Teachers Feel Undervalued & Overworked

“depends heavy on where you are. in my area teachers start around 40k and that's... not great. but the ones who stick around seem to manage, they're not homeless or nothing. science teachers usually have easier time finding jobs too, so that helps [re: Are teachers actually poor and struggling to pay bills?]”

“As a relatively young person lurking bc I’m considering becoming a teacher … yes. This. A lot of us feel like the adults in our lives are out of touch with reality, and it’s extremely unclear what we should actually value, if anything [re: 15 out of 22 students that submitted an essay for the Quarter used A.I. I don't know what to do.]”

“I mean teaching and learning happens, and most teachers are angels---but I'm not sure education is the actual mission anymore. submitted by /u/tpelligrino [link] [comments]”

“How would you best describe being a kinder teacher to parents or society who haven’t a clue?! Funny or in a serious manner!! Like herding feral cats? submitted by /u/NameCandid [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I am in my 50s and have been in my field for almost 30 years. I have a doctorate and I have yet to land an actual college teaching job. I love what I do full-time and really just wanted an adjunct position just to have the opportunity to teach one class in my field. Because I love it. But the process has been truly harrowing and I feel like I have not been able to make any headway. A colleague of mine recommended me for a faculty position and I’m super excited about it. He really ta”

“When you're 34, you'll love it! [re: Dear older teachers/staff- please stop telling young teachers that they “look like a student.”]”

“You sound so old! [re: Dear older teachers/staff- please stop telling young teachers that they “look like a student.”]”

“i started teaching in my late 20s and now i am 42 and the new teachers coming in have a different energy for sure. they are much better at keeping work at work, they dont take marking home the same way my generation did. the AI thing i see them use it like a calculator, just a tool, while older colleagues still treat it like some mysterious black box. [re: GEN Z Teachers]”

“Call me a Teacher supremacist but I think teaching prepares you for anything and everything. I really think if more teachers were politicians we would live in a more sound society [re: Veteran teachers, please understand survivorship bias before telling newer teachers how to survive this profession.(Warning: Long rant)]”

submitted by /u/No_Cantaloupe6562 [link] [comments]

“You were brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers to us, especially those of you that were/are on insulting salaries. You will live in our hearts forever. submitted by /u/Sho_kododo [link] [comments]”

“I am curious to hear everyone's thoughts. submitted by /u/megs256 [link] [comments]”

“If you live in the right place teaching isnt bad money. Our rookie starting teaching salary is above median income for my area. Granted it still makes less than other Masters degree jobs, but above median salary is liveable given the cost of living. And aside from firefighting, policing, and military its one of the few careers that still provide an actual pension.”

“Yes, more staff, not resources not higher pay. How many pds have you been to? How many of those trainings actually made a difference? Teachers don’t need training, they just need to teach. No, making it more challenging will not require higher paid staff, teachers are already capable of creating assignments that challenge students, we just don’t have the opportunity to do so. Paying teachers more won’t make magically make them better teachers. If you think we need to be paid more to do the basel”

“Is an Ed.D. worth it? I'm struggling to pay for mine. Don't want to be a professor. I'd like to be a director or a dean. submitted by /u/Lopsided-Chemical-75 [link] [comments]”

“Live in the midwest and 100 percent teachers can have a middle class lifestyle. However, the best way to get that lifestyle is to initially sacrifice to pay off ur student loan and personal debt. Biggest mistake I see younger people make is jumping ingo the life style and barely making it thinking that it will just wkrk out. Sacrifice early and it makes the later years easier”

“I am a teacher by profession and create content as side hustle. Now, I feel like i have capped and there's not much earning i can achieve. And I am also starting my 30s and I feel shit now. IDK what to do? Which career to change or what? submitted by /u/BigAd5651 [link] [comments]”

“I just recently made the jump from science industry/research to secondary science education. I’m not profit driven and my state pays teachers a living wage. That’s the secret, pay teachers more and more people will want to teach. The rat race is absolutely soul crushing to me while every day in class room, regardless of how exhausting, fills me with a sense of purpose. A society becomes great when the old folks plant trees for the shade in which they will never sit.”

