I’m sure you’ve heard by now that teachers are leaving the profession by the thousands. The low pay, trouble dealing with parents, and increasing bureaucracy and red tape combined with Covid and have made the profession more unappealing than ever before.
If you’re curious why someone who loves kids and is passionate about education would decide to take their career another direction, ex-kindergarten teacher Jessica Gentry is getting real about her reasons online.
Image Credit: Facebook
And get this – it had nothing to do with her paycheck.
She does have five pretty solid other reasons, which she detailed in a Facebook post that has garnered over 300,000 likes.
First, she complains that parents today refuse to take responsibility for their kids’ actions.
Image Credit: Facebook
“Parents are working crazy hours, consumed by their devices, leaving kids in unstable parenting/coparenting situations, terrible media influences… and we are going to give the excuse that the KIDS have changed? What did we expect them to do?”
Second, she really doesn’t agree with how technology has become such a huge part of the learning experience.
Image Credit: Facebook
“Kids already can’t read social cues and conduct themselves appropriately in social settings. Let’s toss more devices at them because it looks good on our website.”
Which leads to her third point, which is that teachers don’t get enough time and training to prepare for new requirements.
Image Credit: Facebook
Also, teachers are in no way allowed to hold parents accountable for their own bad behavior.
Image Credit: Facebook
“I was cussed out by parents who wanted to attend field trips but missed the THREE notes that went home – and when they did attend a trip, sat on their phone the entire time.”
Her last reason is the most heartbreaking, because it proves that through it all, her love for the kids in her class was at the forefront for her.
Image Credit: Facebook
“…watching them come in…dirty clothes…chaos at home…and knowing they need more than you can give them in a classroom…it breaks you.”
You can read her full post here, but beware, it might leave you feeling a bit hopeless for the future and where we go from here.
Image Credit: Facebook
Are you a teacher? Do you love one?
We’d love to hear your take on the current state of affairs in the comments!
