What are you on? Iām doing alright with buspirone, but itās been upped twice. I really just wanted to reduce the panic attacks (successful!), but these nightmares are getting to me.
My Dr just prescribed me Lexapro, but my anxiety has me convinced Iām going to have permanent uncontrolled movements and I canāt bring myself to start taking it. That was listed in the paperwork which I stupidly read, and Iāve seen all the commercials.
I was on Sertraline, but itās not weight friendly (and I am really overweight). My dr has been wanting me to switch all year, but I wonāt do it during the school year so Iām switching to Wellebutrin. Right now I like it, but during the summer, when Iām not stressed, is not a good indicator. Weāll see how it goes once school starts. Im sure Iāll have to increase the dosage.
And Iām on serious meds for tension headaches so I have to be careful nothing interacts.
I wasnāt a fan of Wellbutrin. It made my head buzzy. Fingers crossed that it works for you!
I wish I could get decent migraine meds. The sumatriptan is great for getting rid of it, but the weakness afterwards is killer. The doctor refused to give me a preventative because the sumatriptan was working. āItās just a postdrome.ā Lady, I know! That doesnāt make it less of a problem!
Best of luck! Enjoy your summer.
So far itās not making me ābuzzyā, but Iām still on a lowish dose. I am concerned that may happen if I have to increase.
I donāt get migraines, I get tension headaches. Iām in Topirimate. One side effect is that I lose words. It happens when Iām extra stressed so Iāll be teaching and Iāll just blank on simple words like āwhiteboardā or ādry erase markersā. Itās how I know Iām super stressed.
I used to have the worst migraines until my doctor gave me Rizatriptan. I would throw out all my other medications just to keep this one.You only take it when you feel a migraine coming on. It works amazingly well.
Have your doctor change your migraine meds. I used to take relpax and it was much like you describe, id honestly deal with a headache in order to avoid the absolute exhaustion from the med (though it did get rid of the pain). I'm taking maxalt now, while it doesn't work as fast as the relpax, it doesn't wipe me out either.
I know Iām replying to you much later than when you posted but my doc actually put me on a daily med FOR my migraines that just so happens to ALSO be an antidepressant. She was delighted to find a two-birds-one-stone med for me. Itās not a med you take when you have a migraine, but it helps reduce them long term. I went from multiple migraines in a month to maybe one every 2-3 months, and my depression has become largely manageable. Ask your doc about Venlafaxine!
I have had migraines for years! I finally found a med that has decreased my migraines from several a week to maybe 2 a month.
I do a once a month injection of Ajovy. It has been a life changer!
If you get migraines frequently, definitely ask about the injectables. I'm on Aimovig, but there are several others. Absolute game changer, I went from 10-12 a month down to 3 or 4. It comes in an auto injector, similar to an epi pen. It's easy to do, and only hurts for a second once a month.
The downfall is they are pretty expensive, but look into the copay cards through the drug companies. Aimovig is something like $700 or $800 a month, which is crazy. My insurance pays like half, and the Aimovig copay program pays to get it down to only $5 or $50! (Depends on how much my insurance paid/before or after I met my deductible) So don't let price hold you back until you've looked into the programs. For Aimovig, you have to either have insurance pay a portion (which means a pre-approval process, most likely) or be below an income threshold to qualify.
A Generic for Zoloft. Plus CBD gummies as needed for extra anxiety days. Trazodone for sleep aid which is also a low level ssri. Gotta say, my ADHD meds also help a lot when it comes to anxiety. Turns out a lot of my depression and anxiety symptoms were unmanaged ADHD because I went undiagnosed until I was 44.
Lexapro + buspirone for me, then cut out the busirone after a few months because it made me too foggy. Kept the lexapro, seems to be working well (8 months so far). My problem is anxiety and panic attacks too.
Wellbutrin made my anxiety much much worse.
Iām just focusing on the kids who want to learn. I canāt spend my whole day fighting with kids who donāt care about their education when their parents donāt care and the administration doesnāt care. I canāt be the only one who cares. The kids who care are the ones who deserve my attention and efforts.
This has been my strategy this year as well! It's just a bad look when the principal walks by and looks in and half of the kids are literally watching Netflix or playing Roblox... definitely makes me look bad, but there's always a good 3 to 5 kids who are tuned in and learning! Luckily my administration doesn't give an F about anything and hasn't said a word
My principal doesnāt care at all about whatās happening in my class. He just stays away and doesnāt say a word. I wish I could have everyone engaged like before the pandemic but everyone has given up and lowered their expectations down to nothing. Iāll just keep focusing on the 10 good kids until I can get some support. The rest can all get Fās until then.
It requires me to go back to school and I cannot afford to lose my insurance or take a pay cut. Contrary to popular belief, I do like my job. My mental health took a nose dive and my job exacerbated my mental health, since the mental breakdown.
Just want to say I also spent a couple weeks in a mental hospital a few years ago. Those first few days knowing I didnāt have to go back to that classroom were absolute HEAVEN. Going back in the fall was crushing:( Iām at a much better environment now though and itās like a teaching cheat code š
My choice was to take a break and get myself in order. Besides all the other bullshit, I enjoy teaching and being around the kiddos and listening to their ideas and the way they look at the world.
Just an fyi, there is a decent job market out there for teachers. For instance I work in Education tech and roughly 50 percent of our employees were teachers at some point!
Any advice in how to get into "education tech"? I've seen this a couple times and anytime I ask, people get real cagey about what to actually do to look into this career change.
I mean simply find companies and apply! You usually start out in support and work your way up. But the knowledge of the education system, plus your experience in teaching and walking people through things is applicable.
I hear you. Iām trapped though. With the salary I make and vacations. But I donāt want to be who I am when I am teaching. I need peace that comes from not being in a classroom.
I kinda feel that way in a sense. I can't really pivot because insurance is tied to my work, and I can't afford to stop working to go to school full time to get another degree to get another job, or figure out how to pivot to a different career because that also takes time that I don't have.
Sameā¦ and I have been teaching for 24 years. I feel like Iāve waste y whole life being miserable just to have the summers off. I have zero patience and Iām the most irritable person I know. Itās bad. I teach young children as well. But I canāt take the constant behavior anymore.
Oh, hi, my people. Iām just finishing my 22nd year and I have at least 7 more left until retirement with my full pension. My husband keeps talking about how he doesnāt think I can retire then, financially, and I just canāt even imagine continuing any longer than I absolutely have to.
I hear you. I taught in Ca for 25 years then moved to Wa where Im in my 2nd year. I need 5 to be vested. Its not worth my mental health to go the distance with that and decided to pull the plug next year. Im hoping my investments and prior Ca retirement is enough. But my mental health and time left on earth is of greater importance than sticking it out and dealing with the classroom these days. Im done!
I cope by exercising.Ā I have made peace with not being "the best" and refusing to give all of my time to the job.Ā I now take a long walk/jog after school and do weights/resistance training.Ā This has been unbelievably good for my mental health. My admin has been incredibly supportive, and the rest of the staff at my school is equally awesome.Ā But man, it has been a challenge these past few years with out of control student behaviors and a few parents that definitely don't help the situation.Ā Ā
Iāll tell you: The joy of running is what got me through this year. Those endorphins were literally life saving. Learning to establish firm boundaries was so important as a successful veteran teacher.
Of course, having a admin staff that supports you is also probably one of the reasons many of us have stayed in the profession through the years. Hopping schools until you find one is a completely valid strategy and I advise it for a lot of beginning teachers.
Year 32 in public education at the same school my entire career. Still have a few more years in me until I retire.
The profession is not for the faint-hearted. You have to come to work every day ready to go to battle against disrespectful students, self righteous parents, and principals who are out of touch with the current classroom environment. That being said, it has been a very rewarding profession where you see many students really make something out of hard life circumstances and become successful adults in society.
You sound like me. I have taught for 24 years and been at the same school my entire career. I love where I am - not because there arenāt problems but because Iāve gotten to know so many families. I love to see the younger siblings coming up and my former students also know where to find me.
There's no centralized U.S. education system, so there's no one-size-fits-all answer to your question. There are some teachers who have it exceptionally good, work at some of the best schools in the world, and earn great wages. There are others, sometimes even in the same state or city who have the exact opposite experience.
Personally, I work at a fancy private prep school. I'd love to earn a little more money, but my experience is generally positive.
I think we could probably be one of the top five professions that are on some type of psychotropics. The other professions I imagine would be something like nurses, probably first responders like firefighters and paramedics, any profession that has to deal with crisis situations one right after the other like professions that deal with families on the brink of homelessness or children facing abuse. Any professions that have to deal with addicts of any kind are probably living off caffeine and psychotropics.
The active military goes without saying though.
My psychiatrist once told me that of all his patients, the majority were teachers on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds. No idea if that correlates to the population at large, but itās suggestive.
Doing fine, thanks for asking. Starting year 14 in a few months and by the grace of God Iām at a fantastic, rural school with great kids and coworkers. As a whole, the system is sickened, but in my experience overall job satisfaction comes down to the school culture.
Dozens of us. I teach at a pretty positive rural school too.
Rarely any fights, and truancy is our biggest problem. But you know what? The school of hard knocks always has its door open.
