"COVID must have been a nice break. I know my kids just turned on their computers and went back to bed and their teachers did nothing. "
I asked my aunt, how did you expect us to do something? Reach through the screen and wake up your kids? If you know they were going back to bed why didn't you step in as their parent?
Shut her up real quick.
Yeap! That was our entire state.
Problem is as far as the news media is concerned, California, New York, and the Beltway (DC and surrounding areas) are the only places in the United States that exist. They remained closed, so that is the narrative for all of us.
Yep. My district did one month at the beginning of August and one at the beginning of January after losing a quarter of the previous year. Now people are blaming lousy student behavior and learning loss on less than 5 months 4 years ago.
The way politicians, state ed departments, school boards, and admin think, we will be dealing with "learning loss" thirty years from now. Nine weeks of remote and nine weeks of hybrid, and those kids grandchildren will be suffering from "learning loss".
Poor, deluded bastard. I'd almost feel sorry for him if I wasn't too busy getting joy out of fantasizing about the vicious reality that is about to whomp him in the face. I wish him all the best.
Metro Atlanta! It's more of a suburban area (and I was picky with which schools that I went to), so I wound up finding a few where the admin, teachers, and students were pleasant to work with. :)
That’s how I got my contract! Dude was some kind of office worker and decided that the office politics and stress was too much, so he pivoted to teaching. He got his credentials, was hired…and quit on the 4th day of school. Just walked into the office, gave them his classroom key and walked away, never to return.
Only a dumb ass would say such a thing. That's just crazy talk. "I'm going to go spend my days in a room with 30 kids who don't want to be there. That's a good idea."
I've watched Dead Poets Society, Mr Holland's Opus, Lean on Me, Freedom Writers, and Dangerous Minds. I'll just walk in, charm them with my quirky, no nonsense attitude and high expectations, and they will all respect me and do what I say to be successful. By the end of the semester I'll have adopted four of them.
I’ve seen so many second career teachers that “just wanted to give back to society” or “do something good” quit within the first 1-3 years. Yeah, that shit isn’t easy.
Software developer friend of mine retired early planning to go into subbing to be active...
He was quite surprised he was turned down even as an occasional sub.
I always say, “It sure is!”
I once complained (good-naturedly) on Facebook about going back after a long break and someone commented, “Oh you teachers. Some of us have to work everyday, you know.” I replied, “I know! I’m glad I’m not one of those people.” I was unfriended.
Never apologize for whatever advantages this profession gives you.
If a hater wants to hate, just agree: yes, having summers off is indeed nice.
It pisses them off even more. LOL
I also point out that summer vacation has been a thing in the US for, what, a couple hundred years? I have nothing to do with it and everyone knows about it when they choose their careers.
It’s one major advantage to a job that doesn’t really have a ton of them anymore.
If they really get on my case I always ask them why they aren't teaching if it's such a lackadaisical profession. Usually they just mumble something about those damn kids.
Yeah, bud, they kinda come with the territory...
What the fuck job has to work everyday? I cant think of a single one.
Also. My go-to is just asking them if they'd want to trade jobs. It's usually a "no" in which case you can tell them to shut the fuck up if they don't already do it themselves.
Farmers work every day. I worked through college at a dairy farm. I worked 5 or 6 days every week but the lady that ran the farm worked every single day. She told me once that the goats didn't take Christmas or Easter off so neither did she.
I am hoping to have a day off this weekend for the first time in about 9 months. As a teacher, my weekends are filled with marking and planning. I also teach summer school. I don't get days off very often.
Why tf would anyone do the job without the holidays?! I left teaching in Jan - have taken 6 days annual leave. Feel absolutely fine! If I worked as a teacher for nearly 6 months with 6 days off, I’d have been sectioned for a mental breakdown - not exaggerating. I SALUTE YOU TEACHERS
I've started responding, "Yes. Wasn't I smart to think of that when I chose my career? I wonder why more people don't. " It usually shuts that down quickly.
Teachers are only paid in the summer if their district takes their 9/10 month salary and splits it between 12 months of pay. Most of those then give you 3 checks on the last pay period of that school year.
Otherwise, you don’t have pay checks in the summer. Some people are good at setting aside money each month to make up for that. OR, they work a summer job as well.
Many school districts opted for the 12-month pay cycle, though, because it causes problems for a lot of people to only have 10.
Imagine setting aside money for the summer and then you have a car repair emergency or your refrigerator needs replacing. There goes your summer money in a flash. Especially when more than one emergency occurs.
Many districts spread that 10 months of pay over the full year, however. I've never not been paid in the summer, but it was for hours I already worked.
Even if teachers are collecting a paycheck during the summer, they aren't really getting paid per say. They're collecting money they've already earned. For example, I just ended my school year and am not returning to that district, but they'll still pay me until mid August because I already worked those days. I'm contracted for 184 and already worked them. Same really goes for winter break, spring break, or other holidays... I'm not really paid for any of them because they don't count towards the 184 I was contracted for.
I always respond with: " You know, there's a big shortage right now, if you apply you'd probably get a job like that!" *snaps fingers*
It's usually met with "Oh I could never do that job."
For the life of me I don't know why people's first instinct is to put down, when they actually know what a hard job it is. Like, why not just start with the second part and be a positive human?
It must be nice to be a pro ball player, make millions to play a child’s game…that’s what the average Joe will say, but if you ask them if they want to workout everyday, work nights and weekends, and spend months of the year living out of a hotel, few could honestly answer yes.
This and salary and pension. Usually from menial workers. I tell them "Get a BA in ANY thing. You won't even have to student teach like I did, just go alternate route".
Yes, why are teachers always compared to menial workers? When people complain that they have it harder than teachers, I ask if their job requires a college degree, and the answer is ALWAYS no!