“I volunteered in schools for 15 years teaching Jr Acheivement’s financial literacy curriculum. I figured that with kids, maybe I’d be able to get through and inspire one kid per class to develop financial literacy skills. With adults, however, I don’t waste my time. They’re set in their ways. If they believe they’ve found a get-rich-quick scheme they’re gonna chase it until they can no longer lie to themselves.”

“I’m pretty far into my teaching career. I’ve dedicated a lot of time to it and I feel like I do a pretty good job. Am I the best teacher to ever grace the classroom? No. I’ve seen many very good teachers and learned a lot from them. I know I always have more to learn and I’m constantly trying to be better. With that said, I’ve never had a bad evaluation. Not even once. That is until today. The things said in the evaluation were harsh and didn’t really make sense given how I taught the class. It’”

“I’m upset and it’s a very nice job and low cost of living, right now at least.”

“English teacher here! I’m switching careers, but still within the educational field. I hope to retire 67 if not before.”

“I retired at age 38. But I started at age 21, and took the leap of being recruited from IL to CA, which was #2 in teacher pay at the time and I started saving and we taught year-round and got the average certificated rate for subbing which was a lot more than my daily rate as a rookie. I’m a saver!”

You still have agency for how you teach it.

“Yes! Good name. The teachers would consist of TWO hard ass marine corps vets who don’t put up with disrespect. They would wear their fatigues every day, and they would be the most highly paid of all the teachers at the school.”

When it’s good, it’s great.

“Teaching is my 3rd career. I make great money, but wish I did it 10 years ago. I’d be making $120K+ now.”

“If It was senior year of high school again, and you had all the knowledge and memories as now, would you still choose teaching? submitted by /u/Sensitive-Bat-6440 [link] [comments]”

“I'm not the perfect teacher and at times I brush it off but damn if that doesn't sting sometimes. I do my best. submitted by /u/CartoonistCrafty950 [link] [comments]”

“Move to Canada. The system is still broken up here, but at least we get paid properly.”

“i’m 65k @ step 3 in houston (+a couple thousand for my speech and debate stipend)”

lol @ downvote

Well, the job market isn’t great anyway.

It’s not worth it for that pay :(

“I'm retired from my original career field, for one. I could have done the revolving door stuff that most of my coworkers did, but I can't do brainless shit the rest of my life.”

“Sometimes I can help people have a good day at school, despite all of the other stuff. You get to see people develop in real time, and people come back to you after they’ve been successful and sometimes they thank you for being a part of their growth. There’s a lot of noise in education, but at the end of the day, you’re trying to create an environment where students feel comfortable enough to try new things, and where they feel safe and cared for.”

“Paid the same as a classroom teacher , but for playing and comfy clothes and waaaaaaaaaaay less paperwork.”

“For veteran teachers, was being a teacher ‘easier’ in the 2010s or 2000s? I look at the statistics of teachers leaving the profession being at 50% within five years. I am curious if it always has been that way or if it is recent. I am a first year teacherand honestly I do not think I am going to last. I thought about my high school math teacher who had like 36 years of experience and I thought how did he do that? He was truly passionate about his job too. submitted by /u/Westcoasting”

“Hi all, im currently 18 and im planning on going to University to study Primary School Education with a QTS. I've always admired teachers and I find I have a lot of passion and love for the job. However their are some major flaws to my personality and interests that may make being a teacher much more challenging. Firstly, the pay concerns. Obviously, teaching does not mean you'll be the wealthiest person in the world, but I would want to live comfortably and happily. I don't have any”

“I am looking at the possibility of trying to shift to teaching online in the next 5 years. I would need full time with benefits. The pay doesn't have to be absolutely amazing but I would need $50K+. I'm flexible on synchronous/asynchronous. I don't mind working weird hours a little. I have experience with 4 different AP social studies courses but would be happy to look at non-AP, honors, whatever. If you work or have worked with an institution that fits my needs, please chime in with”

They just kids

“As a former teacher, I care. Many non-teachers read this subreddit, just as I read and follow subreddits for plumbers and electricians, and like it or not, anything that teachers post here serves as a representation of the profession.”