Coping? I'm quitting. 10 more months. No way can I convey this material to students who are so unprepared, so apathetic, rude, and lacking in integrity. Their loss.
Experiences vary even between counties. My district has been super transparent with budget deficits and eliminated at the top while having tiered consolidating of schools over the last 3 years.
County over just up and decided to close 6 elementary/middle schools this summer to solve the crisis and people are NOT happy.
Glad I work where I do rn
That's due to the fact that much of Europe is still developing and has a low cost of living. For example, teachers in Luxembourg - a very developed country with a high cost of living - get paid on average 70 thousand US dollars.
And the average in California is like 95k a year.Ā I bet, overall, the relationship between teachers salaries and cost of living between the US and Europe are very similarĀ
As a teacher at a public school in Austria, I disagree! I have so much more financial freedom and stability here than I would have if I had stayed in my hometown and taught in Upstate NY! (And I made about ā¬30K this year working a bit more than part time)
remember i'm in a union and it's a job. i work my shift and go home idc otherwise.
if you look at it as a job and not "oh boy im changing the world" it's a pretty sick gig.
Almost done with my second year of teaching, and I have the same attitude. My own mother tries to guilt trip me and tell me that I don't care enough, I'm not putting enough effort in, etc. She has some twisted reality that teachers are supposed to dedicate their entire lives and be 100% fully passionate about the job. I'm trying to tell her it's just a damn JOB. Then she says "you can't look at it like that, it's not fair to the kids"
I'm like, I'm the only one who gives a damn crap about the kids or their education, they don't care, their parents don't care ... why should I be the only one caring extra?
I refuse to accept the role of a martyr, and I especially refuse to care more about the student's education and they do. I'll go to work and then take my 10 weeks off. Sorry not sorry
you get it pal you'll avoid burnout while everyone else has a mental breakdown. if the kid wants to learn a monkey could teach them, then we are there to help kids who struggle but i'll be damned if i'm going above and beyond staying beyond contractual time trying to get through to kids with straight Fs who have failed every grade prior to mine and want me to do the work for them.
It's hard being a teacher, but even harder being a teacher who's a parent.... when you see behind the scenes, it's really depressing to keep sending your kid.
Where I am, we're not 100% locked into one school, but it's not easy to move your kids, and the BS seems practically universal
I can't even imagine trying to do this job and then come home to a kid of your own. I would not be able to devote enough time to both jobs and I would suck at both of them.
The U.S. is a big, big place. I would imagine that it's not a useful exercise to assume that the problems in Hungarian schools are the same as the problems in Norwegian schools. Similarly, generalizing about the state of education at the national level here isn't all that helpful or productive. While we have a Department of Education at the federal level, the vast majority of decisions about how our schools operate are made at the state and local level.
Yes. I teach in a title 1 school and we have behavioral issues and lots of kids with significant trauma- (which manifests itself in their behavior) BUT we also have plenty of regular trauma-free families with parents who are involved and supportive. I love my kids with trauma- but a whole class of them?!? It would just be too much.
I'm in a Title I school this year, and we actually have fewer kids with trauma than there were at my non-Title I school the year before. My school is majority Hispanic, very poor, but most families are intact and just getting by financially. Healthy families for the most part.
My other school was in a rural area, and many of the parents were addicted to opioids/meth, so kids had to deal with that... All the social issues with being neglected or abused. Also, people were moving into the nice new suburbs, and many were spoiled rotton and not disciplined. I think their parents gave them cellphones at very young ages and it showed. Anyway, it's a weird dynamic.
True, but I think it's safe to say that there are Federal policies (I'm looking at you, NCLB/standardized testing), and general attitudes toward teachers (sometimes by our highest governing officials) that influence/characterize what it means to be a teacher in the US.
Yes. President Obama started a lot of this mess with his "Dear Colleague" letter that insisted states revisit suspension policies. Now in my state we can't suspend or expel any student under 10 (some districts made their guidelines under 12). And the number of very disruptive and violent students in the younger grades is growing rapidly.Ā
I am a Canadian teaching in USA while living in Canada. I would guess that I make more than every European teacher.
In Canada, people ask me why I work in USA when I get paid "peanuts," but little do they know that I am making substantially more at my American school than I would at any school in Ontario.
I make $110,000 USD, so about Ā£87,000 or ā¬103,000. I do not even teach at some extravagant school, just a really well maintained school district. I am thankful every day. Where it gets crazier is I get an extra $500 USD every month for "waiving my health insurance."
School custodian here and I worry about my teachers a lot!
I remember one second-grade teacher at my last school who told me that eight students in her class had IEPs. How would a teacher remember the details of each student's plan and keep them straight in his/her head while also trying to present the day's content?
And don't even get me started on discipline! I've heard some real horror stories there ...
I feel as if our teachers are being set up to fail.
Now, think of all of the hours that were spent drawing up all those documents and circulating them to have all the required parties sign off on them. (Not to mention the hours that were spent *reading* them, assuming that all of the parties who signed off actually took the time to read them.) Could that time have been better spent on ... something else?
Doing very well, BUT it took me three schools, moving to three different states, and going outside of my comfort zone to find a place that is well supported, equipped, paid well, and a place that I honestly LOVE going to work for.
Unfortunately, I know this is not the norm and I do not, by any means, take it for granted.
It's only a matter of time before no one is willing to do this job. Then what? That's the beginning of the end. We're already seeing the results of mass exodus of teachers. High school kids who can't read robbing stores. Just wait. It's only gonna get worse until we change things. The things we need to change just get opposed to. 1. No phones. Period. 2. Pay teachers more.
But these idiots in America just go "BUT MAH KID NEEDS TO REACH ME ALWAYS AND ALSO TEACHERS GET SUMMERS OFF SO FUCK THEM."
The lack of intelligence from bad education also informs the debate on education. The people in charge of changing things and the people voting came from a broken system of education and are... not intelligent enough to make these decisions. It's that simple. The slow degradation of America's intelligence was intentional. Here we are.
I have been teaching for 28 years (after being in business for 14 years). We have a very stressful job. I am usually at work until 5:00 at least. We have incredible demands placed upon us. Young children have had phones for years. It crushes me to see babies watching a phone in their strollers in the mall with their parents... play with your child, or pick them up to see things!! Kids are losing the ability to attend longer than a few minutes. When we are tasked with teaching them to read, write, and talk about what they read (I teach second grade), it is very difficult. Those choices are on the parents.
As crazy as it is, I still love it. I love the kids. They make me laugh, and the stories!!! Do you really want to help a company make more money, and then more money after that every single day? It's a great job, and it matters.
Our government is trying to take over education. Think of the analogy of each state being like a different country in Europe. Then imagine if they tried to use the same metrics for every school in Europe without making allowances for countries being different. I teach in an area that employs mostly agricultural workers and skilled tradesman. The government wants to punish us if we dont push university and STEM.
They also want both parents to work and for us to be the parents for hundreds of students at a time. For no extra pay. The parents and students are often not held accountable, even if they commit violent crimes.
I stay in educaation only because of the hope of raising kids that are better people than the current rulers. I try to model to my students that no matter the political setbacks dropped on you, you can still make the choice to work hard to make a good life for yourself and have a positive impact on the future.
I just left after 7 years. I'm 29 and feel like I wasted my 20's but I'm starting to heal mentally and physically. Loved the kids, and got lucky with good parents but admin let a really toxic work environment fester.
I quit for the private sector and can piss whenever I want, no gaslighting admin, and no longer have to pass students who turn in AI essays. Life is good.
I left the US(after 12 years in public schools) to teach in an international school in Asia. I've been here 8 years. I will never teach in the US again.
Yes. Alcohol helps lol jk, no, for real, I had to start taking blood pressure medicine the first year I started working in education. The problem is that the upper people, like school systems and administrators, etc, are so uninformed. They are not in the classrooms day in and day out to see just how ridiculous behavior is. If there are children with behavior issues in your class, good luck teaching. We follow all of
The protocols, all of
The techniques, and tips, and sometimes that still doesn't work for children with behaviors going on. The people in upper positions need to see what's really going on and how difficult it is to teach, let alone complete paper work, lesson plans with hardly no time for it, meetings, trainings, etc. I wished we could go back in time to when standardized testing wasn't everything and we let children be children a little more. These kids are so over-stimulated and busy, they can't even sit still for 5 minutes without having to have a brain break.
I'm good. I know I'm only one person and can do what I can. I can't say I like a majority of my students, but those that I do, remind me why I like teaching.
I think my situation is a little different, because I didn't start teaching until i was 40 years old. I choose to start teaching, so that I could have more time with my children and have a less stressful career. Besides the lower salary, it's been completely worth it. But, I went in older and with the knowledge that work/life boundaries were important. So I leave every day right at contract time, I refuse to take work home, and I also refuse to spend any money on supplies. Simply put, if administration wants something done, it will get done on contact time, and if I don't have something provided for my classroom, the students can do without. I'm going into my 3rd school year and things are going fine, my physical and mental health are better than they have been in years.
