Am I the only one?

ssspectacular

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 6:49 am

The kids ARE hard and I've been tempted to leave at times because of them. Don't know what else to do. What are your plans?
I like everything else about school; the teachers room, preparing, even marking I can usually handle. But when the kids are rowdy, it is SO difficult.

amother

Mustard

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 7:16 am

I have heard of that before. It's okay. You tried and what can you do about it? Parents also control the teachers so that is also an issue

amother

↑ Peach

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 7:52 am

OP, a good teacher doesn't call kids horrible. You taught in four schools & the kids in all schools where horrible???? So it must be the reason you quit teaching has nothing to do with the kids. It's not a typical reason to quit teaching because kids are "horrible".

amother

↑ Teal

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 8:47 am

OP, I responded earlier in the thread about leaving a few schools because the discipline was difficult. I get you. When someone asks me why I chose to teach in the school I'm in now, I say that I've been in other places and "I had a hard time." In one school the principal actively worked against me, disagreeing with me in front of the students, etc. so of course there was a tremendous lack of respect from the kids towards their teachers. That's the culture in that school, and I can't see myself ever going back to teach there.

In another school, the girls were ok and the principal was ok but the schedule was crazy, so when I had an opportunity to get more hours in another place (where I was already seeing success), I left there too, though I'd go back if my hours would be re-negotiated to my benefit.

IOW, in both places it just "didn't work out for me..."

The place I'm now doesn't pay the best, but the staff is amazing and helpful, the kids are kids but there's a respect that's demanded of them, and the schedule is doable. And even so, it took me a good 3-4 years to get the "hang" of it. But this is where I am now for over a decade, and I truly enjoy it BH.

↑ oliveoil

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 11:39 am

amother wrote:

The reason I wasn't good at it was because of the kids! I would have been an amazing teacher if kids mostly behaved and if the things I was taught and trained to do when they acted up worked. I was highly trained, btw, in a very prestigious teaching program at a top university. Now, clearly the good teachers are able to handle misbehavior better or command such a presence that it rarely happens in the first place. I don't know why this particular level of misbehavior was more than I could handle when other can manage it, but, well, yes, it was the kids that did me in.

You can't separate the teaching and the kids.

It's not two separate parts of the job

Teaching IS connecting with and relating to the kids.

Saying you would be a good teacher if not for the kids is like saying I'd be a great chef if only I didn't have to cook.

↑ seeker

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 11:42 am

I'm going to be more generous than many here and assume that when OP said "horrible kids" what she meant was "my horrible experiences with the kids."

OutATowner

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 11:56 am

Connecting to the kids and eatablishing effective classroom management/routines is 70% of the job. Preparation of the lesson and giving over the lesson is 30%.
It doesn't mean you are a bad person, it means that teaching may not be for you. just as being an accountant wouldn't be good for me.

amother

Chartreuse

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 12:36 pm

Op im a teacher and I totally agree and understand what you mean that you say "I would be a great teacher if the kids were good".
what you are saying is that if the kids would behave, you would be a great teacher as you are creative in breaking down the topics and giving it over to the kids while also engaging them.

However, I think teachers also have to know how to be strict as some people are "too nice". But, even though there will be kids who misbehave, if the administrators dont support a teacher or criticize the teacher instead of talking to the student....then this can create a situation where the teacher doesnt have classroom management. This can create a problem thats based on lack of administrative support.

So, while other teachers who say they left "bc of administration" may have had some students who didnt listen, the main obstacle is the administrators because all teachers understand that kids wil be kids. We know that some kids will push buttons or cant sit or... but when administrators cant discipline the board members daughter or the rich kids because....that will affect the class management, and the teacher is blamed.

I personally enjoy working with kids. I have a lot of patience but administrators many times make my experience a nightmare. The administrators have the power to undermine the teacher and many do which is why teachers leave. The administrators will affect classroom management if they undermine the teacher's authority. In addition, the administrator may prevent a teacher from using certain strategies which the teacher believes will engage students.

The reason others may have mentioned they left because of administrators is since administrators have to listen to certain parents. Those administrators and those parents are not in the classroom, so how can they really know what works best? There is a big disconnect there.

As an aside another big problem for me, it is hard to have "homework" when married with kids.

amother

Oak

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 1:56 pm

I know a few people who left teaching because they weren't able to manage the kids. They came to the conclusion that teaching wasn't for them and went on to other careers. As other posters have said, not everyone is cut out for teaching, just like not everyone is cut out for any other particular field. There are so many jobs I see people doing and loving, and I think to myself, "Wow, I would never have the ability/patience/skills/interest etc., to do that job." I don't feel bad about myself because of that....no one is good at everything. I think the issue is that there seems to be an attitude in some segments of the frum world that teaching is the default job for frum girls, which leads people to feel that everyone is (or should be) capable of teaching, and then people feel like there is something wrong with them when they don't succeed at it. But the truth is that, just like any other field, teaching requires certain abilities that not everyone has.

amother

Scarlet

Fri, Jun 15 2018, 3:03 pm

I used to teach in public school. For some odd reason there was always a fistfight towards the end of every period. I could be a phenomenal teacher if they would just legalize tranquilizer darts for use on students. Exploding anger

amother

↑ Plum

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 4:57 am

I'm the one who quit teaching and started working in publishing. I think the difference is "teaching" vs. "being a teacher." You might love teaching and be very good at it, but that is very different from being a classroom teacher. Being a teacher requires managing a classroom full of students who may not be in the mood to sit nicely and absorb your wisdom. Such people do better with curriculum development or tutoring.

amother

Sienna

Sun, Jun 17 2018, 6:26 am

Ugh.

As a kid it burnt me so much when teachers taught the subject and not the kids.