Mahaloth, have you considered private tutoring?
This situation is outrageous. So many schools have trouble keeping people in the profession for more than five years.
I can’t imagine the chaos this causes.
Indeed - obscure language like English - I mean who needs it?
Seriously though OP, very sorry - hope you get something soon.
The statistic I was told when I was in my teaching credential program was that within 5 years, 50% of teachers would leave the profession. I really didn’t think I’d be in that demographic, but I ended up being one.
I’ve taught in a private, religious school for nearly a year, and the parents were significantly worse than when I taught public school. Most of them seemed to believe that paying tuition gave them the right to dictate what happened in the classroom, and most of them were utterly assured that their child could do no wrong.
I always hear that, but I’ve only seen one teacher resign the entire time I’ve been in it and that was to be a stay at home Mom.
Sorry for your troubles, Mahaloth. I’m a public school teacher in Texas. The funding issue is pretty messed up here as well–many districts are actually suing the state over it. My district went through a tight budget squeeze a couple of years ago and a lot of people were let go, but things improved and many were hired back the next year. I hope your situation gets better soon!
I was thinking the same thing. It may not pay as much, but it’s better than nothing, and free or reduced tuition for your kids is often part of the benefits package.
I just saw the bad news. I hope you and your family are doing well. If you only want to relocate for a year or two (or more), English is still in demand in China.
Yeah. Same with me (not to hijack this thread). I quit after 2 years and couldn’t be happier about not being a teacher anymore, and this was a career I had wanted for basically EVER since I was a kid in high school or middle school myself.
It is truly that terrible. How some teachers (like Mahaloth) manage to continue to be happy in it is amazing. In all of my time student teaching and teaching, I think I only ever met ONE other teacher who was genuinely happy to be a teacher and loved doing what they did. And he was pretty young. All the others were there for the (relatively) early retirement, the weekends, and the breaks. That was it.
I realized that if I wanted to stay in teaching I had to really stop caring, like all my coworkers had done, and I just couldn’t do that because it’s not fair to the kids.
I am really glad there are people like Mahaloth who care and want to keep teaching and doing a good job, and despite that, get laid off because of fucked up budget priorities. It’s really fucking sad.
I just don’t know where folks work. 90% of my teaching staff seem thrilled to be teachers and it’s not that amazing as school. Just a regular one.
Well, this a shock.
I got a job in a neighboring school district today. Pay cut for sure(due to dropping in seniority), but we’re very thankful.
Congratulations!!
I’m sorry to hear that. In my district (in Illinois) they’ve been trying to get by without replacing all the retiring teachers for the past four or five years, but if something doesn’t happen they will have to get deep into the teachers and staff in the next year or two. It’s really sad when good teachers like you have to go.
Congratulations on your new job!!
Awesome! You’re one of the good’uns, so I was hoping…
Congratulations on rejoining the workforce! May your students be hard-working and respectful! (hey, I can dream.)
Congrats on the new gig. As a music teacher, I always feel the axe is just hovering above my head. If you can avoid bitterness and resentment you’ll last. It’s hard to do though. It’s a marathon career for sure. Hope your transition goes well.
Congratulations! And you even found out in time to spend your summer working on lesson plans, you lucky dog.
I’ve been laid off twice. The last time, I took a job in the same industry at a noticeable pay cut. It took a few years, but my new companies recognized my skills, and I now make about the same as I did before the layoff. Yes, I lost a few years of raises…but compared to not having a job, it worked out.
I hope you have as much success.
“the top” or “a top” state? I’m surprised to hear that about Michigan.
Congrats on the new job too!
This has always irritated me about the way we tend to pay teachers. Pay scales are negotiated by the teacher’s union district-by-district, and depend only on education level and number of years in-district. Public sector wages should depend on years of experience, period, full-stop. I understand fixed, public pay scales, but how the hell can a district hope to hire highly-skilled, experienced people who move to the district from elsewhere, or who want to change careers.
Our local district does give up to 5 years of out-of-district experience “credit”, but that seems somewhat uncommon. They’ve also recently (like this calendar year) tweaked the scale to better compete for highly-educated career-switchers. But these are still small steps.
Anyway, congrats on the new job. Middle school English teachers are heroes (my wife is currently teaching in high school, but she’s done middle school, too).