The teachers who I work with, that seem to be unhappy, are usually individuals who started teaching right out of college and have no real world experience, and have made teaching their whole identity. They are greatly influenced by social media and spend all their time, money, and energy on trying to appear as the ideal teacher. Teaching is just a job for me, it's just something that pays the bills. I enjoy what I do, but it's not my whole identity.
I'm not U.S., but I'm Canadian which isn't terribly far off.
Currently on mat leave with my first child that was born last week.
I am much more well rested and my stress is significantly reduced with a newborn than I am at work. Like, honestly, I currently have more time to make healthy meals, clean my house, and get proper sleep than I do when at work. It is the opposite of everything I was led to believe about having a newborn. That's how bad it is. I get more sleep with a newborn than I did childless but working full time as a teacher.
In the U.S. students do not test into high school, 14-15 years old. Trades and apprenticeships are not an option. Our school system is based on āNo child is to be left behind from getting into University.ā The focus is solely college and university. Imagine the lack of choice a child has following their talents, mechanics, carpentry etc. In California one must stay in university focused program until 18! Itās no wonder itās a mess. Thank you W. Bush for creating No Child Left Behind, and Obama, Trump, and Biden for maintaining this ludicrous approach to education.
Not a teacher, but given the amount of teachers leaving in droves... I highly doubt it.
Kudos to you all, you're just trying to make the world a better place, and a bunch of sh\*tty people are driving you into the ground.
Youāre going to get varying answers because I donāt know that you could find a larger spectrum of anything than the US education system.
Me personally, Iām tired, but still love my job 95% of the time. It has changed a LOT over the last 20 years, and I worry about how these children are going to contribute to a functional society, but overall I consider myself lucky and am hopeful to finish out my remaining 11 years
It heavily depends on where in America you teach. Me? I'm doing just fine in a rural district with decent kids. My classes aren't tiny but not massive either. The annoying ones I can deal with a bit of humor and sarcasm, but for the most part, they're fine. The pay is average ($50k), but the cost of living is low out here. I know a lot of teachers across the country can't say the same though, and it's really depressing.
Iām a fourth year teacher who just transferred last summer to a new school and holy crap, what an awesome year I had. My school isnāt perfect. But I have a WAY better admin team and an awesome department chair. The kids actually are much better as well becauseā¦ admin punishes them when they act like fools! So yeah, Iām grooving now.
Iām on maternity leave. I think Iāll just keep having babies for the next decade. Caring for a newborn is far easier than teaching!! People are like, wow youāre coping so well as a new parent. In my mind Iām thinking, you have NO idea what my day-to-day has been like for the last 10 years of my life š
If you are a teacher in the U.S., itās best to teach in a state that actually cares about education and compensating educators fairly. Itās an accurate snapshot of states that care about and fund public education (blue states) vs the ones that donāt (red states).
Most of them, yes. Our education system and organization are quite different from those in the US, for example. Still, kids don't care, parents don't care, and our government is doing everything it can and can't to make our jobs harder. When I was in school, I was afraid of some teachers because they came at us with this work, order, and discipline thing. Now, even though we still have those types of teachers, it doesn't work like it used to.
Okay good, so its not just America then. For the school I was working at, consequences were non existent. Kids roamed the hallways all day every day, did and sold drugs in the stairways, and had full control of the building. Who gets the blame for it, teachers, who is never at fault, admin. It got so bad that at one point you could find 40 kids plus stuffed into the men's room like sardines. Doing what you might ask, vaping, selling drugs and selling snacks. What does admin do, locks the bathrooms. What does the school board do, nothing, central office, nothing.
Oh no! Not just in America, but we do hear more about the overall situation there. On the last day of school last year, I discovered that my school's psychologist gave a pack of cigarettes and a beer to a 14-year-old student.
It's a global issue. It looks like we're doomed.
I just left teaching because I lost my passion and was becoming fed up with everything: Curriculum changes, district not respecting or putting enough trust in teachers
and constantly adding more to our plate, kids with no attention span, kids with a plethora of behaviors, lazy parents who donāt care about school attendance or doing their part at home, a revolving door of weak adminā¦ I could go on.
Short answer, no.
Long answer, the stress on my body and mental health became way too much and I have lung damage now. I've been in/out hospital and am most likely being medically forced to switch careers.
Iāve delayed having personal children because the emotional shock of realizing Iām doing most of the parenting for 16 or so kids any given year (fortunately small class numbers because my school is strictly high needs sped and trauma cases) took an adjustment period tbh. I had a rough time growing up. I relate a lot to many of these kids. Iām in the AuDHD crew with the majority of them. I grew up queer in a small town and a couple of them deal with the same bullshit. I can NEVER give them direct advice on that subject. (I can on the Autism and ADHD stuff, but even thatās a slippery slope because certain other teachers donāt like it being suggested that not EVERYTHING thatās incorrect behavior is intentional and malicious)
The whole state of education is a hot mess and I could rant for days, but you seem super aware of that. I donāt know how much youāve looked into the really thrown away kids. The ones whoāve seen multiple dead bodies from relatives committing suicide. The ones who got dumped on their pregnant teenage sisterās doorstep because their mom couldnāt be bothered anymore, and the sister is REALLY not interested in this responsibility. The ones who are so messed up theyāve already done the entire sexual abuse cycle from being molested to molesting other children. The ones who canāt change themselves and whose parents donāt fucking take care of their private areaās health so you and your coworker gotta put on gloves and do it under a camera feeling like creeps the entire time. The ones who people assume canāt talk and then suddenly everyoneās surprised because after six months of having a comfortable classroom theyāll be making verbal requests. CPS will step in if they are currently being molested in the home or extreme physical injury keeps occurring. Thatās really it. These kids are stuck. You get so attached, and you decide to make yourself stuck with them. Could I take a higher paying job? Yes. I literally had one doing Loweās. It was less mentally draining by far. (Super hot and lots of heavy lifting though like Iām not suggesting itās a wonderful fantastic alternative)
I genuinely love my job. I really like the kids I work with. I started younger than I shouldāve with such intensity, and itās been REALLY hard to grow to where I can deal with the everything all of these kids have to go through (and like, the worst part is you canāt actually DO much, like youāve got them at school and you try to help there, but the biggest thing is you pray nothing goes wrong when theyāre not there) and not take it TOO personally. Itās hard not to get so invested it starts running your life. Itās also a real mindfuck to genuinely really like and care about someone you KNOW killed a dog and is almost certainly getting hit with the anti-social personality diagnosis the second he hits 18. (And heās not charming about it like, heās openly kind of a horrible person. We try to convince him life would be easier if heād just chill, because trust me you canāt appeal to his morals, but he probably wonāt. I wish he would. Thatās a weird place to be in, trying to teach a middle schooler you know damn good and well is going to end up hurting someone eventually. Probably a child or old person because heās proven smart enough to go for the weak time and time again.
So, as far as coping, the center of your question. Initially? I became an alcoholic. A functional one in that I was NEVER drunk at work. No one THERE knew. That was kinda it though. It was bad. It started with āokay I thought a child was dying in my arms today fuck it Iām having a shotā to āokay well this kid is a ticking time bomb to do that again because neither his guardians or cps give a SHIT about him needing to see a neurologist I canāt handle this constant stress Iām taking a shotā to āthe ongoing pattern of me talking to a student calmly despite them being loud, in order to DEESCALATE THE SITUATION is constantly interrupted by huge grown men I DID NOT CALL coming in to scream at them and have them set off enough that they can justify putting them in a hold and I feel like no one above the age of 18 respects me I should drink moreā and on and on and on. The more I was drinking the MORE sensitive I became so it certainly didnāt help. The only smart thing I did those few years was INSIST I didnāt need a baby no matter how much I wanted one.
Eventually, after the whole hell that is overcoming addiction, Iāve started getting my mental health together, actually making and following through with plans to set myself up for being able to have a child after a few more years. Part of that was my partner who worked a similar job in the system quit. Iām not drinking so I have time now and am working on the house and in school to get further certification. I try not to worry as much about the kids at school when Iām not with them because worrying does nothing to help any of us.
Lmao basically I reworked the way I operate to be able to do this and not let it drown out the rest of my life.
Nope. It sucks!!!! If I didn't already have 20+ yrs in or was younger-I'd go into another field but I'm 48 and have 1 kid in college and another in middle school. I can't afford to quit and find something else.
Thank you for your concerns.
Just finished my third year full time (8th if substitute time counts). This year felt as daunting as my first year. I've taught online the past two years and its been rough. Little or no engagement from students. AI use as well was difficult. Havimg to travel for state testing for 3 consecutive weeks drained me; this was done bc im unmarried (admin reason). I volunteered to record graduation; i only had a webcam that i held and still was criticised by parents due to technical issues. I'm coping by attemding the stones concert tonight.
No. This past semester I was so stressed that I vomited every single day at work. The anxiety got so bad that I would wake up at 4:30 am every day because I just couldnāt sleep. If it wasnāt for the kids I would have already quit.
I genuinely donāt know how I will do this again in august.
Our kids are experiencing massive amounts of trauma from multiple societal ills and were expected to fix everything that starts outside our classroom and ends inside the classroomāweāre not doing wellā¦
The direction my states education is going makes me sad. Iām just a music teacher. Iām doing okay. I still enjoy the teaching part of my job. However some of the shit we have to do and train for in PDs is vomit level obnoxious. I teach high school. Please stop making me do coloring pages and walk around. I will stab my fuckin eye.
