Yes, like our students, we also deal with anxiety, ADHD, dyslexia, bipolar, and other conditions. Yet this profession can spit out those teachers like gum.) Not looking for self-pity. But there have to be other careers where teachers can thrive - even in a mostly online job - instead of ... this.

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Our school has been in-person this entire year. It seems like teachers here aren't being taken seriously as being on the front line. I'm labeled an essential employee, but my essential needs aren't being cared for: crappy health care, underpaid, NO COVID SHOT, plummeting mental health (just to name a few). In a time when everyone is being asked to pull together and care for the other person, I am lacking that care. This is my first year teaching and I'm already burnt out.

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As you can see in the caption this is my first year as a teacher and I am 22 years old. As I have been told a lot this year "You picked the best year to become a teach *insert laughs*." Another thing I am also told is that if I can get through this year than the rest of my years will be easy. I am tired. I have other roles also here at school so I feel like I live at the school, which I do not mind, but it gets to me. It also bothers me because teachers make an excuse to teach from home (some do have valid reasons) but then you hear well why am I going to teach at school if the kids are home. Well because it is our job? Or I live to far, well I also live across town (20 minute drive) and do this everyday. Also, my personality is I have everything under control and I do not. Grateful for the people I work with, but for a first year I feel like I should of got a lot more help, but everyone just assumes I got it or that I am ok. I am also a person and still deal with things outside of work. Lastly, when we did have our students for about a month in person, it was great! I love all my students, but once they were back online, it is more tiring and sad. I am young and I know I should not be feeling like this, so hoping to go back to "normal" soon..

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I teach in one of the top five largest school districts in the country (in a high school in the inner city, to boot). Four of the five other large districts are still teaching remotely. I teach in the only one that is FULLY 100% OPEN despite an "exceptionally high risk" COVID burden. This is a major city where thousands of cases are still reported daily.

Get this - I am in the physical classroom, but I need to instruct students who are here physically AND online students at the same time during the same period, because so many students have elected not to return due to - I don't know - common sense? Basic regard for safety? This means that, by necessity and the explicit instruction of my district, the kids here physically and the kids online virtually are both using computers and doing the same assignments. The ones that show (and I do mean the ones that SHOW, as I have about 20-40% physical attendance) are just here to get out of the house. I understand this, as I know many of my population's home lives are difficult.

But to risk my health and the health of others to do the same thing in the physical building as they would at home, as I sit here with two air purifiers and my windows open and a plexiglass shield and stress about infecting my 60-year old father and 92-year old grandmother, just feels meaningless. It feels futile and dehumanizing and wrong. Two teachers in my department alone tested positive for COVID, and we've had hundreds (!!) of students quarantined at a time, multiple times, with several positives. And these are the positives that are reported to the school. I've had many kids say that they are sick and just not get tested.

It's all a show - the return to the classroom, the hygiene theater, the agonizing over learning loss. And our lives and safety hang in the balance.

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In comparison to a lot of stories, my admin aren't the sneaky, "gotcha!!" people who nitpick over lesson plans. They're the rare, genuine people who will step in and defend you if children or parents go against you. They regularly check in on my emotional well being. Does this mean they're perfect? No, of course. But I just wanted to say that I appreciate my admin.

But the welcoming environment from admin and co-workers just makes the guilt so much worse. I want to make everyone proud but I'm so.... tired.

I'm always on the brink of a nervous breakdown but I'm afraid of letting everyone down-- including my own family who say they're so happy I'm earning decent income (yes I know, but single with no kids and still living with parents) and can save up for things I need.

Man, like, I haven't seen a doctor in two years due to no insurance. Hell, I need this job. I should be elated, happy, so fucking RELIEVED to have some stability when compared to so many people, they have it worse.

But...

Online teaching makes me feel like I'm failing every single day. I'm out of ideas, yet there's more and more demands.

"Where are the standard aligned questions? How will you challenge their critical thinking? How will the students be more engaged? What accommodations are you providing?"

