Ch. 1 | My Story

I enjoy venting. I really do. I def know some good brain chemicals are released when I vent.

I also put a massive amount of effort in making sure it is with the right audience, and that I'm mindful that I don't do it too long or too often. I have learned to do this the hard way :)

Venting is only good if its short lived and is a precursor to doing the work to problem solve or make change happen.

For my book, I'm getting my venting out early - Ch. 1 "My Story".

First is the context/notes style blurb I plan to put on the page before the chapter begins. In all fairness, as I've sporadically written parts and pieces of this book so I could use feedback on:

1. Does this flow work?
2. Does it resonate? Is it relatable?
3. How can I be more clear?
4. What are your thoughts on the stories I tell?
5. Does the text in this chapter serve my purpose - to vent, share my frustrations and explain why I left the teaching profession?

I can’t recall the exact moment I realized I wanted to leave teaching. I’ve tried. I’ve reflected, thought back through all the disappointments, the lows, and even the highs. I don’t know. What I do know is that it was not one moment or one event. Looking back, for me, it happened gradually. It was compounded by many things. Some small, some large. But it began even in my first year.

Exhibit A

I had a really tough group. Literally and figuratively. Gang members. Rough home lives. Time spent in Juvenile Detention Centers. A third was IEP or 504. Six ESL. Several taking the course for a second try for credit. One student constantly gave me the business. Looking back, of course he did. The deck was stacked against him. I was certainly not seen as his ally. And he treated his other teachers the same. A parent conference about behavior and more consequences was inevitable, but I didn’t want to fail even if the student seemingly didn’t care. I called home. The conversation couldn’t have gone worse. She was tired of the calls, apparently I had waited too long. She was unresponsive to a plan, she was at her limit before the first quarter was done. I emailed the Assistant Principal I reported to. Gave him the run down and finished with mom’s reaction. No joke he said, “you sounded too white. You need to change who you are when you make these calls.” I just stared at him. I literally did not know what to say. He took that as a queue to continue his “mentoring”; “like me? If its a white family, I introduce myself as Edward. If it’s a black family, Eddy. If they are hispanic, I say Eduardo.” I felt sick to my stomach.?

Exhibit B

Things like a principal throwing me under the bus during a parent teacher conference. This was a fun one. I was 23, first year in a classroom all my own. Twins that I had in separate Classes of the same subject, turned in the EXACT same project. The mass majority of the content was from Wikipedia. And yes, it was the oh so lazy direct cut-and-paste. Turns out, it wasn’t even the students who did it. It was their father. And there is no greater unease than a parent caught cheating. A flushed parent ain’t great.? But according to the Principal, the family’s group cheating was somehow less of an egregious error in comparison to my syllabus quality, daily instruction, and expectations (you know, things like no plagiarism - oh wait, that was a District policy *eyeroll*).?

Exhibit C

Then there was years later, as Team Leader of a Social Studies department, where I had very few peers who cared about teaching. Coach after coach after coach refused to care about metrics like engagement, baselining student abilities, putting effort into the course and not just the court, mat, or field.?

Exhibit D?

There were the times the Varsity Football Coaches (yes, plural because this was not a one time event, by one single coach, and happened at several schools) would come in my classroom during my planning hour, when no one else was around, where there were no witnesses, to ask me to change my gradebook so their STUDENT-Athlete could take the field on Friday night. Because “football is all the STUDENT Athlete has” and said “STUDENT-Athlete promises to start participating in class and turning in work” and “STUDENT-Athlete already has two Fs in other classes and mine would be the easiest to changel” . My favorite was the request from one Coach to simply change the grade Thursday to earn Friday eligibility, and that I could just change it back on Monday morning. Gee! Thanks, Coach!! Just super!!

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Teaching wore me down. It broke my spirt and stole my enthusiasm. And I gotta say, it was never really the kids. For me, it was the adults, the policies, the lack of support.?

Others will talk about lack of funding, schools falling apart, safety issues, communities that lack basic resources and are seemly stuck in survival mode, favoritism among the staff, discipline issues, pressure to do more with so much less...

And? I can relate. There were all the years I was at a schools with no funding, no leadership, and no support in various combinations and degrees of severity. One school I was at had ONE student copy text book for classes with 25 students in it.?

I’ve been at a Charter school where the owning company saw running a child’s education as a business and for profit. It was miserable, for me, the teachers, and the students. I could be projecting quite a bit, but it was not a happy building. And when another teacher out of her third story classroom window saw some students assault a man on the street and rob him, they reported it, and the school did nothing. When gang violence threats got too bad at the end of the school year, they just cut the days short and bussed everyone home early. I’m not kidding.??

And if you are sitting in your classroom, thinking, there’s gotta be more. There is. And it comes with more money too. And paid time off. And flexibility. And if you pick the right career, it comes with perks like working remote, catered lunches, paid maternity/paternity leave, technology that is not 15 years outdated, and opportunity to grow and advance.

Teaching is a thankless job. And yes, I’m encouraging you to leave. Some people, you know *those teachers* will get all pius on you. They’ll be loud about how it's not about money, or paid time off, or work-life balance. They’ll tout “summer break” as a benefit and say you are educating the future. Ignore it. Knowledge that you are helping won’t pay your bills, let you live without roommates, or go on vacations or out to dinner and drinks whenever you want.?

And let me ask you this:

Where else in your life do make that many crappy excuses to continue to take BS?

My guess is not many.?

Is education of our students critical? Yes.?

Are teachers important? Yes.?

Do a majority of them care about students? I think so.?

Can you change the course of the system of education in this country at the Federal, State, and Local levels where the problems and blockers to success are? No.?

Whatever your reason is for thinking of leaving, it's good enough.?

You are not saving the world.

You are not failing students by leaving. Society is failing students by disrespecting such a [supposed] critical position.?

And if you are thinking of leaving, this book will help you create a plan. Like any good thing that comes in life, planning and hard work pay off. So earn it. In this book I will outline how to choose a new career, networking, qualifications, setting up your resume for success, and taking on a new role and working through those first few critical months.?

And yes, you just might miss out on that annual Free Chipotle Burrito during Teacher Appreciation Week. But I can tell you right now, between finally making enough money to BUY said burrito, coupled with the ability to go to the bathroom whenever you want?

It. Is. Awesome.