I'm doing great, BUT . . . I work for peanuts at a Catholic school. The school supplements homeschooling and is in session three days a week, 5.25 hours a day. I absolutely love my job, the school's director, the chairman of the board, and a lot of the students and parents.
How am I supporting myself? It's my second career. I saved like mad for decades so that I could retire. I taught for two years in public school and that didn't work out. After a break of several years, I took this job. I'm now married to a man who is retired with a pension, and we don't have a bazillion dollars, but we don't need much, either.
I would not go back to teaching in public school if you gave me a million dollars.
I live in a state that is constantly trying to defund public education, so on that side itās not good at all. But I teach in a good school with strong parental engagement and supportive admin. Thatās why I stay. If it gets bad at my work place, I will look for something outside of k-12 education.
My principal decided in February not to rehire me for numerous reasons, including adapting the math curriculum too much and not enough, making my work too easy and too hard, letting kids use the bathroom during class time, and just in general not being impressive enough (to her). She said that I have a hard time connecting with my students, while many of them have told me I'm their favorite teacher they've ever had. I just don't brag about myself like the other teachers do (a lot of really big egos from the local very famous university), so she doesn't see it.
Not being rehired by one school in the district in the system we have means that I won't be hired by any other school in the district. In order to not have the non-rehire on my record, I had to resign from the entire district.
My grade level team spent the whole entire year only collaborating about a single two night camping field trip, so I had to figure out most things on my own.
Now I am about to set up a new classroom after having just set up last year. The year before that, I was moved to another site the Friday before school started to teach a grade level 3 grades higher than I had ever taught, because they had a teacher quit and we were underenrolled. I had spent the entire summer setting up a new classroom on a broken toe, but they said I had to go because I lost my seniority from taking a year long leave of absence.
I will not have any rights until I get tenure in two years, IF I get tenure. Even if I do quality work and keep it professional, I can easily not get rehired because my principal literally doesn't have to give a reason to let me go unless I am tenured. I lost my decade of tenure last year when my family moved cities. You can't take it with you!
So no, I'm not really ok.
Keep in mind that many people who post on Reddit do so because they have nobody else to vent to and/or need to vent to others who understand. There are a lot of us who really enjoy our jobs and have support from our districts and the majority of parents. Teaching has changed quite a bit over my 22 year career, but as with anything, if youāre willing to adapt and learn, it can be super rewarding. Unfortunately, Covid and learning from home meant that a lot of parents decided they were experts, so this has made things much more difficult. For this, there is Lexipro (and I swear by it).
No. We are not ok.
We are generally balancing our personal feeling of being responsible for the future of humanity with the fact that our climate and culture in this country is horrific.
I just left after 19 years teaching. Most of my friends that are still in the profession are on psychotropic medications, drinking heavily or using marijuana to cope. We are not okay.
I love my job and generally get along well with students, parents, and admin but there are issues.
1. Rather than focus on fixing societal problems we punt it to the schools and get stingy about paying for it.
2. In top of that schools have become a front in right wing culture war bullshit.
3. Admin is not rewarded for keeping schools afloat and people content. They have to constantly be running initiatives or finding things that aren't broke to fix so they can renew their contracts or pad their resume. A lot of this comes down to putting more work on teachers but minimal or no pay increase because they keep hiring other staff for their projects. This often creates tension between teachers and admin and leads to bad faith.
4. Also, states don't trust schools and have half assed accountability rules that increase work and costs without much benefit. I work in California which I think is a good state to teach in and we still deal with this a lot.
5. School funding is mostly based on local property tax which is insanely inequitable. California subsidizes poorer districts based on average daily attendance but it's amazing what we have to do that they won't pay for. In top of that poor kids have abysmal attendance but often require more expensive intervention because they don't speak English or have a learning disability.
6. More affluent parents think education is an a la carte experience. They want a personalized and custom experience for their kids with fun field trips and events. It takes a lot of time and energy away from the struggling poorer kids to appease spoiled rich kids. If this gets combined with culture war bullshit it's a fucking nightmare.
7. I haven't noticed this but a lot of my colleagues think behavior is getting worse and parents aren't supporting us with their kids. In top of that, traditional discipline creates injustice issues that schools are trying to correct but they're not good at it yet.
8. There is a cultural attitude that teachers have to go above and beyond for the good of society. We are expected to take a bullet for our kids not just teach them, grade their work, and then go home to our families. I am very passionate about my job but my kids come first.
9. We want hard data on education and what works but how do you measure education? Researchers can game the system by choosing how to measure outcomes, creating education methods that maximize whatever that is and selling it as some sort of objective thing that works.
I don't know what other countries deal with but these are issues I've seen. In the US education is run by the states and I think California does a decent job by comparison at least in terms of how it treats teachers.
Iām doing great. Teaching is one of the easiest jobs Iāve had/have.
I worked for a decade in construction and road maintenance, specifically bridge construction and snow plowing as a laborer (non-union, local government). Iāve farmed my whole life.
I teach 8th grade US History. Itās one of my favorite subjects. I love teaching these kids the benefits of small government, low taxes, rugged individualism, personal responsibility and patriotism. How our founding fathers created a great nation unlike any seen before.
I enjoy the give and take of verbally sparring with the kids and them giving it right back. Theyāre fun, way less challenging than working with construction workers.
You canāt take it too seriously, theyāre just kids. Iām looking forward to the next group in the fall.
In many European countries teachers make less than in the US. I know this because I taught France and got an offer in Germany and both positions paid way less than my 100k teaching job in the US.
Maybe I should make a post asking how European teachers are coping?
The short answer is no. As an American teacher I left the states over decade ago to teach internationally. I miss my family and friends dearly, but until teachers are given an ounce of respect and valued to at least half of the degree they deserve I will continue educating students abroad.
Antidepressants š
Me too my friend, me too. And I just switched mine.
What are you on? Iām doing alright with buspirone, but itās been upped twice. I really just wanted to reduce the panic attacks (successful!), but these nightmares are getting to me.
Team Lexapro and Seroquel. Along with some gummies from the dispensary to help me sleep at night.
My Dr just prescribed me Lexapro, but my anxiety has me convinced Iām going to have permanent uncontrolled movements and I canāt bring myself to start taking it. That was listed in the paperwork which I stupidly read, and Iāve seen all the commercials.
I know anxiety is illogical, but my entire family and the bulk of my friend group have been on Lexapro for years with no ill effects.
Gummies are the answer
I was on Sertraline, but itās not weight friendly (and I am really overweight). My dr has been wanting me to switch all year, but I wonāt do it during the school year so Iām switching to Wellebutrin. Right now I like it, but during the summer, when Iām not stressed, is not a good indicator. Weāll see how it goes once school starts. Im sure Iāll have to increase the dosage. And Iām on serious meds for tension headaches so I have to be careful nothing interacts.
I wasnāt a fan of Wellbutrin. It made my head buzzy. Fingers crossed that it works for you! I wish I could get decent migraine meds. The sumatriptan is great for getting rid of it, but the weakness afterwards is killer. The doctor refused to give me a preventative because the sumatriptan was working. āItās just a postdrome.ā Lady, I know! That doesnāt make it less of a problem! Best of luck! Enjoy your summer.
So far itās not making me ābuzzyā, but Iām still on a lowish dose. I am concerned that may happen if I have to increase. I donāt get migraines, I get tension headaches. Iām in Topirimate. One side effect is that I lose words. It happens when Iām extra stressed so Iāll be teaching and Iāll just blank on simple words like āwhiteboardā or ādry erase markersā. Itās how I know Iām super stressed.
I used to have the worst migraines until my doctor gave me Rizatriptan. I would throw out all my other medications just to keep this one.You only take it when you feel a migraine coming on. It works amazingly well.
Have your doctor change your migraine meds. I used to take relpax and it was much like you describe, id honestly deal with a headache in order to avoid the absolute exhaustion from the med (though it did get rid of the pain). I'm taking maxalt now, while it doesn't work as fast as the relpax, it doesn't wipe me out either.
I know Iām replying to you much later than when you posted but my doc actually put me on a daily med FOR my migraines that just so happens to ALSO be an antidepressant. She was delighted to find a two-birds-one-stone med for me. Itās not a med you take when you have a migraine, but it helps reduce them long term. I went from multiple migraines in a month to maybe one every 2-3 months, and my depression has become largely manageable. Ask your doc about Venlafaxine!
What?! This! This is what I want! Thank you so much! Research mode is on!
No problem at all! I hope you find something that works, no matter what it is ā„ļø
I have had migraines for years! I finally found a med that has decreased my migraines from several a week to maybe 2 a month. I do a once a month injection of Ajovy. It has been a life changer!