“100% true. And the expectation is that standards must be lowered until everybody passes. I know lots of other life paths that would be better for many of my students and allow them to succeed. Not better or worse, just a different path. Yet this "college for all" trend is just resulting in the continual lowering of expectations in college classrooms and the failure to provide enough practical job training and trade programs.”

“My why? Money. Survival. My favorite mems? When students actually GET what Im teaching instead of giving me blank stares.”

“I recently had reason to look up salaries in various districts in the Seattle metro and they mostly top out around $145K, give or take. It generally takes 15ish years and a lot of education--masters plus 45? I don't remember--to get there, but you do get there.”

“Teachers in Seattle, do you feel like you’re compensated well? I’ve been looking at salaries in various districts and it seems like 6 figures is the norm, and assistant principals and principals are making 150-200k. I know it’s an expensive city but those numbers seem pretty good. Is it worth it to teach in that area? I know it’s hyper competitive but is the salary worth it? How long are people usually teaching before hitting these admin roles? submitted by /u/flyingsaucer28 [link] &”

“My wife and I are mid-career teachers in California. I wouldn't say we are upper class, but we are pretty decently off. A huge part of that being that we bought our house years ago. If we were just getting started today we would be in rough shape.”

“IMO there is a working class and an owning class and we aren’t owning class. I’m happy teachers in some areas are paid well, but salary is relative to cost of living and most of us couldn’t live on our assets alone if we got laid off”

“I’m a veteran teacher and I have seen tons of new teachers come and go. Way too many only last a few years in the profession. I blame that on teacher Ed programs not properly preparing them for the realities of the job. When I look back at my first few years I feel like I was “stealing money” from the district because I didn’t know what I needed to know to be a good teacher. Becoming a good teacher takes time. Don’t throw in the towel. Try and meet the students where they are at. Look for small”

“Ive spent over 50% of my life teaching to different groups off people, young people, old people, everything in between. Teaching is easy. Parroting information to students and expecting them to parrot it back is exhausting, useless, and out of touch. Discovery based learning is how we learn as humans, its how we should teach math.”

submitted by /u/inomesta [link] [comments]

“You should come be a teacher. It’s the most enjoyable job in the world that everyone who does it complains about.”

“I got an excellent education and feel it’s my responsibility to help society, even if it’s a tiny effect.”

I am 57, I will be 10 years away from retiring

“Okay, it may not be a replacement but it can be an adjunct. If someone doesn’t understand the topic they learned in school, they could use something at home to help understand it. That exists today, it will get better with time. No one is bitter, I just made an example. I asked for opinions, not for aggressive attacks, you still haven’t given your opinion on how this will change. Basically AI bad, teacher good and can’t be replaced. Thanks for your take.”

“I am not a parent but would like to be one someday. I'm relatively new to the profession and I do way too much work outside of my contract hours that seems to take forever. I can't imagine caring for a child in this position. How is it done? submitted by /u/protomanEXE1995 [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been teaching the same subjects for years. If I don’t know what I’m doing by now then there’s a problem”

“Too tired. I’m up tomorrow at 4:45 to prep and grade, just like I am every day. That’s teaching, even 2 decades in.”

“I've been teaching elementary for ten years and the pay situation keeps bothering me. My district hasn't given much of a raise in years, but I still love being in the classroom with the kids and don't want to move into admin or curriculum roles just for the money. A friend mentioned tutoring on the side and curriculum writing gigs that companies sometimes hire actual teachers for. That sounds doable, but I'm not sure how people find those opportunities or whether they're wort”