Man, I don't fucking know-- I'm here on an alternate route, I literally don't know what I'm doing. I'm bullshitting out of my

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Stop Lying. Also, My School Board is a Joke. 

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Stop Lying. Also, My School Board is a Joke. 

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My school district has been on a hybrid learning model all school year, where students who choose to be in person learners are in the building twice a week. Part of the alphabet comes M/Tues, no one comes W so the school can be "deep cleaned," then the rest of the alphabet comes The/F. My largest class has 30+ students, but my largest in person group has 9 students. My class can comfortably socially distance 16 kids, so it is going ok. The kids wear their masks, we don't share materials, and if anyone gets so much as a cold they stay home (including staff, whose kids get shuffled to other teachers when that happens). It's not great, but I think we're making it work.

HOWEVER.

The Wednesday "deep cleans" are a total farce, and they have been a farce since the beginning. They originally told us not to leave anything on our desks because cleaning staff would come through with a sprayer that would ruin anything left on desks.

I have left my things on my desk every week. Nothing has moved or been damaged. Same with my colleagues. The student desks have also not been cleaned on Wednesdays because we've left stuff on them and nothing has been TOUCHED.

If they think deep cleaning isn't necessary and that our other measures are enough, ok. But they are actively lying to people (even this week) about these cleanings, and it weakens my trust in the other things they say.

Additionally, our school board members are completely out of touch. In the same breath they used to tell people that we are running out of substitute teachers and we have no idea when teachers will get vaccinated, they advocated for sending all kids back full time (so no A/B day). They were advocating for something we aren't even legally allowed to do yet due to the governor's executive order.

They do not care if we live or die. We are expendable.

Which to be honest I already knew 😅

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I am 150% burnt out. There’s a huge fight with union vs. board forcing teachers and students to return in person. I am just tired of it all. The inconsistency, the different plans every 6-8 weeks, exhausting sitting on the computer all day from a building where due to space I don’t even have my own classroom or office. We have been back 3 days already getting notified someone was out due to covid. It’s just bull shit and I’m done. But can’t leave because 1. Health insurance and 2. I'll lose my teaching license.

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My district has lied repeatedly and gone back on their word. They bend over backwards for parents and don't think of US! They've demonized unions & many teachers are brainwashed thinking the district has our backs--they don't. On top of parents not trusting teachers to educate their child, telling their kids this isn't "real school", and constant, "You're doing great!" even though we are drowning...its a lot.

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In July - Aug our school district was testing with the supporting staff if they could work & not get sick. One of the teacher assistants got Covid & the principal failed to tell the TA’s until the end of the work day meanwhile they all had contact with materials being passed down to students. All the administrators refused to have contact with any of the TA’s all day & its because they all knew we might’ve been infected. They all kept it quiet until we finished all their physical labor tasks. We are NOTHING to them. They don’t care if we die or if our family members die.

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In the same day, one Black student was chased out the building by police, while admin publicly praised another Black student who wrote a call to action poem about Black History month.

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for 18 years I've been a teacher. and each year they chip away at our respect, our compensation, our benefits.  They are always so willing to pay lip service to how much they "respect" us but they are never willing to do anything meaningful to show it.

It was bad enough they are willing to see us killed by a society that fetishizes guns, but now in a pandemic they are more then willing to sacrifice a few of thus at their alter of meritocracy.  My wife has cancer, my father in law parkinsons, they make her go into an empty building to teach remotely.  I was just told they were going to double the time we are in the building, the teachers in the building, and the students in the building.  Because the "mental health" of the kids is more important then our actual health.
I can't quit, I can't even take a leave because while I'm not living paycheck to paycheck I am pushed beyond my ability to not work for half a year.
I've dedicated my life to trying to help kids learn science only to watch society ready to throw my life away because they have chosen to ignore it.
I'm not a hero, I'm a god damn mercenary.

