OT: Any Burned Out Teachers in Here?
- Thread starter dconifer
- Start date
board affiliated and you are correct. It's actually a common theme and surprised anyone would argue otherwise. No doubt some did a fantastic job they would be the outliers
fantastic school system and an outlier in NJ. Believe the HS ranks in top 5% nationally
I can only assume you've done the legwork and compiled data on every teacher in NJ to reach this conclusion. Clown.
True that there has been some "meme-level" posting in this thread, but most of the discussion has been pretty good, in my opinion...
I am sure every school district is different but something very interesting in our todays. Take your child to work day. I teach in an elementary school. Last year we had about 80 percent of our 6th graders out. Today the opposite, looks like 20 percent out.
I believe I read somewhere that take your child to work day is the second least productive day in the US work year. Only behind March Madness
Before it was a thing my Mom, who taught in Newark for 30+ yrs, brought me to her school in the late 70s.
My siblings and I went to Catholic school in Monmouth County and sometimes the holidays just didn’t line up.
So off I went. I have red hair and freckles. First time I went her class stayed away because of my “spots” as they thought I had the measles or something else. LOL
Think it’s more about the parents think “Been there done that”. We also have parents sending kids in sick.
yes, I was serious. Like in any profession, there will be bad apples or people who are checked out. I know my kids had a few. That said, for what teachers are asked to do now, and have to put up with, my perspective did a 180.
It's an amazing school and everybody associated with it should be proud. When I came to New Jersey, the first place I lived was an apartment in East Windsor, and I worked in Plainsboro, so I am familiar with it (although I don't think the school itself even existed at the time).
But also, it's in an affluent area filled with two-parent families who "give a chit," as Voltz described it upthread. I feel like that's more important than anything else, and I know others have said the same. I wonder how well that school would perform it it were picked up and plopped into Camden or other less well-off areas. I'm sure everybody else has the same kind of thought, I know I'm not some kind of pioneer in asking that.
It's like the "location, location, location" rule in real estate...
The Plainsboro side is hardly affluent as it's mostly renters and immigrants here on a visa to get education. My school is a Title 1 school and on the Plainsboro side. It also has the highest concentration of special ed. students as they are located here due to the resources being housed here for the most part.
I agree the parents caring is the biggest factor in school success. Also, if we could drop this school district in Camden I doubt the same performance would happen. However, isn't that the point of why teachers get pissy when everything about public school is criticized? You need all 3 components of education clicking to teach a student (admins, parents, teachers). Plus, you need student buy in. If any of those components are off, results deteriorate. This is why private school do well generally, they limit the problems they need to tackle.
I'm a huge proponent of doing what you feel is best for your child, public or private. I also am not against school vouchers because it should be all about the child learning the best they can. I'm only one voice and only there for 180 school days in their development.
I have a student this year who has major speech issues and it's impacting every facet of his development. Parents refuse to budge on getting him tested because speech is considered "special education'. Another one of my student came from out of district and attacked his old principal and my student teacher. There's no official support we can give him because his grades aren't in the tank. I have 2 other students who are classified and are in and out of the room for academics and special services. If these parents refuse to sign a document or give consent, I just have to do the best I can teaching them. This is the reality of a teacher nowadays. If a parent wants to screw up their kid, it's their choice and I have to live with it. So excuse us if we're tired, cranky or get burnt out. I'm glad I get paid well because it's a great reason to keep on coming back, haha.
On a side note, I'm not typing this while teaching. I had to take a half personal day for my daughter's confirmation. So I don't want to hear I'm slacking.
Thanks for the clarification.
Hopefully you have read the thread and know that I'm not a teacher basher. It's a very difficult job....
Last edited:
I appreciate your comments. I wasn't referring to you or anyone specific, it was more of a general statement.
Not trying to be the bad guy, but what do teachers have to put up with? I get that parents can be terrible, but people are terrible in general and that impacts every profession.
Is a parent complaining about there kid worse than someone making sub-optimal decisions just because they benefit their P&L? Is it worse than customers who demand the moon but barely open the checkbook? Do they get promotions deferred because there's a limited number of spots for people who aren't in a DEI class?
yeah no real promotion but you do get paid more simply with time in and I think we can all agree that in and of itself is ridiculous.
I do agree actually. But the other side of that coin is that I am at the top of the scale and no longer get raises.
I get that but this is common in Corporate America. In may places now, once you break a certain point, you no longer get actual raises and if you do, it's like a .25 as it's all in the bonus. I know people that haven't gotten raises in years and the bonuses have remained roughly the same
point is, I don't think what you are saying is unique to teaching is all
Might be top of the step chart but with a new contract there is a raise.
The results are in and
Demographics. Is there any school with 70% asians that is not a great school?
Demographics. Is there any school with 70% asians that is not a great school?
It's all well and good to tout the well known Asian work ethic and it's mostly accurate. However, one of the issues is that when you have Asian students who are underperforming, have behavior issues or special needs, it can be VERY difficult to get the parents to commit to an evaluation or an improvement plan. The stigma attached to it is just too great. This is not limited to just one culture either. All it takes is 2-3 difficult family situations or lack of support for an entire class to go off the rails miserably. It's not like you can just kick those kids out or send them to the principal when you need a break. These situations is where the idea of teacher burnout comes from.
You needed a special test to figure out the reason we have jobs?
No wonder you don't like the ed system. It failed you.
Not limited to education either.
And by that I’m talking about something with regard to my profession.
Last edited:
careful, this opens a can of worm that very few have the stomach nor emotional maturity to discuss. In addition, is it 'being asian', parental focus on educational performance or the affluency variable?
not sure why, they are more than fairly compensated for the duration and type of work.
any refuting this needs to remember that this, like many lower skill union line jobs, could be aptly performed by anyone new to the profession.
Common Core effectively killed the importance of experience in the classroom
that's because the administration is fearful of enraged parents. The reality is that students that can't performed or keep up in a class need to be removed (regardless of reason whether it be intellect, behavior, or other). the class shouldn't suffer because of a few apples but you are right, only takes 2 or 3 to fk it all up
I heard this story exactly
The child wasn't doing well in an advanced class. When the father was approached he said it would be looked down on by the community
I will add my 2cents to this as ai am completed g my 25th year of teaching and while I am tired I am not burned out. I teach HS and I teach a core subject. Kids are pretty much still kids, they try and get away with as much as possible and because I know that it does not bother me much. What has changed is the nature of admin, state control and expansion, and parents ( I am a parent of kids who went through public School system). Parents have way more access to information than when I started including lessons homework and daily grading. ( I am kind of an open book) Most parents are fine but some feel the need to make excuses for their kids or frankly, lie for them, for the most part even that aspect of teaching is manageable. The admin has, on the other hand, adopted a Cover your Ass policy. Which has lead to a lot of teacher frustration with discipline policy and student behavior. While I do not rely on my admin to discipline my students it is mostly because the punishment are handed out unevenly. Overall, I like my students, I like my classes, I get to teach them important things and every once in a while I get to make a difference.
there are many professions where this doesn't happen but it's certainly not 'uncommon'
Where you’re not concerned about your compensation?
I guess I’m not following or getting it. 🤷♂️
