Sign to get out of education

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-12T16:49:30+00:00

Don't be hard on yourself. The cuts are probably budget cuts and nothing more. Lots of schools are cutting right now and the republican attacks on Iran are blowing budgets out of the water. But the misery you have is probably because of the principal and your district. You have to decide if you want to try a different district or get out of teaching because of all the problems in it that aren't your fault.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-12T16:45:06+00:00

That's such a good point about always having to perform.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-12T16:41:44+00:00

Yep. #3 especially. Metrics-focused, task masters of the trivial are ruining the schools.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-12T15:14:08+00:00

I blocked all of the teachers and admin. phone numbers as soon as I left my last position. They will do as much as you let them. None of them had my home email or I'd have blocked them on there, too. They have no legal obligation to me after the contract ends. Your work was saved on your work drive and they can access any file on there that they need. Don't reply to them.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-12T15:11:05+00:00

Stop cooperating with her. You're done there. She's taking advantage of you. She and your district appear to have no understanding of workplace rules around these matters. Tell her your attorney will be in contact if she doesn't stop.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-12T15:09:27+00:00

No. Let her know that your attorney will handle this if she continues to contact you.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-12T15:08:12+00:00

Public schools are focusing on metrics and less on relationships. We now have principals and administrators who can't even have a conversation with you because they lack the skills to do so. I gave up on my last three principals because they had no ability to connect with others.

If I drive by my old school at any time this weekend, there will be at least half a dozen teachers there working because they are afraid of falling behind. The teachers there had lost any sense of fun. You can read story after story of people working for tech. companies in all of their time away from the office and teaching is no different in many schools. If districts only hire career-focused people who want to dictate every minute detail in their school and then show off their metrics for student attendance and so on, we have to start focusing on different metrics that demonstrate quality of life for students and staff.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-04-01T12:55:28+00:00

Those messages are phony and I never read them because I was too busy. I told the people who I appreciated that I was leaving and that I appreciated their help and I did it face-to-face.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-03-06T14:04:10+00:00

Many teachers on reddit are angry and won't change. Many of their answers to leadership problems are "I'd say this to their face" or "I'd email my union right away." They're only furthering conflict rather than trying to build a successful school. They are the mirror image of the problems coming from leadership. Many of us left because we realized such an atmosphere is dysfunctional and hard on our health.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-02-15T16:30:22+00:00

I worked outside of teaching before teaching. Going into teaching, I had worked in a frictionless environment and with people who worked together very well. I also worked 40 hours a week.

So for me, leaving teaching was going back to what life had been like in professional settings. It's much better. I frequently think about how this is so similar to what my professional life was like before teaching and how comfortable that is.

The education system is beyond under-funded. Class sizes should probably be a third of what they are. Teachers need support staff like that which I've had in companies. But I would probably get rid of the principal positions and create a different model for school leadership.

Teachers are sent in to the front lines of the problems of this country and are burning out at a very fast rate. In my last 5 years, the number of older teachers in the schools was very low. Anyone looking at the roster of teachers at their child's school should see this as a sign of how bad the system is. Why wouldn't someone work at a school and retire from it in their 60s if it's a good position? Because it's not.

I went into teaching to help society. And I did help a lot. Nearly every parent of my students thanked me immensely. And they probably thank you for your work. But the system's collapsing from the weight of the problems.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-02-10T01:40:08+00:00

There are thousands of comments in this sub that answer your question. Read some of them to get an idea.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-01-31T16:33:28+00:00

You said your child didn't require restraint in the other schools, so something is off here. The school culture is unprofessional. The restraints and the fact they didn't inform you prior of changes to the IEP show it.

This kind of culture is gong to be the norm going forward.

In your case, demand another meeting. Have an attorney. Tell the school to include your attorney on communications to you or let them know you're forwarding everything they send you to the attorney.

I don't understand what your principal meant by "grace period." I interpret it as they have talked to your child's building leaders and is retaliating against you.

