I believe it- I’ve covered lunch duty for all the grades and felt like I had been through the wringer from all the overstimulation - and that’s like 2 hours versus 7.
there was an interesting text thread among the 7th grade moms with some critiques about how teachers were communicating and then one of the moms who is substitute teaching spoke up and was like "Uh please cut everyone some slack if you saw what I see your eyes would bleed."
Hi, teacher here whose kid just started kindergarten and THANK YOU. So much of this I relate to - the constant saying my name (though for me, it’s just “miss! Miss! Miss!”). The idea that I actually DO know more about kids and how to deal with them than my spouse because I have been doing this for 20 years AND I am still learning and I know that!!!
Anyway uhh I have to get back to work I have 30 minutes to take care of all my shit before I teach 5 50 minute classes in a row, followed by a meeting 🫠
I just left teaching after 5 years of teaching HS humanities. The quote about toddlers and teenagers needing the most attention is spot on. My daughter is 4 now, and I started teaching while pregnant with her, in Feb 2020. I had this idea that I would take a break from my career in nonprofit communications and do "something real" in my community, that would also give me a better work-life balance and summer's off, etc. It is HILARIOUS now to look back and how wrong I had it. After dealing with covid, having a baby, and starting a new career at 40, all at the same time, I had to finally acknowledge that I made a mistake. I mean, it took me 4 years to finally acknowledge it, white-knuckling through those crazy long days with 70 kids needing me, to going home to my baby-then-toddler needing me, always running out of PTO days due to toddler and HS plagues. I don't know how my sanity or marriage survived (barely). I finally gave notice last spring, and went back to nonprofit comms (found a hybrid job, thank the goddess). Teachers deserve EVERYTHING. And the teachers who truly got it and gave 1000% percent: were the ones without their own kids. Our students were their kids, and they had the emotional bandwidth to give them so much. They picked up the slack for those of us who just couldn't.
You're not the only person I know who has had to seriously re-evaluate their decisions to go into education for mental health reasons. It's good to know what you can handle--and parenting doesn't' exactly get easier when you're totally strung out. Glad you found a job that better fits your schedule/headspace.
my friend is subbing this year. her stories are amazing. She said that she thought for a second that she might have to sub in for 8th grade math and quote "I thought I would shit myself."
I’ve always written the letter about my kid’s strengths and challenges with executive functioning skills and I really liked this version where the letter is from the kid. At my kids’ age I still feel like I’m working with their teachers most of the time kind of on the periphery but as my kids learn more about their brains and what works for them I thought this was so interesting.
My twin sister is currently a full time infant teacher at her daughter’s preschool. She went to grad school for school counseling and after 2 years at the elementary level she didn’t want to go back (and still doesn’t). Feeling the support of staff is huge but I often ask her POV on how to exhibit support to teachers and the specialists who don’t tend to get as much love during teacher appreciation.
The preschool teachers and director felt like a huge part of my village for the last 6 years- yes childcare was expensive but I repeatedly told them they were underpaid and I don’t know how they could maintain the level of patience and care I saw exhibited on a daily basis for all the kids. My 7 yo wanted to take pics with all his former teachers at preK grad this year and he hasn’t seem them regularly for 2 years. The director helped him do this seek and find game in the hall with items hidden in pictures one day right before my 5 yo graduated. I spent a lot of time trying to find a great center for my kids but I will always miss our preschool family. And majority of them did have their own kids too, but specifically the lead teacher of preK had the best understanding of ND kids I had ever seen. They got an SEL award for their use of Conscious Discipline from our local college.
My kid’s middle school has a thing called “handle with care” where if your kid’s having a rough time for any reason, you send the principal an email with uh that phrase and your kid’s name and you’re not required to give any additional info, and they’ll pass it along to the teachers so they know to give your kid a little extra patience or space or attention that day. I just used it this morning when I sent my kid to school after he’d been sick all weekend and he has no fever but still a very mild sore throat and (new!) a stomachache (sorry! I am usually very big on staying home but he just missed 7 whole days due to covid last month).
I love that letter for the teachers. My 6th-grader’s teachers sent home fill-in-the-blank things like that and it’s fine, but also I kind of wish they’d done it in a way that was a little more private and didn’t involve sending it back to school in his backpack. Not that I don’t believe in talking through with my kid what his strengths and weaknesses are, but it’s also a little weird to be like, “Here ya go, bud, here’s everything I’m secretly thinking about how you suck.”
I’m a librarian and while I ADORE secondary school kids (and have 2 at home) the year I volunteered in my kid’s elementary school library bc I was unemployed was so painful. Kindergarten teachers especially deserve all the love — every grade before 4th is hell — and under no circumstances would I ever want to be in a regular classroom.
The ER doc vs teacher BLEW MY MIND. Whole other level of respect for teachers has been unlocked.
I believe it- I’ve covered lunch duty for all the grades and felt like I had been through the wringer from all the overstimulation - and that’s like 2 hours versus 7.
there was an interesting text thread among the 7th grade moms with some critiques about how teachers were communicating and then one of the moms who is substitute teaching spoke up and was like "Uh please cut everyone some slack if you saw what I see your eyes would bleed."