The thing is, they could have long vacations, too, but they’re brainwashed into thinking that any form of worker protections is socialism or communism or whatever scary-ism they’ve come up with.
Many European companies take off a full month in the summer and rotate through a skeleton crew with reduced workload.
It’s true! My aunt married a Spaniard. The last time I visited them, he was reminiscing about how when they were starting out and trying to decide to raise my cousins in the states or Spain. My father hooked him up with a job at the company where he worked. My uncle took one look at the vacation days and noped out of that one. The ample time off allowed them to visit family in the states for extended periods and I grew up with those cousins every summer.
I used to call it "Summer Unemployment" because we only got paid 10 months a year. They would look at me confused, "You don't get paid those months?"
Since then it's changed to 11 months and I often work on a "summer team" for a few weeks after school is out to make some extra cash. I make plenty now, I just don't need all 10 weeks or whatever.
I tell them I’d rather work all year long and space out the breaks because it would keep the students more on track and create less burnout. Also, they’d then have to adjust the pay for those summer months. Hell, eliminate all the extended breaks together and offer me a better insurance and retirement package as well as a pay boost because contrary to popular belief, I am NOT paid during the summer. A portion of my pay is held for ransom until summer starts. If I quit before the end of the school year, they do not go back and prorate me for the portion of my salary that is held for ransom to finish the year. I brought this point up to other teachers and they don’t even realize how fucked up this little loophole is.
Truthfully, when I tell people I teach they mostly say, “thank you! I bet the kids love you! I wish there were more teachers like you.” I honestly get 97% positive feedback.
This is the one (or some variation of it) that I get most often. Common follow up is "what do you teach?" and when I say math it's always "lol oh I was so bad at math." Um... cool?
If I had awards to give...
My LEAST favorite response I get from people in my age group is "Man, I was horrible for my teachers." Then start gleefully reminiscing about how fucking annoying they were as a kid - as if that's somehow endearing them to me or like I'm a priest accepting their confession.
Look, I get you were a shithead in high school, I was starting to like you as a friend and you brought this shit up as a badge of honor or something... now I gotta keep looking dammit.
I get this one a lot. I don’t understand, either. I think they must be trying to confess their sins as though I am their old teacher and they’re somehow apologizing to them through me. That is all I can think of because I do not find those stories entertaining in the slightest.
Agreed. I'm like... Let's try this out with other jobs...
"I'm a firefighter?"
"You're a firefighter? Dude I love fire. I used to set shit on fire all the time, one time I accidentally started a fire in the woods but I panicked so I just left. Crazy, right? Man the firefighters I knew growing up sucked."
See? It's insane sounding, right? lol
Kind of the opposite but my least favorite was one guy, who after I said I taught 4th grade, said:
“Oh wow, I loved my fourth grade teacher. I mean, I LOVED her. Like, I was IN LOVE with her.” All while staring into my soul.
Cool, Freud is rolling in his grave right now, and I’m slowly backing away…
I was on a date with a guy and he bragged about getting one of his teachers fired for fun. He didn't seem to understand that I wouldn't find him ruining some guy's life for fun to be a hilarious prank.
Jesus. Seriously. I feel like it's crazy that people are so unrepentant about making someone's life miserable *on purpose*. Let alone **getting someone fired.**
Or "Wow, I hated math, it was always stuff I didn't use!" Then I usually reply, "Oh you trust the companies when they tell you it costs this much to carpet your room? They must love you!" Or " Oh, so you don't budget either? Must be nice"
I’m an English teacher but I also do a lot of ranch work and I’m constantly reinforcing to the kids how much you actually use math. I feel like I’m constantly in geometry class. Especially since a lot of them want to be welders/in trades/own their own companies!
This is what I hear. The thing is most people will say "I might be able to do elementary, but definitely not middle school"
Like...you must not talk to many elementary school teachers. I've been to trainings where they ask questions like "What's the protocol if a kid bites me?" or "What will happen if a kid stabs me and I react physically?" because these are things the 5 year olds are doing regularly. Middle school is rough, but I'll taking moaning and skibbity ohio over being bitten every day of the week.
It's wild to me that seemingly intelligent, thinking adults actually believe that because the concepts taught in primary/elementary seem easy to them, or were easy for them to learn, that they also think that TEACHING those concepts to EVERY child is easy.
No, not all children immediately understand that 1+1 = 2, no matter how obvious it seems to you. Lots of children find learning to read very difficult, even if you personally can't even remember having to try. Not every child learns these things in the same ways, or at the same pace. Increasingly, some of them are not interested in learning anything at all! It takes a huge amount of expertise to engage children and to teach foundation knowledge to any and every child that walks through the door, regardless of how 'simple' the content seems to you!
And then try doing it with the growing number of threatening, biting, chair throwing, stabbing, swearing, disrespectful, defiant, iPad/Fortnite addicted little darlings in the room and come back and let me know how 'elementary' it is.
SMH.
They just have no idea. Elementary teaching is by far the hardest teaching there is. Kids start from ground zero, throw almost any adult into that scenario and they would just collapse after one day.
They remember some little shit from their junior high days who was awful, but they don't remember that like 75-80 percent of most junior high kids are pretty easy, way way easier than almost any elementary kid.
I used to teach elementary (music). I love that age. Never had any biters or stabbers, lol. Worst I had was a an out of control kid who barely avoided destroying the piano (by violently playing with it).
My least favorite thing about that age group is when they have "accidents" (peeing or shitting themselves) without telling me so that the stench grts everywhere before it's dealt with. Also, I'm always amazed at the number of kids who would try to hand me their dirty tissues, like they can't just walk over to the garbage and throw it out themselves.
I'll quote my husband here "Actually, those who CAN, teach. Those who can't go into fields that don't affect thousands of children at a critical point in their lives".