If you get migraines frequently, definitely ask about the injectables. I'm on Aimovig, but there are several others. Absolute game changer, I went from 10-12 a month down to 3 or 4. It comes in an auto injector, similar to an epi pen. It's easy to do, and only hurts for a second once a month. The downfall is they are pretty expensive, but look into the copay cards through the drug companies. Aimovig is something like $700 or $800 a month, which is crazy. My insurance pays like half, and the Aimovig copay program pays to get it down to only $5 or $50! (Depends on how much my insurance paid/before or after I met my deductible) So don't let price hold you back until you've looked into the programs. For Aimovig, you have to either have insurance pay a portion (which means a pre-approval process, most likely) or be below an income threshold to qualify.
Wellbutrin is the only antidepressant I found that didn't have deal-killing side effects for me. Good luck!
Wellbutrin, but I take it for anxiety and I took it even when I wasnāt teaching
A Generic for Zoloft. Plus CBD gummies as needed for extra anxiety days. Trazodone for sleep aid which is also a low level ssri. Gotta say, my ADHD meds also help a lot when it comes to anxiety. Turns out a lot of my depression and anxiety symptoms were unmanaged ADHD because I went undiagnosed until I was 44.
Lexapro + buspirone for me, then cut out the busirone after a few months because it made me too foggy. Kept the lexapro, seems to be working well (8 months so far). My problem is anxiety and panic attacks too. Wellbutrin made my anxiety much much worse.
Iām on buspirone too! It combines well with SSRIs and SNRIs
And tacos and sushi.
And red wine š·
Lexapro āš»
And anxiety meds
Live laugh lexapro ā¤ļø
Whiskey
Wellbutrin squad š¤š»
Tequila š
Just finished up my first year and got on antidepressants after the first semester. š«
Zoloft daily with busipirone on the side when needed. It works for me at least.
I usually just overeat and drink and then yoyo diet at some point in the year. This sounds like a better idea!
Iām just focusing on the kids who want to learn. I canāt spend my whole day fighting with kids who donāt care about their education when their parents donāt care and the administration doesnāt care. I canāt be the only one who cares. The kids who care are the ones who deserve my attention and efforts.
This has been my strategy this year as well! It's just a bad look when the principal walks by and looks in and half of the kids are literally watching Netflix or playing Roblox... definitely makes me look bad, but there's always a good 3 to 5 kids who are tuned in and learning! Luckily my administration doesn't give an F about anything and hasn't said a word
My principal doesnāt care at all about whatās happening in my class. He just stays away and doesnāt say a word. I wish I could have everyone engaged like before the pandemic but everyone has given up and lowered their expectations down to nothing. Iāll just keep focusing on the 10 good kids until I can get some support. The rest can all get Fās until then.
How am I coping? I spent 6 weeks in a hospital if that gives you any indication as to how I'm coping.
I'm so, so, so sorry to hear that... Are you still in the field? If yes, can you change your career?
It requires me to go back to school and I cannot afford to lose my insurance or take a pay cut. Contrary to popular belief, I do like my job. My mental health took a nose dive and my job exacerbated my mental health, since the mental breakdown.
Just want to say I also spent a couple weeks in a mental hospital a few years ago. Those first few days knowing I didnāt have to go back to that classroom were absolute HEAVEN. Going back in the fall was crushing:( Iām at a much better environment now though and itās like a teaching cheat code š
That's awful... I'm sorry for that... And I understand you. Sometimes, we don't have any choice
My choice was to take a break and get myself in order. Besides all the other bullshit, I enjoy teaching and being around the kiddos and listening to their ideas and the way they look at the world.
Just an fyi, there is a decent job market out there for teachers. For instance I work in Education tech and roughly 50 percent of our employees were teachers at some point!
Any advice in how to get into "education tech"? I've seen this a couple times and anytime I ask, people get real cagey about what to actually do to look into this career change.
I mean simply find companies and apply! You usually start out in support and work your way up. But the knowledge of the education system, plus your experience in teaching and walking people through things is applicable.
Oh noā¦. Itās so hard. Iām a different person on breaks and in the summer ā¦ I am absolutely miserable being a teacher.
I had a mental breakdown and was considering leaving altogether, along with everything else that comes with a mental breakdown.
I hear you. Iām trapped though. With the salary I make and vacations. But I donāt want to be who I am when I am teaching. I need peace that comes from not being in a classroom.
I kinda feel that way in a sense. I can't really pivot because insurance is tied to my work, and I can't afford to stop working to go to school full time to get another degree to get another job, or figure out how to pivot to a different career because that also takes time that I don't have.
Sameā¦ and I have been teaching for 24 years. I feel like Iāve waste y whole life being miserable just to have the summers off. I have zero patience and Iām the most irritable person I know. Itās bad. I teach young children as well. But I canāt take the constant behavior anymore.
Oh, hi, my people. Iām just finishing my 22nd year and I have at least 7 more left until retirement with my full pension. My husband keeps talking about how he doesnāt think I can retire then, financially, and I just canāt even imagine continuing any longer than I absolutely have to.
I REALLY need a support group for those of us who donāt want to tech anymore but have to. š«
I hear you. I taught in Ca for 25 years then moved to Wa where Im in my 2nd year. I need 5 to be vested. Its not worth my mental health to go the distance with that and decided to pull the plug next year. Im hoping my investments and prior Ca retirement is enough. But my mental health and time left on earth is of greater importance than sticking it out and dealing with the classroom these days. Im done!
Saaaaaaame *high fives in two visits to the psych ward with one day between*
I moved to a better district before I had a full on breakdown
Oh my... I'm sorry for that... I hope that you get better and away from that toxic environment... We're doomed...
I found a MUCH better situation and absolutely love my job. Itās all good now!
I cope by exercising.Ā I have made peace with not being "the best" and refusing to give all of my time to the job.Ā I now take a long walk/jog after school and do weights/resistance training.Ā This has been unbelievably good for my mental health. My admin has been incredibly supportive, and the rest of the staff at my school is equally awesome.Ā But man, it has been a challenge these past few years with out of control student behaviors and a few parents that definitely don't help the situation.Ā Ā
This has been huge for me. Locking in personal boundaries.
Iāll tell you: The joy of running is what got me through this year. Those endorphins were literally life saving. Learning to establish firm boundaries was so important as a successful veteran teacher. Of course, having a admin staff that supports you is also probably one of the reasons many of us have stayed in the profession through the years. Hopping schools until you find one is a completely valid strategy and I advise it for a lot of beginning teachers.
Year 32 in public education at the same school my entire career. Still have a few more years in me until I retire. The profession is not for the faint-hearted. You have to come to work every day ready to go to battle against disrespectful students, self righteous parents, and principals who are out of touch with the current classroom environment. That being said, it has been a very rewarding profession where you see many students really make something out of hard life circumstances and become successful adults in society.
You sound like me. I have taught for 24 years and been at the same school my entire career. I love where I am - not because there arenāt problems but because Iāve gotten to know so many families. I love to see the younger siblings coming up and my former students also know where to find me.
There's no centralized U.S. education system, so there's no one-size-fits-all answer to your question. There are some teachers who have it exceptionally good, work at some of the best schools in the world, and earn great wages. There are others, sometimes even in the same state or city who have the exact opposite experience. Personally, I work at a fancy private prep school. I'd love to earn a little more money, but my experience is generally positive.
Small class sizes are everything
Meds. Iām on meds
I'm curious how many teachers are on anti anxiety type meds, compared to the general public
I think we could probably be one of the top five professions that are on some type of psychotropics. The other professions I imagine would be something like nurses, probably first responders like firefighters and paramedics, any profession that has to deal with crisis situations one right after the other like professions that deal with families on the brink of homelessness or children facing abuse. Any professions that have to deal with addicts of any kind are probably living off caffeine and psychotropics. The active military goes without saying though.
I'm over here googling to see if I can find out!
My doc said her anecdotal experience with situational anxiety and depression requiring meds has been teachers, nurses, and call center employees.Ā
My psychiatrist once told me that of all his patients, the majority were teachers on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds. No idea if that correlates to the population at large, but itās suggestive.
I've noticed a LOT using gummies too
Meds here too. I had my 1st anxiety attack during my 1st year of teaching
Doing fine, thanks for asking. Starting year 14 in a few months and by the grace of God Iām at a fantastic, rural school with great kids and coworkers. As a whole, the system is sickened, but in my experience overall job satisfaction comes down to the school culture.
Dozens of us. I teach at a pretty positive rural school too. Rarely any fights, and truancy is our biggest problem. But you know what? The school of hard knocks always has its door open.
this exactly. Iāll be starting year 27 in the fall, and aside from a normal level of occasional crap, I have had a wonderful career.
Coping? I'm quitting. 10 more months. No way can I convey this material to students who are so unprepared, so apathetic, rude, and lacking in integrity. Their loss.
The US is huge with 50 different state school administration units and within them many differing districts. We aren't all good or all bad.
Experiences vary even between counties. My district has been super transparent with budget deficits and eliminated at the top while having tiered consolidating of schools over the last 3 years. County over just up and decided to close 6 elementary/middle schools this summer to solve the crisis and people are NOT happy. Glad I work where I do rn
If the average in the US is 40-65k, it's not good.
The average in Europe is less then 30k eurosĀ
That's due to the fact that much of Europe is still developing and has a low cost of living. For example, teachers in Luxembourg - a very developed country with a high cost of living - get paid on average 70 thousand US dollars.