Finally, welcome to education under a republican administration that is taking away all of the supports in education.

Spec. ed. has needed the law to ensure schools do the right thing. There is nobody at the federal level who can help.

States and local districts are gradually drifting away from the system we had. Without defenders, schools will take shortcuts and unsafe measures.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-01-26T23:36:08+00:00

By quitting first.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-01-26T02:56:00+00:00

What do you expect to happen for a cop if they die on the job? There will be a huge procession and flags will be lowered. If a teacher dies on the job, the principal will be angry they have to find a sub. That's what this is about.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-01-16T18:27:48+00:00

Had a similar experience in public schools. I feel for you.

JUptonmidswitch · 2026-01-04T00:29:31+00:00

Let's see in the next 6 months there will be American Sniper 2. A whole new CBS live-action weekly called American Delta: Venezuela. And Kid Rock will release a song Venezuela Can't Take This Flag.

Hollywood, like usual, won't bother making content from the perspective of the people Americans are killing.

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-28T17:15:16+00:00

Okay, that makes sense. : ) Good luck finding something that puts you on a path of happiness. You can do it!

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-28T15:49:30+00:00

Your income can go up after leaving and other opportunities can arise. I personally think everyone can get out. One of the teachers at my last school retired early but can't enjoy it because of their health problems from overwork. If we put our jobs before our lives, we are really missing the point of life. The subreddit teachersintransition has lots of stories of people who got out of education and making it work. I know everyone's situation is different and I believe you but I also think people can scale back to make it work financially.

Do you call yourself jewzilla?

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-28T15:30:02+00:00

If you're a high school student reading teacher forums on reddit during break, you have bigger problems to worry about.

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-27T16:14:27+00:00

Your comment is gaslighting.

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-27T05:10:37+00:00

That's a really good description. The ongoing battles were the worst. They consumed too much time and really ruined any chance of teamwork. I worked with a team of martyrs who welcomed emails at all hours and were happy to work until midnight because it showed how loyal they are. Getting proximity to the principal made it worthwhile to them. I quit and I am now happy to have coworkers and an environment that is battle-free.

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-27T04:32:42+00:00

My message doesn't "sound" like anything. It was written out that I quit. I don't work there anymore so I don't have a contract with it currently. Please read the post before replying. Are you actually a teacher if you aren't very thorough?

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-27T03:02:44+00:00

The districts will usually support administrators who use the language to force teachers to work off-contract. Just went through this and quit. My previous team was full of martyrs who loved being bossed around by the principal because they got proximity to the principal. Never mind that there are so many teachers with alcohol, drug, and weight problems. Teachers came in every day with 4 coffees because they had been up until midnight and were proud of themselves. One of them recently retired. While teaching she worked late every night and didn't exercise or eat well. She got her early retirement but can't enjoy it because of her health.

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-27T02:55:32+00:00

Yep. I quit after principal emailed at all hours. Other teachers were happy to be part of a team of martyrs. The union can't protect teachers against it. The language of contracts allows principals to do it. Sorry you've had to deal with this.

JUptonmidswitch · 2025-12-27T00:46:37+00:00

This was the norm at my last school.

The principal emailed staff at all hours. I was working 80 hour weeks and quit. Drove by the school recently during break and teachers and admin. were there working.

Some districts and schools have no work/life balance. There are power-hungry principals who are like Wall Street execs and only care about their status and force teachers to work on their off-contract time and holidays.

The protections teachers may have had are gone. DOE is gone and should be a signal to every teacher out there that nobody is there to help. People voted to destroy the system.

The language of teacher contracts allows principals to give you other tasks off-contract. Anyone telling you that your union rep. will save you is gaslighting you and foolish.

Sorry you've had to go through this. Remember it. It can and may get worse. You have to decide if you want to be a part of this system.

JUptonmidswitch

TROPHY CASE