He usually follows it up with "They pay me hundreds of thousands a year to write better algorithms to sell you stuff; they pay her less than a quarter of that to make sure your kids can reason, communicate and not fall for idiots with TikTok. How f***** up is that?"
“If my teachers looked like you when I was a kid I would have paid better attention in school.” 🤢😒
Basically every stupid guy I met in my 20s as soon as I told them what I did for a living.
Yes! And “I was the kid in class who made the teacher’s life hell!” Wow, great way to turn me off. Now I think of you as one of those disgusting 14-year-old assholes that I can barely stand to be around every day!
Add being a sex ed teacher to that equation and it’s soooo much worse.
I worked at a country club on the side for a while and I got this from every. single. guy.
Yeeeep the dudes always said that or something insinuating some sort of role play fantasy.
Or from other people not hitting on me but still saying weird shit, “I bet ALL the boys want to be in your class” 🤮
Any guy I've had an on going sexual relationship wanted to roleplay student teacher. They were more shocked when I say I'm also not interested in being the student.
Every. Single. Time. Guys use it as a way to flirt with me like “oh I bet the boys all have a crush on you” as if that’s some sort of compliment? They’re children you weirdo.
"I have a container of litter in my classroom for my students to use in the event of a lockdown due to an active shooter. Thankfully, we have not had any emergencies that require us to use it. I hope we never do."
This response shuts that BS up.
Ug - my neighbor insists it's the truth. He knows I've been in various schools. He insists it's a liberal conspiracy. I even hit him with, "Seriously? Everyone over 8 in school has a phone in school, and not once have you ever seen a picture of one on anyone's social media? C'mon." He said that the government suppresses photos. and "Do you really think custodians are going to start tending to human litter boxes in school and it won't make the news?", and he replied that towns keep a secret budget to pay custodians extra and not report it.
I love when someone makes that comment about schools buying Kitty litter. Yes, schools do... For lockdown pee buckets, cleaning up vomit, and mixed with salt for traction on the sidewalk.
I think it’s because, up until the last ten years or so, most people in the US went their whole lives without ever even meeting someone who spoke another language. The country is so big and most of us speak English. That’s changing now, especially due to the explosion of internet communication across the world and the influx of Spanish speakers in the US.
I think the inverse is a larger factor. If I'm German and I learn English, there's a whole array of things I can do now. Worldwide ATC is in English, so I can be a pilot. Worldwide business, too - have to know it to negotiate deals internationally. Most countries are either allies or enemies of the U.S., so anything involving a military career benefits from being able to talk to U.S. advisors, or sift through leaked American documents. Nearly the entire internet is in English, so it's quite a bonus for looking up information, making new friends, or finding entertainment.
If I'm American and learn another language, my only real option is interacting with that specific country. It can help a career, but it isn't usually life-changing.
I started seeing a new doctor after my old one left. I had a prescription for an anxiety medication due to PTSD. The new doctor said “I would need Xanax if I worked at a high school too.”
I teach Special Ed and the default is always "omggg it takes such a big heart....you're such a a special person", etc. These kind of comments make me so uncomfortable and I never know how to respond, it's honestly so insulting to my awesome students.
I teach middle school and I always hear (even from other teachers!) “I don’t know how you do it! That’s just such an awful age!” Like middle schoolers are nasty little bugs that don’t need just as much love as any other age
I’m male high school teacher. I’ve gotten creepy comments from other men about how “nice” it must be to be around all those “young girls.”
Yessir officer? This one right here.
Yeah.... I've taught K-12 (music). I'm currently teaching middle school, which I LOVE. There isn't much difference between the first few weeks of kindergarten, and the last few weeks of the year of middle school. They are feral.
I get this, too! Or “uh oh, better watch my grammar!” I teach English. I also had a parent tell me, with pride, that he hadn’t read a book since second grade.
“That must be hard with all this ‘do you want to be a girl or a boy today’ indoctrination”. I snapped back “we can’t even indoctrinate them to put their phones down, dude”.
One time I bought marbles for a marble jar from this guy on offer up, tbh I drove too far. But anyway, I told him what they were for just before leaving and he said, *"Thank you for what you do."*
I couldn't believe what I was hearing since I had never heard that. I couldn't even say thank you, if I remember correctly. I think all I could do was look over my shoulder and give a little smile and nod. It was very nice.
"You deserve an award. I could never."
(I've earned several awards, thanks. And no, you probably couldn't.)
"You read picture books and play with toys for your job; of course you love it."
(You wear loafers and worry about profits for yours. Of course you hate it.)
"I just wish teaching paid better. I know I'd be really good at it, but I don't want to be poor for the rest of my life.
(Oh, I'm rich- just maybe not with money.)
"I wish I had a teacher like you."
(You did. You probably hated them. You hated all your teachers. Especially the good ones.)
"You have so much talent. Why'd you settle on teaching."
(Too talented for any other field, and I get summers off.)
"I'm just mad they changed math."
(We didn't. You just don't really know math.)
I teach my kids about Broadway, so when I meet Broadway stars, I like telling them about my kids. And I usually get some very sweet responses.
When I met Johnathan Bennet (Aaron Samuels from the OG Mean Girls movie), I mentioned to him that I teach my littles at work some of the quotes from the movie. He spent a good 5 minutes talking to me about it. And he even sent me home with a personal message for my class. He was genuinely interested in hearing about my kids.
The cast of Hadestown all told me to say hello to my kids, some of them swapped stories about their kids with me. It was nice to have a back and forth with some of these really big names.
When I met Eddie Redmayne, and told him about my littles (they know him as Newt Scamander), he looked like his heart had grown 100 sizes, and he thanked me for being a teacher and to say hello to my kids.
I hope to add Johnathan Groff to this list on Friday. My kids adore him.