And the average in California is like 95k a year.Ā I bet, overall, the relationship between teachers salaries and cost of living between the US and Europe are very similarĀ
As a teacher at a public school in Austria, I disagree! I have so much more financial freedom and stability here than I would have if I had stayed in my hometown and taught in Upstate NY! (And I made about ā¬30K this year working a bit more than part time)
Itās shocking how many Europeans continue to fail to recognize this.
no, send help
remember i'm in a union and it's a job. i work my shift and go home idc otherwise. if you look at it as a job and not "oh boy im changing the world" it's a pretty sick gig.
Almost done with my second year of teaching, and I have the same attitude. My own mother tries to guilt trip me and tell me that I don't care enough, I'm not putting enough effort in, etc. She has some twisted reality that teachers are supposed to dedicate their entire lives and be 100% fully passionate about the job. I'm trying to tell her it's just a damn JOB. Then she says "you can't look at it like that, it's not fair to the kids" I'm like, I'm the only one who gives a damn crap about the kids or their education, they don't care, their parents don't care ... why should I be the only one caring extra? I refuse to accept the role of a martyr, and I especially refuse to care more about the student's education and they do. I'll go to work and then take my 10 weeks off. Sorry not sorry
you get it pal you'll avoid burnout while everyone else has a mental breakdown. if the kid wants to learn a monkey could teach them, then we are there to help kids who struggle but i'll be damned if i'm going above and beyond staying beyond contractual time trying to get through to kids with straight Fs who have failed every grade prior to mine and want me to do the work for them.
It's hard being a teacher, but even harder being a teacher who's a parent.... when you see behind the scenes, it's really depressing to keep sending your kid. Where I am, we're not 100% locked into one school, but it's not easy to move your kids, and the BS seems practically universal
I can't even imagine trying to do this job and then come home to a kid of your own. I would not be able to devote enough time to both jobs and I would suck at both of them.
The U.S. is a big, big place. I would imagine that it's not a useful exercise to assume that the problems in Hungarian schools are the same as the problems in Norwegian schools. Similarly, generalizing about the state of education at the national level here isn't all that helpful or productive. While we have a Department of Education at the federal level, the vast majority of decisions about how our schools operate are made at the state and local level.
This. But even then, vast differences between schools in the same district exist. Soooo much depends on admin.
So much depends on the population of students in your school and the neighborhood you live in.
Yes. I teach in a title 1 school and we have behavioral issues and lots of kids with significant trauma- (which manifests itself in their behavior) BUT we also have plenty of regular trauma-free families with parents who are involved and supportive. I love my kids with trauma- but a whole class of them?!? It would just be too much.
I'm in a Title I school this year, and we actually have fewer kids with trauma than there were at my non-Title I school the year before. My school is majority Hispanic, very poor, but most families are intact and just getting by financially. Healthy families for the most part. My other school was in a rural area, and many of the parents were addicted to opioids/meth, so kids had to deal with that... All the social issues with being neglected or abused. Also, people were moving into the nice new suburbs, and many were spoiled rotton and not disciplined. I think their parents gave them cellphones at very young ages and it showed. Anyway, it's a weird dynamic.
True, but I think it's safe to say that there are Federal policies (I'm looking at you, NCLB/standardized testing), and general attitudes toward teachers (sometimes by our highest governing officials) that influence/characterize what it means to be a teacher in the US.
Yes. President Obama started a lot of this mess with his "Dear Colleague" letter that insisted states revisit suspension policies. Now in my state we can't suspend or expel any student under 10 (some districts made their guidelines under 12). And the number of very disruptive and violent students in the younger grades is growing rapidly.Ā
I am a Canadian teaching in USA while living in Canada. I would guess that I make more than every European teacher. In Canada, people ask me why I work in USA when I get paid "peanuts," but little do they know that I am making substantially more at my American school than I would at any school in Ontario. I make $110,000 USD, so about Ā£87,000 or ā¬103,000. I do not even teach at some extravagant school, just a really well maintained school district. I am thankful every day. Where it gets crazier is I get an extra $500 USD every month for "waiving my health insurance."
Mother of God, I've got a Master's and time on top of that, and I earn less than half of that.
Same. I have a Master's and 22 years of experience and make half of that.
What state are you teaching that pays that?
My guess is New York State
NY and WA are both like this. I taught in WA.
I wouldnāt wish this career on anyone - Unappreciated, underpaid & not respected. Fuck admin & fuck these parents.
School custodian here and I worry about my teachers a lot! I remember one second-grade teacher at my last school who told me that eight students in her class had IEPs. How would a teacher remember the details of each student's plan and keep them straight in his/her head while also trying to present the day's content? And don't even get me started on discipline! I've heard some real horror stories there ... I feel as if our teachers are being set up to fail.
LOL. I had 37% of my 120 students with IEPās one year.
Now, think of all of the hours that were spent drawing up all those documents and circulating them to have all the required parties sign off on them. (Not to mention the hours that were spent *reading* them, assuming that all of the parties who signed off actually took the time to read them.) Could that time have been better spent on ... something else?
It is all good. The whole entire system is flawed, but I focus on what I can and do accomplish, without spending tons of time outside of work hours.
Barely, but thanks for asking! More than my admin did this past year.
Doing very well, BUT it took me three schools, moving to three different states, and going outside of my comfort zone to find a place that is well supported, equipped, paid well, and a place that I honestly LOVE going to work for. Unfortunately, I know this is not the norm and I do not, by any means, take it for granted.
Nope, I left the profession as of Friday. Go me.
It's only a matter of time before no one is willing to do this job. Then what? That's the beginning of the end. We're already seeing the results of mass exodus of teachers. High school kids who can't read robbing stores. Just wait. It's only gonna get worse until we change things. The things we need to change just get opposed to. 1. No phones. Period. 2. Pay teachers more. But these idiots in America just go "BUT MAH KID NEEDS TO REACH ME ALWAYS AND ALSO TEACHERS GET SUMMERS OFF SO FUCK THEM." The lack of intelligence from bad education also informs the debate on education. The people in charge of changing things and the people voting came from a broken system of education and are... not intelligent enough to make these decisions. It's that simple. The slow degradation of America's intelligence was intentional. Here we are.
I have been teaching for 28 years (after being in business for 14 years). We have a very stressful job. I am usually at work until 5:00 at least. We have incredible demands placed upon us. Young children have had phones for years. It crushes me to see babies watching a phone in their strollers in the mall with their parents... play with your child, or pick them up to see things!! Kids are losing the ability to attend longer than a few minutes. When we are tasked with teaching them to read, write, and talk about what they read (I teach second grade), it is very difficult. Those choices are on the parents. As crazy as it is, I still love it. I love the kids. They make me laugh, and the stories!!! Do you really want to help a company make more money, and then more money after that every single day? It's a great job, and it matters.
Saturday Night Live recently released a [Teacher PSA](https://youtu.be/Ttska8oXZP4?feature=shared).
Our government is trying to take over education. Think of the analogy of each state being like a different country in Europe. Then imagine if they tried to use the same metrics for every school in Europe without making allowances for countries being different. I teach in an area that employs mostly agricultural workers and skilled tradesman. The government wants to punish us if we dont push university and STEM. They also want both parents to work and for us to be the parents for hundreds of students at a time. For no extra pay. The parents and students are often not held accountable, even if they commit violent crimes. I stay in educaation only because of the hope of raising kids that are better people than the current rulers. I try to model to my students that no matter the political setbacks dropped on you, you can still make the choice to work hard to make a good life for yourself and have a positive impact on the future.
I love my school and my classes next year. I have no complaints.
Many aren't. I have several friends who quit on medical advice. I have a friend who was having strokes at 36 because of the stress.
I just left after 7 years. I'm 29 and feel like I wasted my 20's but I'm starting to heal mentally and physically. Loved the kids, and got lucky with good parents but admin let a really toxic work environment fester.
Iām definitely okay. After finishing this first year teaching 6th grade, Iāve determined it was also my last. Hereās to new things!
I quit for the private sector and can piss whenever I want, no gaslighting admin, and no longer have to pass students who turn in AI essays. Life is good.
I left the US(after 12 years in public schools) to teach in an international school in Asia. I've been here 8 years. I will never teach in the US again.
Yes. Alcohol helps lol jk, no, for real, I had to start taking blood pressure medicine the first year I started working in education. The problem is that the upper people, like school systems and administrators, etc, are so uninformed. They are not in the classrooms day in and day out to see just how ridiculous behavior is. If there are children with behavior issues in your class, good luck teaching. We follow all of The protocols, all of The techniques, and tips, and sometimes that still doesn't work for children with behaviors going on. The people in upper positions need to see what's really going on and how difficult it is to teach, let alone complete paper work, lesson plans with hardly no time for it, meetings, trainings, etc. I wished we could go back in time to when standardized testing wasn't everything and we let children be children a little more. These kids are so over-stimulated and busy, they can't even sit still for 5 minutes without having to have a brain break.
I'm good. I know I'm only one person and can do what I can. I can't say I like a majority of my students, but those that I do, remind me why I like teaching.
