“I retired after 23 years in the profession.
Rather than being committed to learning, they were focused on making TikToks and scrolling on Instagram.
Some parents would even FaceTime their kids in the middle of a lesson.
It’s brutal and exhausting.”
“I retired after COVID-19 with 34 years and more of experience in both general and special education.
America has become a country lacking civility and intellectual curiosity, beset by general cultural ignorance.”
Anonymous
3.
“I left the teaching profession after getting assaulted by a student and almost dying from it.
I was told that I ‘hadn’t gotten used to this key in of student yet.’
Teachers are not protected by the administration and are always blamed.
Somehow, it’s always our fault.
Students and parents do not care anymore.”
“I left when post-secondary institutions were adopting a corporate image.
It all came down to the almighty dollar with a dumbed-down curriculum.
It became stressful and overloaded.
I knew it was time to move on.”
Before I retired, I saw a shift in parents.
It just kept getting worse."
“I got my teaching credential in 1982 and retired in 2021.
We went from the earliest computer classrooms to full Chromebook instruction.
We went from nobody having a cellphone to daily battles over them.
One of the biggest factors, though, was the constant flux of administration and curriculum.
My retirement is restful as hell.”
“In my area, many young people (middle and late teens) have babies.
I began teaching at 48 and retired at 70.”
Mary, 73, Texas
8.
“I’ve been out on disability since December after suffering from a nervous breakdown.
This was my 24th year of teaching.
I was active in my union, mentored new teachers, and attended board and council meetings.
I even lobbied at the state and federal levels.
“I was teaching kindergarten.
I had 17 students; four had autism, and one had a defiant disorder.
I had no aide in the class to support me.
I lost the use of my arm for over a month.
My principal told me that I ‘needed to work harder’ to make the student like me.”
Ann, 52, Florida
10.
“After 40 years of teaching in elementary schools, I will be retiring in 2025!
Believe me students and parents have definitely changed over the course of my teaching career.
If I were to sum it up, it’s the lack of RESPECT.
There’s a lack of respect for teachers, common-sense rules, and oneself.
Parents are a child’s first teacher, and respect should be taught and modeled at home.
Then, teachers and the school community are responsible for reinforcing what should’ve been taught at home.
My job is to teach curriculum while modeling and reinforcing a positive environment in the classroom.
“I am a retired middle school teacher from Northern California.
I taught in a community with very entitled parents and students, and there was only one supportive principle.
The other administrators threw staff under the bus to make themselves look good.
I taught for 40 years.”
“I taught for 20 years.
I became an educator to share my love of science with the next generation.
I loved inspiring young people to achieve great things.
In recent years, I found my primary task had become behavior management.
Recently, even older students failed to self-regulate and listen to directions.
All because of students' poor decisions.
It was definitely time to retire.
Since I left, my mental health improved significantly.
I enjoy being treated like a human being in my new profession.”
“I taught for 16 years before leaving the profession.
Teachers must compete with social media just to keep students' attention.
Over time, I believe that behavioral and academic expectations have eroded in our schools and society in general.
Frankly, education isn’t valued in the United States.
If it were, school budgets wouldn’t be constantly slashed.
What America really values is money, and what makes money is rewarded.
Even our colleges and universities have seemingly become businesses, with the intent to produce workers.”
“I left after 15 years.
Parents and students did not take accountability for their part in learning and being decent human beings.
I think that, for sure, would’ve caused some self-reflection on the parent’s part.”
Are they going to take offense at a book I read to my class?”
“Teachers now have to do more than just teach school curriculum.
Additionally, low enrollment is everywhere, but instead of focusing on students, districts focus on money.
As a result, class sizes increase or become combination classes.
It’s no wonder there is a shortage of new teachers.
Who would want to be paid so little for doing so much more now?”
Chris, 50, California
17.Lastly: “I just left this year after 12 years.
The job became so mentally exhausting from the constant need to constantly be ‘on.’
So many kids lack basic skills and the ability to reason.
They constantly need help because they don’t know how to troubleshoot or have the desire to try.
The job has also become extremely performative.
I had an incredibly supportive admin team and coworkers, and it still wasn’t sustainable.
I wish more people not only understood how dire education has become but actually took steps to fix it.
Go to the parent-teacher meetings and actually listen to what the teachers are saying.
We’re highly educated professionals who know how to do our jobs, so c’mon honor that.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
