Why is teaching so joyless now?

“I have been contracted out to teach a high school classroom for a couple hours every day for 2 weeks, I am several hours away, so it has to be via zoom, and these kids do not GAF about learning, the phones and the napping.”source ↗

“now I watch the building next to mine eat first-years alive. two years, maybe three, then they're gone.”source ↗

“my prep periods are getting pulled for coverage again, which is its own quiet pay cut when you do the math on the hour.”source ↗

“No copier paper in February. I was buying cough drops for kids because the nurse was one day a week.”source ↗

“I'm not sure I would have survived that sub gig if it'd been my real assignment.”source ↗

“I am a first year teacherand honestly I do not think I am going to last.”source ↗

“We are required to use pre made slide decks, only use SAVVAS, cannot supplement, must follow a super strict pacing calendar, required to do daily DOLs that are tracked, and just a whole bunch of other nonsense.”source ↗

“Kinda tired of being told about in PD about the need to build relationships, to win the kids over, to make overtures to parents for their support.”source ↗

“the 4 years after the pandemic were traumatic and horrible.”source ↗

“I have to sneak crafts bc they have decided it takes away from district criculuum. Removed the joy is a good way to put it...”source ↗

“I’ve come to the conclusion that this job negatively impacts me too much to keep doing it much longer, it’s been 5 years now.”source ↗

“I’m burnt out, and am not giving them my best, even if I had the time and resources to properly teach them.”source ↗

“We are losing our new teachers every year.”source ↗

“All five of our newly hired teachers this year have expressed their desire to leave due to the administration.”source ↗

“Lack of teacher retention is a major problem.”source ↗

“I'm also in year 11 and the state and district have sucked every last drop of joy out of teaching English. Have to follow Savaas, can't pick stories I think the kids will enjoy, and the new initiative of "aggressive monitoring" makes my classroom atmosphere so . . . aggressive.”source ↗

“Another teacher has to leave and I get her class on top of mine.”source ↗

“She has NO work prepared for the students.”source ↗

“Additionally I have lost my planning period most days.”source ↗

“I spend all my time at home planning and I am still behind.”source ↗

“This week has really taken a toll on my mental health.”source ↗

“On top of that I’ve had to bring work home because I don’t have any time to get anything done at school.”source ↗

“I had a breakdown on my plan time because I’m so tired of my class not focusing and doing what they are supposed to.”source ↗

“I think this might be my last year teaching because I am so tired of classroom management, dealing with parents, and stressing out about getting everything done and on my own time.”source ↗

“I feel like the pressure in our high school in my district is for students to continue to increase scores in their PSAT tests on math and English.”source ↗

“I believe the blame and pressure get's put on the math and English teachers if students do well on the PSAT.”source ↗

“I work in a non public school and it has been awful so far.”source ↗

“I am beyond burned out.”source ↗

“No help or resources.”source ↗

“Mentally and physically I do not know how to stay afloat.”source ↗

“However, admin doesn't even talk to me or give me any support.”source ↗

“I constantly feel tired and feel like I don't want to go to work because I am dreading getting through the day.”source ↗

“I don't know what to do because I don't have the support that I thought I would or was promised.”source ↗

“there are some teachers, in the same department, that teach the same subjects and roughly the same number of students, but one teacher has 50 students with IEPs and 50 EMLs... while the other has…ZERO.”source ↗

“They require us to get so much education, and then they don't want us to use it.”source ↗

“Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I'm a high school math teacher in my fourth year, and primarily, it has been great. That being said, do you ever have those days where you're just so over it?”source ↗

“Maybe a student says something that makes its way under your skin and sticks with you, or you're just inundated with work?”source ↗

“The reality is most people just don’t understand how hard this job is until they get in the classroom.”source ↗

“3rd year full time teaching in Alberta and I feel so depressed thinking I might not be able to stick this career out, even though I love it in a lot of ways.”source ↗

“I just started at a new district in Texas that does this. They strip all joy, creativity, and happiness from the classrooms.”source ↗

“It’s been particularly bad this year. I’m stressed out by the extra work Savvas is giving me, because as is it’s fucking unstable, that I’m like May exhausted already.”source ↗

“not every student wants a relationship with their teacher, and 2) even if they did, I have 190 kids. I'm kind and helpful to my students, but no, I'm not building a relationship with every single one.”source ↗

“I have no autonomy but I'm so burnt out that I really have no desire to make decisions anyway.”source ↗