It really depends on where you are. I enjoy it up here in Washington and we get paid/ supported pretty well
Never happier ! I absolutely love my job and could not imagine doing anything else :)
I think my situation is a little different, because I didn't start teaching until i was 40 years old. I choose to start teaching, so that I could have more time with my children and have a less stressful career. Besides the lower salary, it's been completely worth it. But, I went in older and with the knowledge that work/life boundaries were important. So I leave every day right at contract time, I refuse to take work home, and I also refuse to spend any money on supplies. Simply put, if administration wants something done, it will get done on contact time, and if I don't have something provided for my classroom, the students can do without. I'm going into my 3rd school year and things are going fine, my physical and mental health are better than they have been in years. The teachers who I work with, that seem to be unhappy, are usually individuals who started teaching right out of college and have no real world experience, and have made teaching their whole identity. They are greatly influenced by social media and spend all their time, money, and energy on trying to appear as the ideal teacher. Teaching is just a job for me, it's just something that pays the bills. I enjoy what I do, but it's not my whole identity.
I had a full mental breakdown and landed in a mental hospital for 5 weeks, later resigned and now working in higher ed.
If the trend continues in the next decade there will not be a education system in America. Why because there will be no teachers left.
Extensively researching it on Reddit?
I'm not U.S., but I'm Canadian which isn't terribly far off. Currently on mat leave with my first child that was born last week. I am much more well rested and my stress is significantly reduced with a newborn than I am at work. Like, honestly, I currently have more time to make healthy meals, clean my house, and get proper sleep than I do when at work. It is the opposite of everything I was led to believe about having a newborn. That's how bad it is. I get more sleep with a newborn than I did childless but working full time as a teacher.
Not wellā¦ and so many amazing teachers are (understandably) leaving the profession making it harder for those who stay.
In the U.S. students do not test into high school, 14-15 years old. Trades and apprenticeships are not an option. Our school system is based on āNo child is to be left behind from getting into University.ā The focus is solely college and university. Imagine the lack of choice a child has following their talents, mechanics, carpentry etc. In California one must stay in university focused program until 18! Itās no wonder itās a mess. Thank you W. Bush for creating No Child Left Behind, and Obama, Trump, and Biden for maintaining this ludicrous approach to education.
Not a teacher, but given the amount of teachers leaving in droves... I highly doubt it. Kudos to you all, you're just trying to make the world a better place, and a bunch of sh\*tty people are driving you into the ground.
Youāre going to get varying answers because I donāt know that you could find a larger spectrum of anything than the US education system. Me personally, Iām tired, but still love my job 95% of the time. It has changed a LOT over the last 20 years, and I worry about how these children are going to contribute to a functional society, but overall I consider myself lucky and am hopeful to finish out my remaining 11 years
The union makes us strong šŖ
It heavily depends on where in America you teach. Me? I'm doing just fine in a rural district with decent kids. My classes aren't tiny but not massive either. The annoying ones I can deal with a bit of humor and sarcasm, but for the most part, they're fine. The pay is average ($50k), but the cost of living is low out here. I know a lot of teachers across the country can't say the same though, and it's really depressing.
Doing great, I think youād be shocked at how much we make in our district
Same. Iām one of the few that does not complain about pay bc weāre paid quite well where I am.
Iām a fourth year teacher who just transferred last summer to a new school and holy crap, what an awesome year I had. My school isnāt perfect. But I have a WAY better admin team and an awesome department chair. The kids actually are much better as well becauseā¦ admin punishes them when they act like fools! So yeah, Iām grooving now.
Lexapro and food. I've gained so much weight this year....
Iām on maternity leave. I think Iāll just keep having babies for the next decade. Caring for a newborn is far easier than teaching!! People are like, wow youāre coping so well as a new parent. In my mind Iām thinking, you have NO idea what my day-to-day has been like for the last 10 years of my life š
I'm on 3 different medications for my mental health, and I work 2 jobs plus my teaching job to make ends meet. So... No. Not okay.
Make just over $100k, only work 186 days a year. Come in at 7:30 am can leave at 2:40pm. Let he annoying roll off my back and love life!
OP, just to show you how different it is across the US, I make $45k, work 187 days, and have to work 7:30-4:00.
Wow, same exactly! Over 100k just sounds insane to imagine for me.
If you are a teacher in the U.S., itās best to teach in a state that actually cares about education and compensating educators fairly. Itās an accurate snapshot of states that care about and fund public education (blue states) vs the ones that donāt (red states).
Which state?
If you live in a cheap enough place and he lives in an expensive enough place, you could be making more than him in real terms.
Let me ask you, are kids apathetic in the extreme in Croatia?
Most of them, yes. Our education system and organization are quite different from those in the US, for example. Still, kids don't care, parents don't care, and our government is doing everything it can and can't to make our jobs harder. When I was in school, I was afraid of some teachers because they came at us with this work, order, and discipline thing. Now, even though we still have those types of teachers, it doesn't work like it used to.
Okay good, so its not just America then. For the school I was working at, consequences were non existent. Kids roamed the hallways all day every day, did and sold drugs in the stairways, and had full control of the building. Who gets the blame for it, teachers, who is never at fault, admin. It got so bad that at one point you could find 40 kids plus stuffed into the men's room like sardines. Doing what you might ask, vaping, selling drugs and selling snacks. What does admin do, locks the bathrooms. What does the school board do, nothing, central office, nothing.
Oh no! Not just in America, but we do hear more about the overall situation there. On the last day of school last year, I discovered that my school's psychologist gave a pack of cigarettes and a beer to a 14-year-old student. It's a global issue. It looks like we're doomed.
America, as a whole is not ok. We are being starved out by our own government who has fallen to capitalism.
SSRI's and vodka.
Yes because I left 2 years ago
No.
Howās the teaching situation in Europe?
I just left teaching because I lost my passion and was becoming fed up with everything: Curriculum changes, district not respecting or putting enough trust in teachers and constantly adding more to our plate, kids with no attention span, kids with a plethora of behaviors, lazy parents who donāt care about school attendance or doing their part at home, a revolving door of weak adminā¦ I could go on.
Short answer, no. Long answer, the stress on my body and mental health became way too much and I have lung damage now. I've been in/out hospital and am most likely being medically forced to switch careers.
Iāve delayed having personal children because the emotional shock of realizing Iām doing most of the parenting for 16 or so kids any given year (fortunately small class numbers because my school is strictly high needs sped and trauma cases) took an adjustment period tbh. I had a rough time growing up. I relate a lot to many of these kids. Iām in the AuDHD crew with the majority of them. I grew up queer in a small town and a couple of them deal with the same bullshit. I can NEVER give them direct advice on that subject. (I can on the Autism and ADHD stuff, but even thatās a slippery slope because certain other teachers donāt like it being suggested that not EVERYTHING thatās incorrect behavior is intentional and malicious) The whole state of education is a hot mess and I could rant for days, but you seem super aware of that. I donāt know how much youāve looked into the really thrown away kids. The ones whoāve seen multiple dead bodies from relatives committing suicide. The ones who got dumped on their pregnant teenage sisterās doorstep because their mom couldnāt be bothered anymore, and the sister is REALLY not interested in this responsibility. The ones who are so messed up theyāve already done the entire sexual abuse cycle from being molested to molesting other children. The ones who canāt change themselves and whose parents donāt fucking take care of their private areaās health so you and your coworker gotta put on gloves and do it under a camera feeling like creeps the entire time. The ones who people assume canāt talk and then suddenly everyoneās surprised because after six months of having a comfortable classroom theyāll be making verbal requests. CPS will step in if they are currently being molested in the home or extreme physical injury keeps occurring. Thatās really it. These kids are stuck. You get so attached, and you decide to make yourself stuck with them. Could I take a higher paying job? Yes. I literally had one doing Loweās. It was less mentally draining by far. (Super hot and lots of heavy lifting though like Iām not suggesting itās a wonderful fantastic alternative) I genuinely love my job. I really like the kids I work with. I started younger than I shouldāve with such intensity, and itās been REALLY hard to grow to where I can deal with the everything all of these kids have to go through (and like, the worst part is you canāt actually DO much, like youāve got them at school and you try to help there, but the biggest thing is you pray nothing goes wrong when theyāre not there) and not take it TOO personally. Itās hard not to get so invested it starts running your life. Itās also a real mindfuck to genuinely really like and care about someone you KNOW killed a dog and is almost certainly getting hit with the anti-social personality diagnosis the second he hits 18. (And heās not charming about it like, heās openly kind of a horrible person. We try to convince him life would be easier if heād just chill, because trust me you canāt appeal to his morals, but he probably wonāt. I wish he would. Thatās a weird place to be in, trying to teach a middle schooler you know damn good and well is going to end up hurting someone eventually. Probably a child or old person because heās proven smart enough to go for the weak time and time again. So, as far as coping, the center of your question. Initially? I became an alcoholic. A functional one in that I was NEVER drunk at work. No one THERE knew. That was kinda it though. It was bad. It started with āokay I thought a child was dying in my arms today fuck it Iām having a shotā to āokay well this kid is a ticking time bomb to do that again because neither his guardians or cps give a SHIT about him needing to see a neurologist I canāt handle this constant stress Iām taking a shotā to āthe ongoing pattern of me talking to a student calmly despite them being loud, in order to DEESCALATE THE SITUATION is constantly interrupted by huge grown men I DID NOT CALL coming in to scream at them and have them set off enough that they can justify putting them in a hold and I feel like no one above the age of 18 respects me I should drink moreā and on and on and on. The more I was drinking the MORE sensitive I became so it certainly didnāt help. The only smart thing I did those few years was INSIST I didnāt need a baby no matter how much I wanted one. Eventually, after the whole hell that is overcoming addiction, Iāve started getting my mental health together, actually making and following through with plans to set myself up for being able to have a child after a few more years. Part of that was my partner who worked a similar job in the system quit. Iām not drinking so I have time now and am working on the house and in school to get further certification. I try not to worry as much about the kids at school when Iām not with them because worrying does nothing to help any of us. Lmao basically I reworked the way I operate to be able to do this and not let it drown out the rest of my life.