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We have been in person since September - 4 days a week, with Wednesdays remote.  My husband is high risk. Our family has been so incredibly careful, but I have to go to school every day with kids whose parents don't believe Covid is real. With deaths in our state climbing astronomically and an outbreak declared in our district just last week, our school board voted tonight to increase our time in school to include Wednesday in person at the elementary school level.   The worst part is that the administrative team (principals and superintendent) recommended this plan - presumably to appease a couple of board members.  And our state recently moved teachers down on the list for vaccines, while stating that schools should try to open full time. No one is thinking about the mental and physical health of staff and students. I have never considered quitting my job or even moving schools until this year.

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I went into teaching later in life. I'm 51 and in my 5th year as a classroom teacher. I just finished my master's program December 2019. I do not have professional status. I am very concerned about my longevity in this new career. I carry the health insurance for my family of four. Changing careers doesn't feel like an option after all of my recent effort to get where I am, especially because we need the health insurance!

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I appreciate connecting with families but I am always so frustrated by the parent teacher conferences we have. 3x a year it’s always the same parents who are able to come- majority white AP parents who are concerned about the most uncessary things like if their kid is responding to comments on google classroom. All your kids have so much support. Good grades. You email and request and want to know so much.

The majority of my students are struggling in the pandemic- families sick, housing issues, working themselves in grocery stores, food insecurity, babysitting siblings. Why can’t we just use our 3 he conference time to support those students? Make a system where those are the families we are connecting with?

So frustrating that their is such a variety of experiences in one classroom and I really wonder if some parents understand that. I love their students too, of course. But the disparity is always so clear when families come into play, when our school fails to support its most vulnerable, when over-involved parents have a greater voice when they need the least.

And now I feel bad for writing this but ugh I dread meetings with the same 20 families of straight A kids who you help to stay organized, proof read their essays, and seem unaware of the realities happening next door.

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My dad passed away 2 weeks ago. I took a leave off from work for a week , broken,  because I couldn't be there for my dad's burial.  I returned to work the following week, ready to face my students  on Zoom. In front of the camera, I probably look ok to my students and parents. Life goes on, it is what it is.  True, life goes on but this is not the kind of life  I'm supposed to live. I cry every night, as I grieve for my dad.  He died alone in the hospital, too soon, before my mom or brothers  had a chance to see him. These images of him suffering, alone in the hospital till his death, won't leave my thoughts. He didn't die of COVID, he gave up on life, he was depressed and it took a toll on him, his heart failed. Yet everyday, when I go to work,  I pretend that I'm moving on and I'm ok, but I'm not. On the bright side, my students  make me smile. Seeing them everyday, eager to learn, always early in the zoom waiting room, give me a few hours of happiness, before the sun goes down, before I'm back again in the coldness of reality.

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My principal thinks that having dress-up days (for teachers, not students) and free food (that I don't touch because no communal food in a pandemic, thanks) make up for real leadership and standing up to our district for teacher needs. I don't think morale could get lower...but then again, I said that in the fall, too.

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I hate teaching. I get observed regularly and people keep telling me how good of a teacher I am. They can tell I put in effort even when I'm feeling down. They kids are happy and thriving, I have the perfect tone of voice and speaking rhythm. Yet, I hate my job, I have come to dislike my school in these new, trying times, I cry on my way to work, during my prep, on my way home, or I cry myself to sleep at the thought of going back the next day. If being a good teacher means acting like everything is ok when I wish I was dead, I'm not sure I want to be a teacher anymore. But, that being said, It's only the third quarter. I signed a year contract. I have to push through and continue to act like I don't hate everything in my life for another four months. And even then, what do I do? I've been a teacher for five years. I've thought almost every grade level from first grade to seniors in high school. I don't know how to do something else. So what the hell am I supposed to do?

