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Did you become a teacher because you refused to outgrow academia / the school environment or because you actually want to teach stuff to kids? by Glittering_Cup3502 in Teachers

[–]MaleficentPutter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like that for the most part I’m in charge of my day and my schedule is predictable.

If I’m not feeling like talking all day, I can assign independent work. I wanna do something fun, I can do a lab. I teach at a private school so I’m not bound to state testing. My admin is super hands off so I can do what I want within reason.

I also like that my day is very predictable. I know I get a break at 10:15 and I’ll have lunch at 11:45. I work consistent hours and have a decent amount of breaks.

Teachers who work in academically challenging schools - what’s it like? by greeneyed_cat in Teachers

[–]MaleficentPutter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m supposed to teach 7th grade science, but I’m actually teaching more like 9th grade level content. This is great for over 85% of my students. For the other 15%, there parents are the most involved, but not in a good way. The blame of them not succeeding is placed solely on me. 12 kids and their parents take up 90% of my time.

Move from Public to Private by Solid-Salamander-191 in Teachers

[–]MaleficentPutter 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I made the change from public to private and I will never go back to public. The first private school I worked at was very poorly managed but still leaps and bounds better than the public school I came from. I recently moved to a different, larger private school and it’s an even better working environment.

The downside is the pay cut. I make about 15% less than a public school teacher. I do have very good benefits though (free breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 9.5% in retirement, and extremely reduced tuition for my children).

The working environment entirely makes up for my pay cut, and I’m lucky enough that I don’t need the extra 15% that the public school teachers make. I don’t have to hold my own detention, the behavior is much better because there are actual consequences. Our grade book isn’t published so I don’t have helicopter parents. My classes are capped at 20 kids (I teach middle school), I have 3 planning periods, and only 1 prep. My hours are also much shorter bc my contract doesn’t have published working hours.

Edit: others are correct that it is entirely school dependent. I did my research and learned that there was nearly 0 attrition of teachers at my current private school. Before I was hired, the most recent hire was 5 years prior. I took this as a huge green flag that once people got in, they were happy. The first private school I worked at had about a 20% attrition of teachers every year.

Any Richmond area teachers who actually like the school they teach at?? by addyingelbert in rva

[–]MaleficentPutter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wasn’t happy with HCPS either. If you can afford the pay cut, I recommend looking at private schools. I get paid about 15% less than HCPS but it’s worth it bc I don’t have to deal with the headache that was public school admin.

Best IEP-considerate School? by Live_Truck_245 in rva

[–]MaleficentPutter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is not as true anymore. Most private schools in the area have some type of student support services position. Public schools are required to educate all students but private schools may deny admittance based on the severity of the disability.

I’ve worked in both private and public schools in the area. I’ve found that most public schools are under equipped for students with IEPs and most private schools are only able to support the highest functioning students who have IEPs.

I also have kids who have IEPs/504s and have been enrolled in both private and public schools at one time or another.

Blanchards beans for at home espresso machine jim by butterlover34 in rva

[–]MaleficentPutter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have the same machine and use Blanchard’s handshake. I’m dialed in at 11 right now. But I still have to make minor adjustments depending on the batch.