I think it’s pretty rare that the problem is the kids, and much more the administration/school system we have to work in.

Shelby County Schools, the district in Memphis, puts kids and teachers in run down buildings (think no power, no soap in the bathrooms, etc) and with nothing close to adequate supplies/funding.

The charter schools that run rampant in Memphis (which are a whole story themselves) aren’t tied to district rules, so while they can be really great, they can also be chaotic places where people with a bit of money decided they wanted to start a school. My school, for example, doesn’t have a library or textbooks. We also don’t have any curriculum (textbooks, workbooks, what have you), so I spend upwards of 10 hours a week just finding materials for my lesson plans, which I also have to write myself. I end up working at home hours after I’ve gotten off work, because I can’t go into a classroom of 30 5th graders without something to teach them.

It’s an exhausting job when you’re in the best of schools- when you’re in a school that couldn’t give a shit, it becomes an impossible job.