Classroom trauma
My days consist mostly of telling kids who don’t listen what not to do: Stop this and don’t do that all day long. It’s pointless. Most of the students I teach come to school precisely for the entertainment value in riling their teachers up so why would they behave? I try to stay calm to deprive them of that pleasure, but the constant level of self-control required is exhausting in itself. By the time I get home I can hardly think straight.
It really is difficult for me to be a sergeant major in class. I hate making people do things that they don’t want to. My natural inclination is to let them do what they wish as long as it doesn’t bother me, and if it does my natural inclination is to distance myself from them. As a teacher I cannot do either of these things unfortunately. Not only do I have to put up with dozens of people who give me a hard time, I have to serve them an education as well.
Perhaps it is time for me to get out of teaching. It is not quite the job I imagined it to be and I still have the chance to do something else with my life.
Comments
Teaching is difficult at the best, and it is rarely at the best.
Maybe time to look around, maybe retool and go in another direction.
(The economy is sooo scary though...)
Even just a few years older is different.
All feelings are subjective and deserve to be honored. And that is why it is difficult in making decisions especially when they are against most societal expectations. We are social beings and it is hard not to be affected by those around us. But at the end it truly all comes down to taking the road that relieves us for some extent of comfort at that moment.
As a fellow teacher, I have to start by saying... don't let the bad kids get to you. There are great students out there who want to learn, and will benefit from the knowledge that you can impart on them. It's about finding the right teaching environment for yourself. Maybe the current school you're at isn't the right one for you. Are there any other places that would welcome your expertise?