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My school has been in session all year as we are located in a rural area in a conservative state that doesn't seem to think the virus can affect us here. I contracted Covid after literally only going to work and my empty house for two weeks straight. It is clear to me I got it from the school, but I don't know from who because nobody else seems to have any symptoms. I am a lucky one though. I consider myself young and healthy, so my symptoms are minimal. I haven't seen any friends or my boyfriends in three weeks now, so luckily I know they are safe. I am now teaching a class of students who are still in the school while I sit on my computer at home. It makes very little sense to me, but I guess I'm glad I can keep working.
Nevertheless, the first semester just ended and I can't fathom that we are only half way through this year. I don't think I can repeat that first half. I used to think my school was a great place to work. It's my favorite school I've taught in so far, but Covid regulations and people's reactions to them have ruined everything. I no longer feel like I am in a positive work environment. I don't enjoy working with the kids. I don't know how to continue this year, pretending that I am happy for the kids' sake. I'm sick, I'm scared, I'm falling back into a depression as I think of returning to school. I just don't know how to continue.

I just don't know.

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I'm at seventh year teacher at a school and I've always loved it here. Since the pandemic started, engaging our students remotely has been a challenge. We are a rural community in Maine where the wealth distribution is spread far and wide. I as an educator, am teaching hybrid and remote learners while burning out trying to do both. I have students look at me and ask, "When can we go back to normal school?" and "When can we work with our friends again?" Interactive online activities and spread apart students aren't long solutions. Will this ever change post pandemic? Maybe, I'm just tired out already and ready to walk away.

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CDC Moved the Goalpost...so we're punting again.

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CDC Moved the Goalpost...so we're punting again.

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I've just been informed we'll be back in our rooms in 2 weeks after being remote since October, despite the fact that the COVID numbers have only gotten worse. Apparently, the CDC guidelines now say worse is okay, I guess, when it comes to schools. So glad to know the nation values us so little.

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Parents treating teachers as disposable 

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Parents treating teachers as disposable 

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Multiple families traveled over the holidays. Several are now in quarantine because of exposure and/or a positive test. At least two families traveled but refused to test or quarantine. Kid is in my class 3x a day. Half the grade is hybrid rn. Today, a parent emailed me to ask if I could finish her daughter’s recommendation letters before they leave for Disney this week. They just finished quarantine for a potential exposure and now they’re going to Disney. I knew I was signing up for parental disrespect. I didn’t realize they’d have complete disregard for my actual life.

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I am lucky enough to work in a state where the COVID numbers are relatively low compared to the rest of the US, but we are starting to catch up. After spending the summer taking courses and workshopping (for free, mind you) with colleagues to prepare for virtual instruction, my district simply refuses to use that life saving option.

We've had ten cases in two weeks, which sounds totally under control, until you take our tiny district population into account. Our superintendent will not budge; "students are safer with us than they are at home or in the community." Up until yesterday, we've sent a boilerplate email alert to staff and community members each time someone tests positive at one of our schools.

Yesterday, someone tested positive at our HS, but the building remained open while contact tracing was conducted. I can only surmise that affected students/staff were kicked off campus as they got the call from the State. Now, Admin has decided that we will no longer send alerts unless an in-school COVID case "materially affects operations." Unless we have to close or a large percentage of staff/students are quarantined, we will no longer contact the community. This, in addition to the fact that our building is no longer sharing student and staff attendance records at the beginning of the day, a practice that dates back at least 12 years, makes me incredibly afraid.

Before, we were "building the plane as we flew." Now, we're "building the plane as we fly it" BLINDFOLDED.

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With every image and every video surfacing, I’m fearful I’ll see my student’s face. He said he was going to DC for the rally and inauguration and has quietly (and in moments when other students aren’t around and he’s a bit early to class) told me his support has always been with Trump. I’ve seen images of him in our town at Trump Train rallies - always without a mask. He still came to school everyday. We’re hybrid as a district but he still risked my health by attending class everyday leading up to Election Day las semester.
He wasn’t at school yesterday or today. I’m nervous I’ll see an image of him and, again, wonder if he’s thinking of harming me. I’m nervous that though I don’t believe what he thinks is truth, I worry he may be injured. He’s one of my students and despite his support of those denying my existence... somehow I still care. He’s my kid, you know?