re: 2/3 of teachers surveyed in Texas considering going peace out

I think all teachers should have to do a rotational assignment in the private sector every 7-10 years.

I have a former coworker with an engineering degree that taught 10-11 grade science for a year back in 09-10 school year. Company he was working for went under in the recession, so the only job he could get was a teaching job. Gotta pay the bills. Anyway, the amount of whining was almost intolerable. These people had absolutely no clue what the real world is like. It was stressful at times, mostly brought on by administration micromanaging every little nuance of the teaching experience. But grading papers, lesson plans, etc were really no big deal. If you’ve been in projects, it’s no different then planning you’d do at work but much more straightforward.

The time off was absurd. Holidays, no callouts on weekends. He went back to work in July so he only got the month of June, but even that was stupid. Most days, he’d go back to his room after dismissal and prep for the next day and was usually out the door by 4. Most of the teachers he saw bitching about “how many hours they spent working on lesson plans” were doing nothing but gossiping and complaining after school and most likely waited until late night before planning their days.

Money was mediocre, especially after coming off an engineering salary. But all things considered, if you want a very straightforward job, it’s not a bad gig.

Just one experience, so his might be unique. But I know family members that are teachers spend more time bitching about it than they do working.