Anyone else decided to quit their job? I’ve made up my mind - I’m done teaching in American schools. Its a question I’ve struggled with for a few years now, especially in the spring time.
The beginning of the year is generally OK but as the year wears on, I just get to a point where I feel like I’m wasting my time.
I’m trying to pinpoint everything that’s led to my decision. The #1 biggest reason is I feel
like I’m wasting my time. What’s the point? I imagine myself doing more important things. I think of my idols, such as Garibaldi, Caesar, Orwell, our Founding Fathers and it makes me sad that they accomplished great things and I haven’t done anything IMO. I’m not saying that I can accomplish what they did BUT doing what I do now I never will do anything noteworthy. I won’t even be in the game.
There’s plenty of other reasons: for ex., I can’t stand the disrespect. I can’t stand being hated for no good reason. Its ridiculous: some kids hate you and some adore you for no real reason other than whether they think you’re cool or not. I lived most of my life from HS on up actively trying not to give a shit what anyone thinks about me, to be my own man and to resist as best I could the pull of the masses, of conformity.
So when someone didn’t like me, I really didn’t care and could tell them that. My colleagues say they’re just kids and who cares what they think, yet it bothers me. I’m probably too sensitive in that regard.
I hate the constant conflict. I hate being strict and I hate hating myself for sometimes not
being strict enough. Another thing that really weighs on me is I realize, like many others on T-Nation, that men are being pussified more and more. Our society is increasingly dominated if not by women than by feminine emotions and POV. Political correctness as well. Nowhere is this more evident than in the schools which are the ground zero of the war on males and independent thought. I look at the the other male teachers and all I can think of is: he’s such a nice guy. I’m not always nice. I’m not always Mr Personality esp. early in the morning. I’m not sugar and spice and everything nice. And with my size, I think that can sometimes comes across as intimidating. I look at all the other male teachers (18 male teachers out of 110 in the school!) and I’m not really like them. There’s only 3 male teachers that I think are similar to me in personality: one’s 62 and has been teaching almost 40 yrs (just retired to Florida where he plans on betting on the horses all day), one’s 55 and has been teaching 27 yrs, and the other one is 26 and in his 1st year(but he’s a lot smaller than I am).
I think I’m more of the old school. I don’t put up with bullshit and I call students out when I think they’re up to something or not doing their work. I believe I should be respected and that you should follow what I say regardless of whether its wrong or right, if you have a problem talk to me after class. I don’t care to be their friend or whether they think I’m nice. I want to impart knowledge and guide them and help them out, not put on a show.
I think back to the teachers I grew up with, especially in HS. Most were men, and they didn’t put up with anything. They would call you out and cut you down to size in front of everyone, and if you crossed the line you were in trouble. Now, kids do whatever the f they want and many times they don’t get in trouble for it. Here’ a small example: many of the girls dress like the hos on Washington Ave in South Beach. Tiny shorts, low-cut shirts, mini skirts, strapless tops, and some even try to come in with a bare midriff. Yet there are rules explicitly stating that they cannot dress like that.
As of a few days ago, the teachers have stopped sending girls to the office or making phone calls home complaining. Why? The administration gives them no consequences. Just go back to class they say. This is after they SPECIFICALLY told us to enforce the rules. Some of their parents don’t see what the big deal is. Your girl dresses like a skank ho and has tattoos at 15 and you don’t see what the problem is?
There are other factors too. I don’t fit in as well (again, prob b/c I’m a guy and my personality). I don’t have much in common with my female coworkers. They talk about their babies, and the weddings/baby showers/colleges their kids are applying to, etc.
I also was not asked back for another year, the reasons given I don’t agree with - at least not
with what’s written on the official letter. The real reason is basically this: my supervisor
basically told me enrollment is the most important part and so if I’m not nice to everyone more
kids will hate me and they’ll tell everyone what a prick Mr. S is and enrollment in World
Languages will drop and Italian will get a bad rap, etc.
They said I don’t use enough technology - I was one of 2 classrooms in the whole building that
didn’t have an LCD projector. How am I supposed to show Power Points, bitches? How am I supposed to show multimedia clips of current events?
Another teacher in the department has been there a year longer. She was on extended maternity
leave and missed part of last year, and the first 3 months this year. This woman literally sits
by the exit waiting for the bell to ring at 2:46 and boom, she’s out the door. Yet she gets away with it. Why? Well my theory is she’s really sweet and nice, and all the kids love her, and all the other female teachers gather around her and coo while she tells them the latest news on 10 month old Katelyn and 2 year old Jayden: “…and the other day he said, ‘Mommy, I love you’”… She uses no technology other than the projector. The other teachers use no more technology. They’ve told me straight up they’re not going to use the 30 Ipods the dep’t has. So why’d you buy them? Some teachers do nothing but work from packets!
Just today, the teacher who’ll be teaching Italian next year walked in to an after school meeting and 2 of the other female teachers who will be on her floor said “Yaaaay!” and started clapping like retarded kids at a clown show. They were so excited! OMG! How immature!
Funny though, I wasn’t introduced to her. What are they afraid of? That I’m jealous? That I’ll say something mean? I’m quitting you twats!
So what’s next? I have some ideas. I’ll stay in Italy til late September, maybe go to Russia or
Czech as well. I’ll come back and either I’ll go abroad to teach English, go back to school, or
maybe look into starting my own business. I plan on finishing a couple of screenplays I’ve begun.
Interesting note: my relatives who own their businesses think Im making a big mistake by leaving a secure government career with bennies. My relatives who work for other people pretty much all agree with me and say if I don’t like it, leave.
The way I see it: I’m young, no kids, not married and have money in the bank. Teaching kids can
kiss my ass.