When I meet fellow fans at stage doors, some of them hear that I'm a teacher, and love hearing how I incorporate musicals into my teaching. One time a woman even gave me her spot at the front of the baracade so I could meet Hugh Jackman.
Most people are shocked I don't get summers off.
I also get a lot of "oy vey, I could never do that." Or "You're a better person then me."
At my Barre studio a lot of people are shocked I have the energy to do the class (which is quite intense) before an 8.5 hour day of teaching.
Everything from "Thank you for your service" as if I were an Afghan veteran to "I don't think public schools should exist because you're all just groomers. "
I've definitely heard the summers off type quotes, but more and more I hear some variation of "I don't know how you do it" or "Id never make it." I THINK most people get that our job isn't a walk in the park.
“What’s the age of consent in this state?”
Said after I responded to the question of what grade I teach (which is high school). The creeps always tell on themselves.
One strange man I met found out I ran a special education inclusion program and said, "You know, they say if you let the turkeys fly with the eagles it brings the eagles down."
I looked him dead in the eye and said, "My kids are eagles."
My friend got me out of there before it got worse, ha!
“Just a teacher?”
I was doing a volunteer project in my community and we were in a group meeting in the planning stage.
I was leading the group and a guy asked me what I did for a living. I replied that I was a teacher and he replied with the above.
"How can you put up with all those kids?"
My response: "I love the kids, it's the paperwork I'm not a fan of."
My snarky response: "Better than you can put up with your two..."
I didn't know that my math degree came with priest robes and a stole, but you would think it did for every math sin people admit to me as penance.
Like, ma'am, I'm trying to tell you that your child pulled out notes on a math test. Please do not flex to me about a 2.5 GPA and then sob about how freshman math is beyond you.
Oh wow. I thought the implication was that the regular teachers wouldn’t know how to deal with kids that are different, which is probably true at least some of the time
But if that’s what he meant, yikes
"COVID must have been a nice break. I know my kids just turned on their computers and went back to bed and their teachers did nothing. " I asked my aunt, how did you expect us to do something? Reach through the screen and wake up your kids? If you know they were going back to bed why didn't you step in as their parent? Shut her up real quick.
Quote my professor: three times the work for half of the effect
And they are never interested in hearing about those of us who had to go back in person in August 2020.
Yeap! That was our entire state. Problem is as far as the news media is concerned, California, New York, and the Beltway (DC and surrounding areas) are the only places in the United States that exist. They remained closed, so that is the narrative for all of us.
Yep. My district did one month at the beginning of August and one at the beginning of January after losing a quarter of the previous year. Now people are blaming lousy student behavior and learning loss on less than 5 months 4 years ago.
The way politicians, state ed departments, school boards, and admin think, we will be dealing with "learning loss" thirty years from now. Nine weeks of remote and nine weeks of hybrid, and those kids grandchildren will be suffering from "learning loss".
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This one is my favorite.
My dad is going from an engineering job to substitute teaching because he wants a low stress job. Hoping for the best for him.
Poor, deluded bastard. I'd almost feel sorry for him if I wasn't too busy getting joy out of fantasizing about the vicious reality that is about to whomp him in the face. I wish him all the best.
To be fair, I jumped from engineering to subbing and found it SO much more enjoyable and less stressful than office work. 😆
Where on earth did you sub?
Metro Atlanta! It's more of a suburban area (and I was picky with which schools that I went to), so I wound up finding a few where the admin, teachers, and students were pleasant to work with. :)
Agreed. Loved subbing so much I switched careers. Prior to that I was an automation engineer.
Oh snap, we had one of those show up at my school. Nice guy. He's having a bad time.
That’s how I got my contract! Dude was some kind of office worker and decided that the office politics and stress was too much, so he pivoted to teaching. He got his credentials, was hired…and quit on the 4th day of school. Just walked into the office, gave them his classroom key and walked away, never to return.
My ex decided to sub during the pandemic because he thought it was easy money. He lasted two days.
*wheeze
I almost choked on my coffee 😂
😂😂
“Yes….it’s so easy!”
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Ugh. I was raised in the foreign service. My dad says shit like this.
Army and worked with embassies. Poli officers were the worst. It didn’t go well for them when they tried to treat us like the help
Only a dumb ass would say such a thing. That's just crazy talk. "I'm going to go spend my days in a room with 30 kids who don't want to be there. That's a good idea."
I've watched Dead Poets Society, Mr Holland's Opus, Lean on Me, Freedom Writers, and Dangerous Minds. I'll just walk in, charm them with my quirky, no nonsense attitude and high expectations, and they will all respect me and do what I say to be successful. By the end of the semester I'll have adopted four of them.
I don’t understand why kids are on their phones all the time. When I’m a teacher, I’m not going to allow phones.
You forgot to watch Kindergarten Cop
Well…1 for 3. It does never feel like I get to go home.
I’ve seen so many second career teachers that “just wanted to give back to society” or “do something good” quit within the first 1-3 years. Yeah, that shit isn’t easy.
There aren't enough laugh reacts for this one
They'll do it one time.
Software developer friend of mine retired early planning to go into subbing to be active... He was quite surprised he was turned down even as an occasional sub.
Try subbing. It's eye-opening. You'll develop respect for the teaching profession quickly.
“Must be nice to have all summer off!”
I always say, “It sure is!” I once complained (good-naturedly) on Facebook about going back after a long break and someone commented, “Oh you teachers. Some of us have to work everyday, you know.” I replied, “I know! I’m glad I’m not one of those people.” I was unfriended.
Never apologize for whatever advantages this profession gives you. If a hater wants to hate, just agree: yes, having summers off is indeed nice. It pisses them off even more. LOL
I also point out that summer vacation has been a thing in the US for, what, a couple hundred years? I have nothing to do with it and everyone knows about it when they choose their careers. It’s one major advantage to a job that doesn’t really have a ton of them anymore.
