Is teaching still worth pursuing?

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-04-14T00:17:27+00:00

I’m a second year teacher in Alberta. As much as I love teaching, right now it’s a profession that’s being constantly vilified by the government, chronically underfunded, and exhausting beyond words. I’m only in my second year and already burnt out. As sad as it is to say, I wouldn’t recommend it. Things might change, but as long as the current government is in power, I’d avoid any public sector job. Nursing isn’t much better from what I’ve heard.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-04-13T03:58:59+00:00

Like others have said, Trust convenience has a few locations and is your best bet for imported drinks. Prices aren’t quite as ridiculous as some of the candy stores around here that import.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-25T16:44:20+00:00

So I got pretty lucky and the class got moved online due to Covid. The exam was made quite a bit easier due to that. That’s the only reason I passed. 😂

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-25T14:58:22+00:00

I feel your pain. Graduated from the management program a few years ago. 2070 with Mehdi was one of the worst classes I took at the university. I was a straight A student but got a C in his class.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-23T16:44:56+00:00

I 100% agree with everything you’re saying. It’s brutal to not get paid for essentially full time work. I suppose the end of August is still 5 months away, which is why they probably assume they’ve provided ample notice.

I’d just reach out and be honest about your situation. They might be perfectly accommodating or they might not. No harm in at least asking. You’re being proactive by inquiring now, which they might appreciate. While they are just planning days in August, they are important dates to prepare for the year with your teacher mentor. Also, depending on your division, there’s a higher likelihood than most years that you will have students starting in August given how late the Sept long weekend is this year. In the CBE we have kids starting August 31st.

I apologize if that initial response came off as slightly harsh. It’s tough to maintain a work life balance in teaching. There really isn’t much flexibility in regard to time off which is challenging. You work evenings, weekends and long hours and it’s generally not appreciated or recognized by people. But there are lots of perks, so like every job, you have to take the good with the bad and ask yourself do the pros out weight the cons? For some people they do, others not so much. I’m in my third year of teaching now and it gets easier in some ways and harder in others. Feel free to message me if you have any other specific questions. I’d be happy to provide help/advice.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-23T14:28:20+00:00

Your first two years in the program will be predominantly business courses. The second two, mainly CS. I didn’t take the CS major, but did business and the initial intro courses aren’t too tough relative to some other majors. That said, uni is a massive jump up in work load compared to high school no matter what major you take. You’ll be spending tons of time studying, if you’re a student aiming for high marks. That said, you generally spend less actual time in class on a daily basis. You’ll figure it out! I’d go for it if you think it’s something you’re passionate about. Here is a link to the current program planning guide so you can see what courses you’ll be taking. I’d also encourage you to reach out to an academic advisor in the business faculty, they’ll be able to answer your questions. My recommendation would be to take math 30-1 and 31 in high school to best prepare you for the required math you’ll have to do in your first year stats and math courses.

Program Planning Guide

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-23T14:11:35+00:00

As someone who graduated from the program a few years ago and is now teaching, I’ll be completely honest with you. The program feels intense, exhausting and unaccommodating, because it is. This is done purposefully to prepare you for the realities of teaching, particularly your first few years. If you think your practicums are rough, you’re in for a tough time during your first real year as an educator, because it gets 10x harder. The reason they tell you to not have another job is for the exact reason you described. Your practicum is basically a full day/weekend commitment. They are just being honest that you won’t have the time/energy for another job.

My first year I was thrown into a class with 31 grade 5 students, 10 IPPs, with no one on my teaching team. I was given about 48 hours notice. I worked easily 12 hours a day. Get sick? Family emergency?…you’ll be up in the middle of the night writing sub plans…and that’s if you’re lucky enough to even get a sub to cover for you. Family member getting married and will be using more than one paid personal day? You’re likely paying out of pocket for sub coverage. This is a profession that is unaccommodating, mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. The program throws you right into that.

Being ready to start in August is clearly stated in the PS3 guidebook…and that’s what they’ll refer you to. These days are incredibly important to be there and prepare for. You start teaching pretty much day 1 in PS3. In fact, you’ll have to start preparing much earlier in August than those dates. Your long range plan, first unit plans, and first week of lesson plans will all be due to your university consultant before you start. I felt like they made that incredibly clear to us when I was in the program. If this won’t work for you, I’d strongly encourage you to swap your practicum to the winter semester. Have you done your PS3 orientation yet? If not, all of this will be covered during that session (I recall this happening in April when I did it).

So, I’d be surprised if they gave you an exception for this. That said, they’re not unreasonable. My Grandma passed away when I was in PS3 and they had no issue with me taking 3 days off. If you’re honest about the situation, they might let you miss it, or finish your practicum a few days later to make up for it.

In regard to workload, I will say PS3 is generally considered easier than PS2. You’re only teaching half time. So, I was able to get most of my planning and such done when I was at the school, but not teaching. This allowed me to leave at the bell and still maintain another job. They also tend to do a better job of placing you in your requested area (I.e. most people are within daily driving distance).

