Why I’m leaving

Hi all, I love teaching. I really do. I have wanted to teach ever since 10th grade. I joined the military to get free education so I could teach. I worked as hard as I could to be a good teacher and now I’m leaving. Why? I have worked at 4 schools. These schools were in Fort Worth, Chicago, and New Orleans. I have worked public, charter, and private. What I can tell you without a shadow of doubt, is that the problems for which I am leaving have nothing to do with location or school type. They exist everywhere. It doesn’t matter if the state is red or blue. Politics doesn’t come into it. I am leaving because we have created an education system that cares more about making students feel good and comfortable than it does about educating them. Schools create too many rules for students and then refuse to hold to those rules and then refuse to change or eliminate the rules when they fail to hold to them. Then they blame the teacher for causing the inconsistency. Students have been falling further and further behind through the past few years because if inconsistent policies. It is almost impossible to fail anymore. We have forgotten that failure teaches better than success. We have also forgotten that grades matter. 60% is the lowest grade a student can earn in some schools regardless of whether the task was even attempted. What exactly does that teach the student? How does that prepare them for adulthood? No, college isn’t for every student. Some students aren’t ready for the responsibility required of college. When schools all but force students into college after graduation many fail and lose unearned scholarships given to them by people trying to help. Scholarships don’t pay for failed classes. These students end up in debt. How is that helping them? HOW? Trade school is a much better option than a mountain of debt and regret. Many trades make much better money than some jobs requiring a college degree. We, as educators, are hurting kids more than helping them. We also have zero choice in the matter. If we don’t support this system we risk our jobs. It’s not fair to the students and it isn’t fair to us. I am leaving because I can’t continue hurting students. I love teaching. I really do. I love the students more than anything. But I can’t teach anymore because I can’t keep hurting the futures of students who really don’t know any better. We NEED to do better.

Submitted August 23, 2021 at 10:15AM by IamMazenoff https://ift.tt/3ydCMKV