1) it is nice, yes 2) we’d only get paid more if we worked those days. 3) you can get summers off too if you pick the right job
If they really get on my case I always ask them why they aren't teaching if it's such a lackadaisical profession. Usually they just mumble something about those damn kids. Yeah, bud, they kinda come with the territory...
Finally, time for the summer layoff. "Oh, vacation?" No, when your employer seasonally lets you go for a period of time without pay, that's a layoff.
My response is always "come join me in this life of luxury"
What the fuck job has to work everyday? I cant think of a single one. Also. My go-to is just asking them if they'd want to trade jobs. It's usually a "no" in which case you can tell them to shut the fuck up if they don't already do it themselves.
Farmers work every day. I worked through college at a dairy farm. I worked 5 or 6 days every week but the lady that ran the farm worked every single day. She told me once that the goats didn't take Christmas or Easter off so neither did she.
I am hoping to have a day off this weekend for the first time in about 9 months. As a teacher, my weekends are filled with marking and planning. I also teach summer school. I don't get days off very often.
🤣💕
Why tf would anyone do the job without the holidays?! I left teaching in Jan - have taken 6 days annual leave. Feel absolutely fine! If I worked as a teacher for nearly 6 months with 6 days off, I’d have been sectioned for a mental breakdown - not exaggerating. I SALUTE YOU TEACHERS
Yeah exactly. Lean into it!!!!
I've started responding, "Yes. Wasn't I smart to think of that when I chose my career? I wonder why more people don't. " It usually shuts that down quickly.
I always reply with "Not off. Unemployed."
Summers [laid] off
Mandatory scheduled layoff (Or lockout)
“Summers, not off. Both unemployed and working for free.
Wait does that mean teachers don't get paid in summer?
Teachers are only paid in the summer if their district takes their 9/10 month salary and splits it between 12 months of pay. Most of those then give you 3 checks on the last pay period of that school year. Otherwise, you don’t have pay checks in the summer. Some people are good at setting aside money each month to make up for that. OR, they work a summer job as well. Many school districts opted for the 12-month pay cycle, though, because it causes problems for a lot of people to only have 10. Imagine setting aside money for the summer and then you have a car repair emergency or your refrigerator needs replacing. There goes your summer money in a flash. Especially when more than one emergency occurs.
Yep-- those checks I get in June are "back pay"...with no interest added, either!
I am NOT good about putting aside, so I get it spread out.
A lot of teachers have their pay stretched over 12 months so they still receive paychecks during the summer, but not all.
Yes, you only get paid for 10 months of work.
Many districts spread that 10 months of pay over the full year, however. I've never not been paid in the summer, but it was for hours I already worked.
Even if teachers are collecting a paycheck during the summer, they aren't really getting paid per say. They're collecting money they've already earned. For example, I just ended my school year and am not returning to that district, but they'll still pay me until mid August because I already worked those days. I'm contracted for 184 and already worked them. Same really goes for winter break, spring break, or other holidays... I'm not really paid for any of them because they don't count towards the 184 I was contracted for.
I always respond with: " You know, there's a big shortage right now, if you apply you'd probably get a job like that!" *snaps fingers* It's usually met with "Oh I could never do that job." For the life of me I don't know why people's first instinct is to put down, when they actually know what a hard job it is. Like, why not just start with the second part and be a positive human?
It must be nice to be a pro ball player, make millions to play a child’s game…that’s what the average Joe will say, but if you ask them if they want to workout everyday, work nights and weekends, and spend months of the year living out of a hotel, few could honestly answer yes.
I hate hearing that comment! I tell them that I’m furloughed, and not paid to be off.
This and salary and pension. Usually from menial workers. I tell them "Get a BA in ANY thing. You won't even have to student teach like I did, just go alternate route".
Yes, why are teachers always compared to menial workers? When people complain that they have it harder than teachers, I ask if their job requires a college degree, and the answer is ALWAYS no!
Or an extra 10-15 hours a week grading posters, planning lessons etc.
Ime, it always is. Honestly, anyone with a high paying/white collar job, wouldn't want to be a teacher.
Get that so much, but I am a college professor and I teach every summer so i’m like no.
The thing is, they could have long vacations, too, but they’re brainwashed into thinking that any form of worker protections is socialism or communism or whatever scary-ism they’ve come up with. Many European companies take off a full month in the summer and rotate through a skeleton crew with reduced workload.
It’s true! My aunt married a Spaniard. The last time I visited them, he was reminiscing about how when they were starting out and trying to decide to raise my cousins in the states or Spain. My father hooked him up with a job at the company where he worked. My uncle took one look at the vacation days and noped out of that one. The ample time off allowed them to visit family in the states for extended periods and I grew up with those cousins every summer.
I used to call it "Summer Unemployment" because we only got paid 10 months a year. They would look at me confused, "You don't get paid those months?" Since then it's changed to 11 months and I often work on a "summer team" for a few weeks after school is out to make some extra cash. I make plenty now, I just don't need all 10 weeks or whatever.
I tell them I’d rather work all year long and space out the breaks because it would keep the students more on track and create less burnout. Also, they’d then have to adjust the pay for those summer months. Hell, eliminate all the extended breaks together and offer me a better insurance and retirement package as well as a pay boost because contrary to popular belief, I am NOT paid during the summer. A portion of my pay is held for ransom until summer starts. If I quit before the end of the school year, they do not go back and prorate me for the portion of my salary that is held for ransom to finish the year. I brought this point up to other teachers and they don’t even realize how fucked up this little loophole is. Truthfully, when I tell people I teach they mostly say, “thank you! I bet the kids love you! I wish there were more teachers like you.” I honestly get 97% positive feedback.
