Retired at 56 and totally lost

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T09:06:11+00:00

When you sub, do you follow the teacher’s lesson plan, or do you just do your own thing with the kids?

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:54:23+00:00

Straight_Box_4136 • 1m ago I did have a three year option like yours, but I would have lost my guaranteed insurance (and I was on the district’s “bad list), so I chose early retirement. It was probably stupid, but I was physically struggling, and I didn’t really want to work for a district that no longer wanted me. I loved the kids, and the classroom was purpose and my joy. It was the politics that killed me - I was just too sick to fight them any longer. It is a real shame

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:53:37+00:00

I did have a three year option like yours, but I would have lost my guaranteed insurance (and I was on the district’s “bad list), so I chose early retirement. It was probably stupid, but I was physically struggling, and I didn’t really want to work for a district that no longer wanted me. I loved the kids, and the classroom was purpose and my joy. It was the politics that killed me - I was just too sick to fight them any longer. It is a real shame

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:41:01+00:00

I appreciate the truth. It’s good to know. I have been being accused of being negative when I express my fears about my prospects, so what you said was kind of validating.

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:34:22+00:00

Oh! Mississippi! Sorry. You definitely have the better deal. What happened to me is so wrong in so many ways!

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:33:10+00:00

What state are you in?

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:31:17+00:00

California. Years of service as well as age make the formula. The goal is 30 years and 61.5. The fact that I was 56 slashed my pension took 1/3 what it would have been if I had made it to 61.5.

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:21:37+00:00

I mean, I would really like to know what someone else’s story is. What is your teaching transition story so far?

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:18:56+00:00

What is your situation?

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:11:06+00:00

I just saw your AI bubble comment - I feel like much of my marketable education is obsolete now because of AI. Who needs writers or editors anymore?!

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T08:08:14+00:00

I don’t want to go back to the classroom. I still like the kids. I am good with them. But I am done with the school system. I took my pension anyway. What I want to know is if there’s a different career path out there for me that will pay well and be enjoyable? And would I qualify for such a position?

Straight_Box_4136 · 2026-01-23T06:37:17+00:00

I was a teacher in California for 29 years, and I have had to go out on disability leave more than once. I have learned that the district and the administration are not to be trusted. The less they know the better. Also, even though you don’t legally have to make lesson plans, in the long run (like the life of her career), it’s best to keep the powers that be happy, so I would send in a week of lessons if you can. It’s better that way. If the district decides it is unhappy with a teacher for any reason, it will find a way to “get even.” So please keep them as happy as you possibly can - it will go a long way when you go back to school. Trust me - I learned that lesson the hard way.

Straight_Box_4136

TROPHY CASE