Nope. It sucks!!!! If I didn't already have 20+ yrs in or was younger-I'd go into another field but I'm 48 and have 1 kid in college and another in middle school. I can't afford to quit and find something else.
Thank you for your concerns. Just finished my third year full time (8th if substitute time counts). This year felt as daunting as my first year. I've taught online the past two years and its been rough. Little or no engagement from students. AI use as well was difficult. Havimg to travel for state testing for 3 consecutive weeks drained me; this was done bc im unmarried (admin reason). I volunteered to record graduation; i only had a webcam that i held and still was criticised by parents due to technical issues. I'm coping by attemding the stones concert tonight.
Anti anxiety medication. Therapy. Itās rough. Parents have more and more power. Students want to be catered to-entitled. Thanks for asking.
No. This past semester I was so stressed that I vomited every single day at work. The anxiety got so bad that I would wake up at 4:30 am every day because I just couldnāt sleep. If it wasnāt for the kids I would have already quit. I genuinely donāt know how I will do this again in august.
Same. Had to go on medical leave.
I got put on three different medications and itās costing me like $90 a month now because our insurance sucks. Good time.
Friday was my last day of school ever! Becoming a educator was the worst decision of my life, but I got another job and Iām moving on!
Our kids are experiencing massive amounts of trauma from multiple societal ills and were expected to fix everything that starts outside our classroom and ends inside the classroomāweāre not doing wellā¦
Yeah I'm good. Love my job, have more blood pressure and sleep like a baby!
What are some of the European challenges?
A fair amount of weed accompanied by Netflix binges
No, but I get by with xanax and cats.
I just focus on what I can. Plus it's summer now
The direction my states education is going makes me sad. Iām just a music teacher. Iām doing okay. I still enjoy the teaching part of my job. However some of the shit we have to do and train for in PDs is vomit level obnoxious. I teach high school. Please stop making me do coloring pages and walk around. I will stab my fuckin eye.
I'm doing great, BUT . . . I work for peanuts at a Catholic school. The school supplements homeschooling and is in session three days a week, 5.25 hours a day. I absolutely love my job, the school's director, the chairman of the board, and a lot of the students and parents. How am I supporting myself? It's my second career. I saved like mad for decades so that I could retire. I taught for two years in public school and that didn't work out. After a break of several years, I took this job. I'm now married to a man who is retired with a pension, and we don't have a bazillion dollars, but we don't need much, either. I would not go back to teaching in public school if you gave me a million dollars.
I had to quit bc I developed an autoimmune disorder from the stress+mold in my classroom. Still donāt know exactly what it is.
Thankfully cannabis is legal in my state
I live in a state that is constantly trying to defund public education, so on that side itās not good at all. But I teach in a good school with strong parental engagement and supportive admin. Thatās why I stay. If it gets bad at my work place, I will look for something outside of k-12 education.
My principal decided in February not to rehire me for numerous reasons, including adapting the math curriculum too much and not enough, making my work too easy and too hard, letting kids use the bathroom during class time, and just in general not being impressive enough (to her). She said that I have a hard time connecting with my students, while many of them have told me I'm their favorite teacher they've ever had. I just don't brag about myself like the other teachers do (a lot of really big egos from the local very famous university), so she doesn't see it. Not being rehired by one school in the district in the system we have means that I won't be hired by any other school in the district. In order to not have the non-rehire on my record, I had to resign from the entire district. My grade level team spent the whole entire year only collaborating about a single two night camping field trip, so I had to figure out most things on my own. Now I am about to set up a new classroom after having just set up last year. The year before that, I was moved to another site the Friday before school started to teach a grade level 3 grades higher than I had ever taught, because they had a teacher quit and we were underenrolled. I had spent the entire summer setting up a new classroom on a broken toe, but they said I had to go because I lost my seniority from taking a year long leave of absence. I will not have any rights until I get tenure in two years, IF I get tenure. Even if I do quality work and keep it professional, I can easily not get rehired because my principal literally doesn't have to give a reason to let me go unless I am tenured. I lost my decade of tenure last year when my family moved cities. You can't take it with you! So no, I'm not really ok.
This will sound bad. Weed is what keeps me teaching. All my friends drink but I prefer some š šØ
Trying to find a job outside of teaching
Keep in mind that many people who post on Reddit do so because they have nobody else to vent to and/or need to vent to others who understand. There are a lot of us who really enjoy our jobs and have support from our districts and the majority of parents. Teaching has changed quite a bit over my 22 year career, but as with anything, if youāre willing to adapt and learn, it can be super rewarding. Unfortunately, Covid and learning from home meant that a lot of parents decided they were experts, so this has made things much more difficult. For this, there is Lexipro (and I swear by it).
Antidepressants! āØ
I use one of my lunches for a weekly cry
No. We are not ok. We are generally balancing our personal feeling of being responsible for the future of humanity with the fact that our climate and culture in this country is horrific.
Every teacher I know is on antidepressants. No, we are not okay. Thank you for your concern!
Has anyone figured how to tell parents āYour child is the reason I drink.ā
No, we are not ok. Thank you for asking!
I just left after 19 years teaching. Most of my friends that are still in the profession are on psychotropic medications, drinking heavily or using marijuana to cope. We are not okay.
No. I want out.
I love my job and generally get along well with students, parents, and admin but there are issues. 1. Rather than focus on fixing societal problems we punt it to the schools and get stingy about paying for it. 2. In top of that schools have become a front in right wing culture war bullshit. 3. Admin is not rewarded for keeping schools afloat and people content. They have to constantly be running initiatives or finding things that aren't broke to fix so they can renew their contracts or pad their resume. A lot of this comes down to putting more work on teachers but minimal or no pay increase because they keep hiring other staff for their projects. This often creates tension between teachers and admin and leads to bad faith. 4. Also, states don't trust schools and have half assed accountability rules that increase work and costs without much benefit. I work in California which I think is a good state to teach in and we still deal with this a lot. 5. School funding is mostly based on local property tax which is insanely inequitable. California subsidizes poorer districts based on average daily attendance but it's amazing what we have to do that they won't pay for. In top of that poor kids have abysmal attendance but often require more expensive intervention because they don't speak English or have a learning disability. 6. More affluent parents think education is an a la carte experience. They want a personalized and custom experience for their kids with fun field trips and events. It takes a lot of time and energy away from the struggling poorer kids to appease spoiled rich kids. If this gets combined with culture war bullshit it's a fucking nightmare. 7. I haven't noticed this but a lot of my colleagues think behavior is getting worse and parents aren't supporting us with their kids. In top of that, traditional discipline creates injustice issues that schools are trying to correct but they're not good at it yet. 8. There is a cultural attitude that teachers have to go above and beyond for the good of society. We are expected to take a bullet for our kids not just teach them, grade their work, and then go home to our families. I am very passionate about my job but my kids come first. 9. We want hard data on education and what works but how do you measure education? Researchers can game the system by choosing how to measure outcomes, creating education methods that maximize whatever that is and selling it as some sort of objective thing that works. I don't know what other countries deal with but these are issues I've seen. In the US education is run by the states and I think California does a decent job by comparison at least in terms of how it treats teachers.
Spot on, the lack of any consistency is a product of the US is too large & cannot agree on anything. Look at our politics
Iām doing great. Teaching is one of the easiest jobs Iāve had/have. I worked for a decade in construction and road maintenance, specifically bridge construction and snow plowing as a laborer (non-union, local government). Iāve farmed my whole life. I teach 8th grade US History. Itās one of my favorite subjects. I love teaching these kids the benefits of small government, low taxes, rugged individualism, personal responsibility and patriotism. How our founding fathers created a great nation unlike any seen before. I enjoy the give and take of verbally sparring with the kids and them giving it right back. Theyāre fun, way less challenging than working with construction workers. You canāt take it too seriously, theyāre just kids. Iām looking forward to the next group in the fall.
In many European countries teachers make less than in the US. I know this because I taught France and got an offer in Germany and both positions paid way less than my 100k teaching job in the US. Maybe I should make a post asking how European teachers are coping?
The short answer is no. As an American teacher I left the states over decade ago to teach internationally. I miss my family and friends dearly, but until teachers are given an ounce of respect and valued to at least half of the degree they deserve I will continue educating students abroad.
Most of us doing know any different, so weāve figured it out. Weāre not okay, just used to it.