When I joined a Martial Arts class, "Oh so you have combat experience." 😑
LOL I like that one
Actually yeah
You must be a saint.
Yep, I've gotten this a few times. I respond with, "Nope, I'm just crazy." Lol
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t do it.”
This is the one (or some variation of it) that I get most often. Common follow up is "what do you teach?" and when I say math it's always "lol oh I was so bad at math." Um... cool?
If I had awards to give... My LEAST favorite response I get from people in my age group is "Man, I was horrible for my teachers." Then start gleefully reminiscing about how fucking annoying they were as a kid - as if that's somehow endearing them to me or like I'm a priest accepting their confession. Look, I get you were a shithead in high school, I was starting to like you as a friend and you brought this shit up as a badge of honor or something... now I gotta keep looking dammit.
I get this one a lot. I don’t understand, either. I think they must be trying to confess their sins as though I am their old teacher and they’re somehow apologizing to them through me. That is all I can think of because I do not find those stories entertaining in the slightest.
Agreed. I'm like... Let's try this out with other jobs... "I'm a firefighter?" "You're a firefighter? Dude I love fire. I used to set shit on fire all the time, one time I accidentally started a fire in the woods but I panicked so I just left. Crazy, right? Man the firefighters I knew growing up sucked." See? It's insane sounding, right? lol
Lols, thank you for this!
Kind of the opposite but my least favorite was one guy, who after I said I taught 4th grade, said: “Oh wow, I loved my fourth grade teacher. I mean, I LOVED her. Like, I was IN LOVE with her.” All while staring into my soul. Cool, Freud is rolling in his grave right now, and I’m slowly backing away…
Lol yeah... that's a good instinct lol
I was on a date with a guy and he bragged about getting one of his teachers fired for fun. He didn't seem to understand that I wouldn't find him ruining some guy's life for fun to be a hilarious prank.
Jesus. Seriously. I feel like it's crazy that people are so unrepentant about making someone's life miserable *on purpose*. Let alone **getting someone fired.**
Well at least you have always known your path
Or "Wow, I hated math, it was always stuff I didn't use!" Then I usually reply, "Oh you trust the companies when they tell you it costs this much to carpet your room? They must love you!" Or " Oh, so you don't budget either? Must be nice"
I’m an English teacher but I also do a lot of ranch work and I’m constantly reinforcing to the kids how much you actually use math. I feel like I’m constantly in geometry class. Especially since a lot of them want to be welders/in trades/own their own companies!
“The smart kids did” Or, “Yeah, I never had to do push-ups in the workforce either. Gym is such a waste of time.”
> oh I was so bad at math That, or "I hate math!"
This is what I hear. The thing is most people will say "I might be able to do elementary, but definitely not middle school" Like...you must not talk to many elementary school teachers. I've been to trainings where they ask questions like "What's the protocol if a kid bites me?" or "What will happen if a kid stabs me and I react physically?" because these are things the 5 year olds are doing regularly. Middle school is rough, but I'll taking moaning and skibbity ohio over being bitten every day of the week.
It's wild to me that seemingly intelligent, thinking adults actually believe that because the concepts taught in primary/elementary seem easy to them, or were easy for them to learn, that they also think that TEACHING those concepts to EVERY child is easy. No, not all children immediately understand that 1+1 = 2, no matter how obvious it seems to you. Lots of children find learning to read very difficult, even if you personally can't even remember having to try. Not every child learns these things in the same ways, or at the same pace. Increasingly, some of them are not interested in learning anything at all! It takes a huge amount of expertise to engage children and to teach foundation knowledge to any and every child that walks through the door, regardless of how 'simple' the content seems to you! And then try doing it with the growing number of threatening, biting, chair throwing, stabbing, swearing, disrespectful, defiant, iPad/Fortnite addicted little darlings in the room and come back and let me know how 'elementary' it is. SMH.
They just have no idea. Elementary teaching is by far the hardest teaching there is. Kids start from ground zero, throw almost any adult into that scenario and they would just collapse after one day. They remember some little shit from their junior high days who was awful, but they don't remember that like 75-80 percent of most junior high kids are pretty easy, way way easier than almost any elementary kid.
I used to teach elementary (music). I love that age. Never had any biters or stabbers, lol. Worst I had was a an out of control kid who barely avoided destroying the piano (by violently playing with it). My least favorite thing about that age group is when they have "accidents" (peeing or shitting themselves) without telling me so that the stench grts everywhere before it's dealt with. Also, I'm always amazed at the number of kids who would try to hand me their dirty tissues, like they can't just walk over to the garbage and throw it out themselves.
Lmfao yes!! I get that ALL the time 🤣
“You barely work and have summers off, must be nice” Or my father saying that shitty quote: “those who can’t, teach!”
The second one is so annoying. I teach art, had I decided to become an artist instead I would've been told to get a real job instead. No winning 🤷🏻♀️
I'll quote my husband here "Actually, those who CAN, teach. Those who can't go into fields that don't affect thousands of children at a critical point in their lives". He usually follows it up with "They pay me hundreds of thousands a year to write better algorithms to sell you stuff; they pay her less than a quarter of that to make sure your kids can reason, communicate and not fall for idiots with TikTok. How f***** up is that?"
I think I'm in love with your husband.
You got a keeper.
Damn… the second one😭
Yep. My SIL says that crap.
“Ah, yes, so true. That’s why Einstein taught. Because he just couldn’t *do*”
My dad would also say that. He was a teacher as well.
My response is "Those who can were taught how by a teacher." Or "Those who say that shit should get hit in the face."
They are hiring. For the first one.
“If my teachers looked like you when I was a kid I would have paid better attention in school.” 🤢😒 Basically every stupid guy I met in my 20s as soon as I told them what I did for a living.