“I’ve been a bad teacher this week and don’t know how to bounce back.”source ↗

“Mental health fully in the gutter since I’ve cut contact with my estranged father AGAIN after realizing he’s still an asshole.”source ↗

“And then today, I’m still just doing a bad job.”source ↗

“How can I come back stronger next week and be able to go back to my old routines and procedures?”source ↗

“I’m a first year teacher and I already am considering quitting.”source ↗

“I come home and have a nervous breakdown nearly every day and it’s only been two weeks.”source ↗

“my mental health feels like it’s starting to go out the window.”source ↗

“I am a first year 4th grade teacher and the “curriculum” is a bunch of hyper links (many of which are locked or deleted.)”source ↗

“They talk over me in every lesson and then get upset when they don’t know the directions for an assignment.”source ↗

“The student who can’t read starts crying because i’m not helping her meanwhile the other 24 students need support that I can’t give them because i need to 1 on 1 support her.”source ↗

“I feel drafted everyday because of the lack of support and empty words I hear everyday. I truly feel like I am so jaded and don’t believe anything admin says anymore.”source ↗

“I can type an essay on the lack of support for special ed, and the absolute neglect that happens within my school, but I’ll save that.”source ↗

“Administrative tasks are the killer.”source ↗

“I did have a coteacher in my biggest class of 22 now, but she was pulled out of the class and now I only have support every other day for that class.”source ↗

“I attempted to do a lab with them, and it went horribly and I was in tears during my planning period after that class.”source ↗

“I have realized that the routines that were in place with two adults won't work with just me, so I am trying to brainstorm some new strategies.”source ↗

“I was so overwhelmed and now have an appointment with the student and his classroom teacher next Monday.”source ↗

“When I was at home I just cried. I feel so incompetent and like a failure for the students.”source ↗

“I pull small groups and modify all of my quizzes and tests, but how do I follow an IEP with no support in my room?”source ↗

“How do I do whole group instruction and answer questions for students during independent work and pull small groups each class period each day?”source ↗

“My school doesn’t give support to any of their social studies classroom. I can’t support all of my students needs.”source ↗

“I have not mastered time travel or cloning myself despite my best efforts. Until I gain some momentum in that category, I’m one person in a room with a whole bunch of kids at a time.”source ↗

“You shouldn't be getting all the behavior issues though.”source ↗

“We just switched to SAVVAS math and told not to supplement. It’s joyless, but the worst part is that almost every other slide the math is just…wrong.”source ↗

“I was burnt out at my last school that had plc meetings. It was so stressful.”source ↗

“I just started teaching PRE-K and i have 15 kids on certain days. I have no extra help. No TA. it’s really hard and i’m getting so nervous especially this being my first year.”source ↗

“i’m just very overwhelmed! first year teacher here. lol”source ↗

“I have 30 kindergarteners. Imagine that. It isn’t much you can do. I repeat myself all day. There is no help. I wish I could be encouraging but it is tough!”source ↗

“It’s so true, i was mostly redirecting all day. I was thinking… how are they going to learn anything without a TA in here to help me??!”source ↗

“Math, English and SPED teachers always get blamed for the dumbest shit they have no control over.”source ↗

“Things have been on a free slide since 2021. The bottom fell out and dragged the middle with it.”source ↗

“I've been up every night making these presentations for the next day til after 10pm.”source ↗

“I tried to reach out to the school to coordinate how we can make it more engaging and if i could set a meeting to brianstorm with the people in the room, but despite the school demanding every way they could communicate with me they do not respond to any emails, texts or calls.”source ↗

“Sounds good in theory, but when my head count in one period goes to 27 and theirs drops to 21 it leaves me scratching my head wondering how this makes sense.”source ↗

“Who moved the kids? Were you asked? Teachers shouldn’t be allowed to move kids. It should be an admin decision and you should be asked first.”source ↗

“I also was voluntary told once at the beginning of year once when I taught first grade because a brand new teacher had too many behavior problems in her class. I was more experienced and had none, so I had to take one.”source ↗

“I attempted to do a lab with them, and it went horribly and I was in tears during my planning period after that class. I have realized that the routines that were in place with two adults won't work with just me, so I am trying to brainstorm some new strategies.”source ↗

“One of the many things teacher preparation programs don't discuss, teach, or, ironically, prepare us for is the amount of negativity.”source ↗