12 Public School Workers Told Us Why They Left Their Jobs

[Diamond_Dog]

12 Public School Workers Told Us Why They Left Their Jobs, And Honestly, No Wonder There's A National Teacher Shortage

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferadams2/teacher-shortage-flipped

“Earlier this week, I interviewed a New York City public school educator about her thoughts on the shortage, and she shared that some of the top reasons teachers were leaving the field were due to low salary, health concerns, poor treatment from parents, and bans on teaching "controversial" subject matter.”

1. "One of my new coworkers is a former teacher. After 15 years of teaching high school biology, she decided to quit and change careers because she realized that the staff at Panera were getting paid more. I used to be a biology teacher, too. I quit a long time ago because Republican politicians were passing laws requiring biology teachers to say that evolution isn't real. (Evolution is real. We've known that for a very long time.)"
—juglans

2. "I’m an occupational therapist at a public district, and yes, it’s underfunding, yes, it’s low pay, and yes, it’s over-politicizing the career…but let me tell you more teacher friends that have left the profession had their last straw because of parents.

“They are AWFUL, entitled, assume they know best when 99% of them don’t have a degree in education, and almost always blame teachers for their kids' shitty behavior. I’ve never seen anything like it. Public education is just that, a free PUBLIC service. There needs to be a major overhaul on how teachers/administrators and parents have relationships, because right now, everyone’s so petrified of being called out on social media that they cave to every parent's whims. It’s completely destroying teachers' abilities to do their jobs in peace."

More at link.

[tblue37]

1. This one is telling:

"I don’t want a job that requires active shooter drills. It’s not normal."

[Aristus]

4. I work at a public health clinic in one of the less-fashionable neighborhoods in Tacoma.

And we never have active-shooter drills.

The fact that our public schools have to have them is a national disgrace.

[underpants]

2. #12

12. "I'm a school librarian in NJ (very blue state). I had two books denied for purchase because even though students could easily just, you know, walk by them on the shelves and not check them out (I know, shocking concept), just by having them available was me indoctrinating our kids about critical race theory. A term idiots love to throw around without having a fucking clue what they're talking about.

[snpsmom]

3. I am considering leaving

because of parents and the kids they don't take responsibility for. Every day I feel more defeated.

I could make more money and be treated like a professional in a different field.

[Victor_c3]

5. I might be wrong, but I believe as a federal government employee that if your job requires a masters

degree that you’re automatically a GS-12. Depending on where you live, a GS-12 easily could easily make $100,000 a year. I know education is run at the state level, but I thoroughly believe it should be nationalized and run by the federal government.

In my opinion, anyone who is required to have that much education should be compensated accordingly. Imagine the quality of teachers our youth would have if they were all paid $100,000 a year and people were clamoring to get these jobs… (not to say that there aren’t great teachers out there).

It’s crazy that money can come out of the woodwork when military spending in on the table, but something as vitally important as education is always pushed to the back of our society’s list of priorities.

You can’t have a vibrant democracy without an educated population - which probably explains why republicans hate education so much.

[Lonestarblue]

6. It's all part of the Republican model. Deliberately sabotage something so the public sees that it

doesn’t work, then campaign on fixing it by, in the case of education, turning it over to private for-profit companies that haven’t a clue how to educate kids but deliver big profits to their investors with taxpayer money. When that doesn’t work, walk away and blame the problems on Democrats.

It’s what Republicans have done with the federal government for years.

[JohnnyRingo]

8. The NEA is the single largest donor to the Democratic Party.

Charter schools are non-union.

Sometimes motives are more simple that we suspect.

[JohnnyRingo]

7. The GOP hates public school teachers.

Here in Ohio they're passing a law that will offer more parents the option to send kids to high schools in strip malls or churches. The #1 donor to the democratic Party are unions, and the teacher's union is the biggest of all now.

[Solly Mack]

9. K&R

[AwakeAtLast]

10. I know the focus is on Libraries right now

But I'm waiting for Music Teachers and our files to be lassoed in with them.

Many days I'm just making kids happy and cashing my paycheck. I no longer stick my neck out to go "above and beyond". Only popular teachers get any kind of appreciation for that. I have about 8 years to retirement.