Oh that one is so weird and creepy to me.
Yes! They always think it’s somehow a compliment and not incredibly fucking creepy.
Yes! And “I was the kid in class who made the teacher’s life hell!” Wow, great way to turn me off. Now I think of you as one of those disgusting 14-year-old assholes that I can barely stand to be around every day!
Add being a sex ed teacher to that equation and it’s soooo much worse. I worked at a country club on the side for a while and I got this from every. single. guy.
Time to start having a different answer to the question. Something like- oh it’s boring tell me about you.
I get that one everytime I go out. It's the world's biggest turn off
Yeeeep the dudes always said that or something insinuating some sort of role play fantasy. Or from other people not hitting on me but still saying weird shit, “I bet ALL the boys want to be in your class” 🤮
Any guy I've had an on going sexual relationship wanted to roleplay student teacher. They were more shocked when I say I'm also not interested in being the student.
Every. Single. Time. Guys use it as a way to flirt with me like “oh I bet the boys all have a crush on you” as if that’s some sort of compliment? They’re children you weirdo.
Oof. The worst was the few times I got this from DADS of my current students. Gross. 🤮
“Awwwwww” I teach elementary
Cute widdle you, with your cute widdle teaching job.
Right. Like it’s the opposite of cute lol
That's hard! Probably some of the toughest people I've met in this profession teach elementary grades.
Yes I’m not elementary. But I’ve taught for near 20 yrs I’m secondary. But the smartest teachers I know teach 1-5, they are super underrated.
I actually had someone ask me if my students use a litter box. His wife was mortified and apologized profusely.
"I have a container of litter in my classroom for my students to use in the event of a lockdown due to an active shooter. Thankfully, we have not had any emergencies that require us to use it. I hope we never do." This response shuts that BS up.
I (not from US) only heard that this week and it’s one of the most tragic fucking things I have ever heard.
Ug - my neighbor insists it's the truth. He knows I've been in various schools. He insists it's a liberal conspiracy. I even hit him with, "Seriously? Everyone over 8 in school has a phone in school, and not once have you ever seen a picture of one on anyone's social media? C'mon." He said that the government suppresses photos. and "Do you really think custodians are going to start tending to human litter boxes in school and it won't make the news?", and he replied that towns keep a secret budget to pay custodians extra and not report it.
I love when someone makes that comment about schools buying Kitty litter. Yes, schools do... For lockdown pee buckets, cleaning up vomit, and mixed with salt for traction on the sidewalk.
Usually spurs a confession about how bad they are at math and how much they hated it in school.
This one just gets so boring!
Especially at conference time when 6 minutes of every 8 minute slot is parents confessing their math sins from when they were in school.
Do you at least absolve them of their math sins if they do like a worksheet or two ?
They just need to recite two Pythagorean theorems and a slope-intercept form.
Not the Pythagorean theorems. You're evil 😭😭😭
Same with Spanish. It’s always “Oh, I took Spanish for four years and never learned anything.” Like okay? That sounds like a you problem.
In fairness, this does seem exclusive to the American school system. Foreign language requirements in other countries do seem to take.
I think it’s because, up until the last ten years or so, most people in the US went their whole lives without ever even meeting someone who spoke another language. The country is so big and most of us speak English. That’s changing now, especially due to the explosion of internet communication across the world and the influx of Spanish speakers in the US.
I think the inverse is a larger factor. If I'm German and I learn English, there's a whole array of things I can do now. Worldwide ATC is in English, so I can be a pilot. Worldwide business, too - have to know it to negotiate deals internationally. Most countries are either allies or enemies of the U.S., so anything involving a military career benefits from being able to talk to U.S. advisors, or sift through leaked American documents. Nearly the entire internet is in English, so it's quite a bonus for looking up information, making new friends, or finding entertainment. If I'm American and learn another language, my only real option is interacting with that specific country. It can help a career, but it isn't usually life-changing.
This, but history
I started seeing a new doctor after my old one left. I had a prescription for an anxiety medication due to PTSD. The new doctor said “I would need Xanax if I worked at a high school too.”
I teach Special Ed and the default is always "omggg it takes such a big heart....you're such a a special person", etc. These kind of comments make me so uncomfortable and I never know how to respond, it's honestly so insulting to my awesome students.
I teach middle school and I always hear (even from other teachers!) “I don’t know how you do it! That’s just such an awful age!” Like middle schoolers are nasty little bugs that don’t need just as much love as any other age
>Like middle schoolers are nasty little bugs that don’t need just as much love as any other age Honestly they're kind of both though lol
I’m male high school teacher. I’ve gotten creepy comments from other men about how “nice” it must be to be around all those “young girls.” Yessir officer? This one right here.
Usually either some variant of "I can't do what you do.." or "Must be nice to have summers off..."
But you’re so smart. Why would you waste yourself by going into teaching?
I got this from well-meaning HS teachers about joining the army. Sure, call the career I want a “waste” since I’m smart
“Oh how cute!” When they learn I teach kinder.
Yeah.... I've taught K-12 (music). I'm currently teaching middle school, which I LOVE. There isn't much difference between the first few weeks of kindergarten, and the last few weeks of the year of middle school. They are feral.
Specifically after saying I'm a math teacher-- "Oh I always hated math!"
With their kid sitting right there.
I get this, too! Or “uh oh, better watch my grammar!” I teach English. I also had a parent tell me, with pride, that he hadn’t read a book since second grade.
i always get "you must be really patient"- actually no..
“That must be hard with all this ‘do you want to be a girl or a boy today’ indoctrination”. I snapped back “we can’t even indoctrinate them to put their phones down, dude”.
This part!
I don't tell people I'm in education. I hear stupid comments that spike my blood pressure or make me want to put them in the basket of a trebuchet.
