It has always blown my mind that we say, “It takes a village to raise a child,” but then we expect a teacher to manage a class of 30 or more by themselves. I’m so sorry they didn’t listen to you and I’m glad you got out of there and prioritized your health. I hope you are well.

“When you’re good at your job, it’s almost like you’re getting punished for being good at your job,” that part. Sis, best friend, I feel you so much.🥺🥺🥺

Dr. Julia Hare’s words ring true:
“The teachers are afraid of the principals; the principals are afraid of the Superintendents; the Superintendents are afraid of the school board, the school boards are afraid of the parents; the parents are afraid of the kids and the kids aren’t afraid of anyone!”

School is not for babysitting. School is for education. Parents need to understand that.

I literally gasped when you said your blood pressure was 217/133. That is an actual medical emergency, as in people can have strokes and other organ damage from BP that high. I’m glad you’re ok and have been able to walk away from that situation

Teachers are some of the most important people in our society and they need to be better supported in so many ways.

The teacher who got shot by the 6 year old told administrators he had a gun and they did nothing. Teachers need to be protected. Kudos for thinking about your daughter and your health. You’re in my prayers.

I know I'm 4 years late. But I have got to say: you are not wrong, you are not crazy, you are not being too dramatic. You absolutely deserve to work in a safe and functional environment. You absolutely deserve to be heard, respected, and supported. I am so sorry for what you went through. (Signed, a teacher just barely keeping her head above water)

My wife quit after just 3 years, citing impossible, conflicting standards, a hostile school administrator, and a decline in health. Teaching, while an honorable profession, has become too difficult of a job.

“If you’re good at your job, it’s almost like you get punished for being good at your job.” Yes. A thousand times yes. I couldn’t agree more. I feel your stress and anxiety and worry and desire deep in my bones. Thank you for being so open - it makes me feel a little less alone. ❤️

I just quit my teaching job due to stress, anxiety, and panic attacks during class. I was a teacher for 16 years. Thank you for talking about this 💗

Administration just doesn’t care about their staff. This happens everywhere.  It got so bad for me I had a complete breakdown in front of my class and landed in the hospital for 2 weeks.   You were right to walk away. It is what is best for you. I got a job at the airport escorting unaccompanied minors to their connecting flights. It doesn’t pay as much, but I’m much happier.

i’m not understanding why teachers aren’t getting paid more. you guys 100% deserve a big raise like your job is the literal backbone of the country.

“Y’all will let teachers pass out and have a stroke, and won’t do nothing except replace us the next day.”

THIS. I’m a first year teacher and I had to have one of my co-teachers grab me by the shoulders one morning and tell me this. She said, “It’s important for us to be good at our job, but our job is not more important than our personal lives and families. There is only ONE of you in your family and friends lives. There are hundreds of teachers that can walk in your classroom and teach your kids. They will replace you tomorrow if God forbid something happens to you.”

And yes my job is important, but I go about my days a lot differently now. As hard as I know it was for you to walk out, the people that love you are thankful that you did. 💛

22 year teacher here…All of these comments are so spot-on. No one understands what we endure besides other teachers. The “good teachers get punished” hit home! The behaviors we’re expected to manage in the last few years are abhorrent! I’m lucky to have great administrators and co-workers, but SOMETHING has to change in society as a whole! I’m sorry you had to experience this.❤️

I had panic attacks, major depression, lost 15 pounds, and cried nearly every day to work when I was a teacher. It was so terrible. I’m so sorry this happened to you. It’s so messed up.

27 year teacher here. I’m resigning this year. I can’t take it anymore. It was the same for me. The stress became unbearable. I got to the point that I was crying every morning before work. It was NOT the kids. It was the administration and the utter disregard for their teachers as professionals and even sometimes as human beings. Horrible. God bless you and help you through this time.

Girl, as a nurse, you did the right thing. Your 1st priority is going home to your baby. That blood pressure and that feeling sounds like an early stroke. Your body was warning you. You did everything  that you could, they did wrong by you.

I was a special education teacher for 15.5 years (that .5 is not an accident), and I was the department chair for 10 of those years - during the first 14 years of that time I was considered by the administration and my peers to be a damn good teacher and department leader. Then we got a new principal... that person, in the year and a half I worked with them, forced a bunch of 20+ year veteran teachers to retire, and I guess I was too dense to read the writing on my back, so they forced me out in the middle of the next year. I never had any evaluation less than "clearly outstanding" or "exceeds expectations," and I got written up on the first day of the inservice week because I was preparing IEPs for two meetings the following day instead of doing bureaucratic paperwork. I knew it was going to be a bad year, but I didn't know how bad...

Anyway, they forced me out in the middle of the year with a "separation agreement," promising me a "fresh start" with a "neutral reference" so I could find another job, with all my excellent evaluations, yaddayadda. Hahaha hahaha... For the next 2.5 years, I was a substitute teacher in three districts, with applications active in 22 districts in the large metropolitan area and the towns around. In all that time, I had a total of three interviews. None of them happened through HR departments - they happened when an admin person heard about me and called HR and told them, "talk to this guy." When I was interviewing for a non-teaching position that involved a psych screening, the evaluator who talked to me told me, "you know they did things, right?"

Yeah, I know. So because they didn't like me, they destroyed my career, took my livelihood (substitute teachers don't get paid squat, and there are no benefits), and I was lucky to have survived. It came VERY close. I have been an adjunct professor for the last 11 years, and I love what I do, but until just now there has not been any opportunity to get full-time employment in my department. So that stunt, 15 years ago, resulted in 15 years (so far) of impoverished conditions for me and my family.

I'm sorry I went on so long, and nobody likely has read this whole thing - but I just wanted to say good on you for standing up for yourself.

I had to tell a (crying) teacher that if he up and died, they’d just replace him the next day and not say too much about it. We can’t let this work take our health & sanity.