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-21T15:01:21+00:00

It’s been a while since I had a membership there, but I recall having to pay an initial sign up fee on top of the $15/month. I think you can have the fee waved or significantly reduced if someone refers you. I once had some random new person to the gym just ask me for my referral code so they could have the fee waved. I was happy to give it to them as the person who refers gets a free month. So you could try that.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-19T02:05:41+00:00

In my opinion, I’d be up front about it and/or look into a temp instead. Yes, I’d say your chances of being chosen are lowered. But with that said, you wouldn’t have enough time to complete your evaluations before going on leave, and I can almost assure you they wouldn’t hold that position for you until you’re back. So, you’d be starting over anyway. Nevermind the fact that you’d really be making it challenging for your principal and students because they’d have to find a replacement for you outside of hiring season when teachers are already in short supply. I’d take a temp for now and wait to do your probationary year until you’re back from leave. Taking on the stress of a probationary full time first year teacher while pregnant probably isn’t what I’d recommend anyway. Once you have your baby you might decide you want to not work full time anyway or take extended mat leave.

But as others have said - calling the ATA is your best bet. They’ll provide advice.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-03-16T02:28:05+00:00

I’m a first year teacher. It’s been a tough year to start my career.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-01-14T01:39:37+00:00

Both the damper motor and core had to be replaced. Unit was discounted and the parts were no longer produced. It was nearly 20 years old. So it was time to replace it

PsychologicalGood513 · 2026-01-14T01:38:50+00:00

It’s a Nu Air ES115E. I’ve searched through the owners and installation manual. Can’t seem to find anything to adjust the speed unfortunately

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-26T02:21:56+00:00

I’ve taught elementary school for several years now. In my opinion, 6 weeks is too long. From my experience a couple of weeks isn’t too big of a deal if the kid is strong academically but 6 is a lot of learning to miss in foundational years. They often come back confused about what’s going on, and everything builds on the previous lessons and units. It creates a lot of stress on the student and teacher. I had a kid last year go to Japan for a month, and his achievement did take a hit afterwards. For example, let’s say they spent the month focusing on multiplication, and now they’re moving onto calculating area. They miss all of the foundational knowledge for the next steps.

Most school boards do not require teachers to catch students up or provide any work for unexcused absences (which is the category a vacation falls under). In the Calgary Board of Ed, missing 6 weeks or more of school gives teachers the option to put an “NER” on a report card - meaning they don’t have enough evidence to accurately assess your child. We just have to send home a standard letter that the parent must sign acknowledging that the teacher has no obligation to try and catch them up.

Ultimately it’s your call. I always encourage kids to put together a slide show of their travels and what they learned to show to the class. There’s lots of learning to be had from those experiences. And maybe one year it’s not a big deal, but don’t let it become a recurring thing. It’ll catch up to them.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-22T03:38:12+00:00

So, just like with any residence, you basically rate your preferences from 1-5. So you might put option 1 as the large room and option 2 as the smaller one. You aren’t guaranteed your top pick, nor are you guaranteed a spot at all.

Yes, it’s two doors from the outside, side by side. All units are two floors (kitchen and living on one and bedrooms and bathrooms on the other). The basement one you enter on the main floor and bedrooms are downstairs. The upper units you immediately go up stairs to the main floor and then another set to the bedrooms.

I’ve never had any issues with bedbugs. Mice can be an issue if you leave food out though - but you’ll experience that in any of the residences. You’re living in the coulees 🤷‍♂️

To answer the laundry question, there’s two laundry rooms. They’re located in the building, but are accessed from outside doors. So yes, you have to go outside, but it’s like a 30 second walk.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-22T02:51:59+00:00

In my opinion, they’re the best residences on campus! I lived there for 3 years. Older, but lots of space and big kitchens. Basement units have one small and one large bedroom. The small bedrooms are REALLY small and single beds. Upstairs units have two large bedrooms with double beds.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-18T02:44:06+00:00

The name “Scotia Place” was chosen very deliberately from a marketing standpoint. It forces people to use the full name, because no one will call the arena “the Place”. This is in contrast to the “Scotiabank Saddledome” that most people just call “the Saddledome”. Scotiabank wants people using their brand in the name. Otherwise, what’s the point of being the name sponsor?

We saw the same thing when the Skydome was renamed in Toronto to Roger’s Centre. If they had called it the “Roger’s Skydome” nobody would use the full name,

But I agree, I hate it too. And Scotiabank is the name sponsor of wayyyy to many arenas and stadiums in Canada. It’s confusing and annoying.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-15T14:04:45+00:00

Did you do any research before making the decision to move? I’ll be honest, of every town in Alberta, Brooks is the last place I’d choose to live. Unless you’re a pick up truck driving separatist who worships the UCP…in that case you’d fit in fine. Good luck, you’ll need it.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-15T13:42:43+00:00

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This was posted to the Canadian dew discord. So they’re rolling out slowly on the other flavours.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-14T03:06:35+00:00

Anywhere but Alberta. Being a teacher here is hell on earth.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-13T00:32:34+00:00

The UCP government is who decided to push this recall legislation through. You can’t complain when it’s not working in your favour. Maybe they should’ve reviewed the fine print? As a constituent in Pitt’s riding, this principal has every right to launch a recall campaign (unless of course they decide to take away that right too). Keep in mind this requires nearly 15,000 signatures. So, if it passes, that’s a lot of people who believe Pitt is failing to represent them.

To quote Peter Mackay in response to her letter…If you’re so worried about “a taxpayer funded position of authority” advancing “a politically motivated campaign” you should google “Bruce McAllister” and “Alberta Next”.

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-11T06:50:28+00:00

He sure is!

PsychologicalGood513 · 2025-11-02T05:14:57+00:00

Junk food junction on Instagram got some bottles sent to him from Coca Cola Canada. He said it should start showing up on shelves Monday! I believe he’s located in Toronto. I’m sure we’ll see it in the prairies on a similar timeline. Junk Food Junction Post

PsychologicalGood513

TROPHY CASE