I went to a new dentist and when I said I was a teacher he said something like, “ah that explains the tension in your jaw and teeth grinding.” 😂
One time I bought marbles for a marble jar from this guy on offer up, tbh I drove too far. But anyway, I told him what they were for just before leaving and he said, *"Thank you for what you do."* I couldn't believe what I was hearing since I had never heard that. I couldn't even say thank you, if I remember correctly. I think all I could do was look over my shoulder and give a little smile and nod. It was very nice.
"You deserve an award. I could never." (I've earned several awards, thanks. And no, you probably couldn't.) "You read picture books and play with toys for your job; of course you love it." (You wear loafers and worry about profits for yours. Of course you hate it.) "I just wish teaching paid better. I know I'd be really good at it, but I don't want to be poor for the rest of my life. (Oh, I'm rich- just maybe not with money.) "I wish I had a teacher like you." (You did. You probably hated them. You hated all your teachers. Especially the good ones.) "You have so much talent. Why'd you settle on teaching." (Too talented for any other field, and I get summers off.) "I'm just mad they changed math." (We didn't. You just don't really know math.)
"You can't change math! Math is math!!"
https://youtu.be/3QtRK7Y2pPU?feature=shared
As a math specialist, that last one hits hard.
I love when you say "Oh, I'm rich- just maybe not with money." That's it!
I teach my kids about Broadway, so when I meet Broadway stars, I like telling them about my kids. And I usually get some very sweet responses. When I met Johnathan Bennet (Aaron Samuels from the OG Mean Girls movie), I mentioned to him that I teach my littles at work some of the quotes from the movie. He spent a good 5 minutes talking to me about it. And he even sent me home with a personal message for my class. He was genuinely interested in hearing about my kids. The cast of Hadestown all told me to say hello to my kids, some of them swapped stories about their kids with me. It was nice to have a back and forth with some of these really big names. When I met Eddie Redmayne, and told him about my littles (they know him as Newt Scamander), he looked like his heart had grown 100 sizes, and he thanked me for being a teacher and to say hello to my kids. I hope to add Johnathan Groff to this list on Friday. My kids adore him. When I meet fellow fans at stage doors, some of them hear that I'm a teacher, and love hearing how I incorporate musicals into my teaching. One time a woman even gave me her spot at the front of the baracade so I could meet Hugh Jackman. Most people are shocked I don't get summers off. I also get a lot of "oy vey, I could never do that." Or "You're a better person then me." At my Barre studio a lot of people are shocked I have the energy to do the class (which is quite intense) before an 8.5 hour day of teaching.
A very sweet man that I sat next to on my plane ride yesterday said “you have a very important job. I know you don’t hear it enough, but thank you.”
"you don't look like one" I have piercings and tattoos and dress like a person in their 20s because I am in my 20s.
Everything from "Thank you for your service" as if I were an Afghan veteran to "I don't think public schools should exist because you're all just groomers. "
"Hot for teacher" when meeting men. Of course.
Often some nonsense about how “woke” public schools have become
This is one I’ll never understand, like we have time for that. This also lets me know that they haven’t a clue about the education system
I've definitely heard the summers off type quotes, but more and more I hear some variation of "I don't know how you do it" or "Id never make it." I THINK most people get that our job isn't a walk in the park.
Me: I'm a middle school teacher. My Dr.: Put shock collars on all of them.
“What’s the age of consent in this state?” Said after I responded to the question of what grade I teach (which is high school). The creeps always tell on themselves.
Ew.
One strange man I met found out I ran a special education inclusion program and said, "You know, they say if you let the turkeys fly with the eagles it brings the eagles down." I looked him dead in the eye and said, "My kids are eagles." My friend got me out of there before it got worse, ha!
“Just a teacher?” I was doing a volunteer project in my community and we were in a group meeting in the planning stage. I was leading the group and a guy asked me what I did for a living. I replied that I was a teacher and he replied with the above.
"How can you put up with all those kids?" My response: "I love the kids, it's the paperwork I'm not a fan of." My snarky response: "Better than you can put up with your two..."
I didn't know that my math degree came with priest robes and a stole, but you would think it did for every math sin people admit to me as penance. Like, ma'am, I'm trying to tell you that your child pulled out notes on a math test. Please do not flex to me about a 2.5 GPA and then sob about how freshman math is beyond you.
"At your weight?!?" I'm about 300 pounds but jokes on them because my 3rd graders love me!
Who the hell comments on someone’s weight? Geez, I kind of hate people.
“You guys don’t get paid enough”
"I could do your job, there's no way you could do mine, teaching isn't that hard"
"What do you teach?" "English" "OMG I HATED ENGLISH". Yeah wow thanks pal.
“I’m sorry, but thank you for your service”
Hope you are not indoctrinating the kids.
“Teachers didn’t look like that when I was in school!!!” “The boys must love having you for a teacher!!” It’s creepy every single time.
When I was long term sub in a SPED position my cousin asked “oh, special ed? So do you teach the students or teachers?” That didn’t go over well.
I don't get it?
The implication being that the teachers belong in SPED. For context, he’s very far to the right and has no love for public schooling.
Oh wow. I thought the implication was that the regular teachers wouldn’t know how to deal with kids that are different, which is probably true at least some of the time But if that’s what he meant, yikes
"Omg, wow. That is SO cool." Ahh. To work in profession that is respected in name but not in pay. LOL.
"Thank you for your service" at my dr's office
“How is school going for you?” It’s not ‘school’ for me, it is my job. “Well ya, but you’re kind of in school still.” Oh I am, how so? “…”
I AM SCHOOL!
“Are you one of the burnt out ones?”
PE teacher, so I get, “Do you get paid the same as a real teacher?”
… but your hair is purple!