😳
Teachers deserve EVERYTHING and it pisses me off that they don’t get ANYTHING.
hear hear
Hi, teacher here whose kid just started kindergarten and THANK YOU. So much of this I relate to - the constant saying my name (though for me, it’s just “miss! Miss! Miss!”). The idea that I actually DO know more about kids and how to deal with them than my spouse because I have been doing this for 20 years AND I am still learning and I know that!!!
Anyway uhh I have to get back to work I have 30 minutes to take care of all my shit before I teach 5 50 minute classes in a row, followed by a meeting 🫠
🫡 I don't know how you all do it. I would sweat with anxiety just helping out with the kids' holiday parties at school.
I just left teaching after 5 years of teaching HS humanities. The quote about toddlers and teenagers needing the most attention is spot on. My daughter is 4 now, and I started teaching while pregnant with her, in Feb 2020. I had this idea that I would take a break from my career in nonprofit communications and do "something real" in my community, that would also give me a better work-life balance and summer's off, etc. It is HILARIOUS now to look back and how wrong I had it. After dealing with covid, having a baby, and starting a new career at 40, all at the same time, I had to finally acknowledge that I made a mistake. I mean, it took me 4 years to finally acknowledge it, white-knuckling through those crazy long days with 70 kids needing me, to going home to my baby-then-toddler needing me, always running out of PTO days due to toddler and HS plagues. I don't know how my sanity or marriage survived (barely). I finally gave notice last spring, and went back to nonprofit comms (found a hybrid job, thank the goddess). Teachers deserve EVERYTHING. And the teachers who truly got it and gave 1000% percent: were the ones without their own kids. Our students were their kids, and they had the emotional bandwidth to give them so much. They picked up the slack for those of us who just couldn't.
You're not the only person I know who has had to seriously re-evaluate their decisions to go into education for mental health reasons. It's good to know what you can handle--and parenting doesn't' exactly get easier when you're totally strung out. Glad you found a job that better fits your schedule/headspace.
If I had to teach I would die
lol here in the middle of this cafe
my friend is subbing this year. her stories are amazing. She said that she thought for a second that she might have to sub in for 8th grade math and quote "I thought I would shit myself."
I’ve always written the letter about my kid’s strengths and challenges with executive functioning skills and I really liked this version where the letter is from the kid. At my kids’ age I still feel like I’m working with their teachers most of the time kind of on the periphery but as my kids learn more about their brains and what works for them I thought this was so interesting.
My twin sister is currently a full time infant teacher at her daughter’s preschool. She went to grad school for school counseling and after 2 years at the elementary level she didn’t want to go back (and still doesn’t). Feeling the support of staff is huge but I often ask her POV on how to exhibit support to teachers and the specialists who don’t tend to get as much love during teacher appreciation.
The preschool teachers and director felt like a huge part of my village for the last 6 years- yes childcare was expensive but I repeatedly told them they were underpaid and I don’t know how they could maintain the level of patience and care I saw exhibited on a daily basis for all the kids. My 7 yo wanted to take pics with all his former teachers at preK grad this year and he hasn’t seem them regularly for 2 years. The director helped him do this seek and find game in the hall with items hidden in pictures one day right before my 5 yo graduated. I spent a lot of time trying to find a great center for my kids but I will always miss our preschool family. And majority of them did have their own kids too, but specifically the lead teacher of preK had the best understanding of ND kids I had ever seen. They got an SEL award for their use of Conscious Discipline from our local college.
Miss Nelson/Viola Swamp is really the Jekyll/Hyde of our generation. Lately, I've definitely been trending Swamp.
oh yeah. At what point are we all actually Ms Swamps just masquerading as Miss Nelson, honestly
My kid’s middle school has a thing called “handle with care” where if your kid’s having a rough time for any reason, you send the principal an email with uh that phrase and your kid’s name and you’re not required to give any additional info, and they’ll pass it along to the teachers so they know to give your kid a little extra patience or space or attention that day. I just used it this morning when I sent my kid to school after he’d been sick all weekend and he has no fever but still a very mild sore throat and (new!) a stomachache (sorry! I am usually very big on staying home but he just missed 7 whole days due to covid last month).
I love that letter for the teachers. My 6th-grader’s teachers sent home fill-in-the-blank things like that and it’s fine, but also I kind of wish they’d done it in a way that was a little more private and didn’t involve sending it back to school in his backpack. Not that I don’t believe in talking through with my kid what his strengths and weaknesses are, but it’s also a little weird to be like, “Here ya go, bud, here’s everything I’m secretly thinking about how you suck.”
I’m a librarian and while I ADORE secondary school kids (and have 2 at home) the year I volunteered in my kid’s elementary school library bc I was unemployed was so painful. Kindergarten teachers especially deserve all the love — every grade before 4th is hell — and under no circumstances would I ever want to be in a regular classroom.
that "handle with care" thing is a GREAT idea. I bet the teachers really appreciate the heads up