The Crisis in Our Schools: Teachers & School Staff Speak Out on Working Conditions

[@jjc6530]

The public and parents do not respect teachers for the sacrifice and hard work they do for their child. Teachers just always get blamed. It’s really sad.

[@timisa58]

Sorry to hear this. You are in Texas, no surprise to many of the decisions made there. I lived and taught there for about 15 years, but my experience was certainly long before COVID and the craziness that is going on there. I live in another very conservative state, but at least, the people here have more common sense and critical thinking skills. One teacher rooting on other teachers to do what is best for you!

[@jameskonzek8892]

This is how I felt about the nursing profession.

[@Richard-vq7ud]

They say the medical field is much worse than education.

[@adventuresofbabyleonardoth5953]

Teachet do so much. Go thru so much stress... and aren't paid fair or respected for the amount they do It's really sad

[@blueluna45]

Perhaps if more people substituted in their neighborhood schools, not just once or twice, they would see and experience what it is like to be in a classroom in our society today and maybe have more understanding and compassion for teachers and what they have to deal with daily. I imagine most people would bristle at the idea of someone who is an outsider in their chosen profession or field of work, telling them how to do their job or offering unsolicited critiques. Communities needs to support teachers, not tear them down.

[@kennethmeeker6369]

Parents don’t care anymore a lot of them .

[@Richard-vq7ud]

The AFT was amazing 30 years ago when I started. Principals dreaded a call from AFT. They were a phone call away at all times and got things done. That is no longer true. I was being harassed relentlessly and was begging the AFT for help for 2 months. Our campus did not even have a rep anymore because she could not get any help as our campus sank. AFT responses "we will have to get back to you'..."have you talked to your principal"..."keep a log of occurances"..."we are going to work on that"......half of our membership canceled because AFT is not there to support local, grassroots problems.

[@yurei8]

When teachers here talk about safety, what are they referring to?

[@susanrambo4338]

We are talking about verbal threats and physical assaults from students. At my high school, 3 students walked into a classroom where they didn't belong. The teacher asked them to leave and they didn't. When the teacher went to call security to have them removed, the 3 students attacked the teacher. Since the teacher defended himself, the school suspended him and he was reported to CPS. That is how school administration supports and protects their teachers.

[@tanyatimms2951]

No room to social distance when you have 48 or 70 students in your room. Behavior problems with students.

[@yurei8]

@@tanyatimms2951 Thanks. What I see from these two responses Is that teachers, and education in general are fighting major things that effect the education of large numbers of students, in contrast focusing on CRT, and transgender issues. So the most effective strategy could be is to not spend the energy defending CRT, but turning away to more important/central issues. In addition to this, in my opinion US education is so focused on proficiency testing, they are losing in other areas.

[@tanyatimms2951]

@@yurei8 You are correct!

[@bdeffendall]

It sounds like these specific teachers are speaking about not feeling safe largely due to Covid.

[@sharonkaysnowton]

Texas AFT shares the "real" on what is going on in Texas classrooms. The people who are making decisions have never taught. Teachers today are asked to do sooooo much. Why not let the Texas teachers make the decisions for themselves, such as requiring masks for COVID. Respect teachers, raise the pay, and use common sense- wear a maks. We should not have a shortage of educators.

[@marcmeinzer8859]

The funding is screwed up owing to local control and also by relying overmuch on property taxes. Then also the degreed teachers are made to be the grunts talking at the kids all day much as if they had a talk show and were stuck on the air for a solid six hours every single work day. The grunts should be tutors with associates degrees from community colleges who ride herd on small groups. Also, as in the old British system teachers should be responsible only for teaching and not for administering exams. The exams should be given far less often and used primarily to determine advancement to the next level and should be impartially graded to ensure the extinction of the odious phenomenon of social promotion which has made American public schools the laughingstock of the entire industrial world.

[@LuqmanMichel]

Yes, lots of teachers/children etc have fallen ill. The question to ask is how many have died? Thousands fall ill every day with many kinds of diseases so why the big fuss?

[@teacherreads1076]

I recently retired from teaching. Only taught 16 years. We are going to get sick. We always did. It's important for our immune system to function properly. It's the protocol and policies, plus the push for online and hybrid, no control over our own classrooms, being told how to teach, what to teach, and how to run our classrooms that's burning teachers out, which leads to supply teachers not wanting to teach our classes when we are sick. That is the big problem the lack of teachers wanting to teach to take over for sick teachers. We have always gotten sick through the years and we will continue to get sick. The virus will not be going away and we do need to learn to live with it. It's all of the added push that has caused the stress and the burnout and many PTSD symptoms. That's why I left. So much politics in the school board system. I support all teachers because I know firsthand what every single one of you are going through. Speak up, stand up, or find another way to help others. I did not want to leave teaching because I enjoyed being a teacher. But it was everything else that came with the job which was heightened during covid.

[@gabrielleangelica1977]

Teach just ONE day and you'll know! 👹

[@joekrebs964]

Governor abbott disagrees.