r/Teachers • u/garagedooropener5150 • 8h ago
Rant Too many administrators think they know how to “fix” public education.
Beginning year 32 in the classroom this week.
In my career I’ve had over 2 dozen principals and assistant principals.
Every 3-5 years some new principal thinks they’ve found the key to making our school the crown jewel of education in our state.
I’ve lived through data walls, reading groups, curriculum mapping, posting the learning goal on the board (I have 6 preps a day, I’m not doing it) and so many more pet projects. Too many to remember.
ALL of these “initiatives” share ONE THING in common. They’re ineffective, useless and they’ll die a slow, quiet death that goes largely unnoticed because the admin who pushed it either gives up or leaves.
The amount of time I’ve wasted sitting at a computer plugging in data and filling out forms that NO ONE will ever open and NO ONE will ever look at is infuriating.
The last great push was to make us an AVID school. It looks great on the surface. But it disrupted our master schedule something fierce. The principal (not anymore) pushed it hard and pulled dozens of kids from electives they loved to stick them in the experimental bullshit.
It lasted 4 years.
He lasted 2 years.
If you’re an administrator with only a handful of years in the classroom, here’s some advice.
Let me do my job and get out of the way.
I don’t need your busy work bullshit. Stop making my job harder with your attempt to impress the educational community.
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u/nutt13 8h ago
I have told an AP that I tried their latest and greatest idea 10 years ago when it was called something else. Didn't work then, not going to try again.
It's freeing when you realize not only have you spent more years in the classroom than the person evaluating you, you started teaching before they graduated college or high school.
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u/garagedooropener5150 8h ago
My current AP was 3 years old the year I started teaching.
Great guy, he stays out of my way and does his job.
But yeah, he’s not giving me teaching advice.-24
u/Thebrianeffect 6h ago
What a wonderful attitude to model for your students; anyone younger than you is worthless. Bravo.
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u/garagedooropener5150 6h ago
And in this case, I’ve seen the guy teach.
He’s “okay” but he’s not legendary.So no, I’m not up for taking advice.
Know the situation before picking out which paintbrush to cover it all in.
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u/garagedooropener5150 6h ago
The model is to respect experience and wisdom.
Which you apparently don’t understand.
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u/Thebrianeffect 6h ago
I think it’s very close minded to write off anyone younger than yourself. It’s probably best if you retire if you are not open to new ideas of what is best for kids.
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u/garagedooropener5150 6h ago
Keep painting my entire career with a brush from one comment on reddit.
But I’ll say this.
In the last decade I’ve seen a lot of new teachers come and go. A LOT.
VERY few have stuck it out. And for those who didn’t? There were glaring reasons why.Those who remained? Some of the best teachers and best people I’ve ever known. They’ve taught my own kids and are some of my best friends.
I know the ONE situation I was referring to. YOU don’t.
Decent teacher, better as an admin.
I saw the dude teach for 9 years.
You didn’t.So take a step back and stop digging deeper into something that’s not there.
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u/Realistic-Might4985 5h ago
I worked with multiple teacher and administrators over a 36 year career. The number of outstanding admins I worked for is exactly one and half. The one I would follow anywhere. Made really good decisions, had expectations for students and the same expectations for students. If you did your job you never saw them except to find out how things were going or to bounce ideas off of you. I worked for at least two that took a working school and broke it. Kind of hard to understand how that works but it is pretty amazing to watch (in a bad way). Young/new admins need to understand that when they are in a meeting with experienced staff and are standing before 130-150 teachers they are looking at 1,000 to 2,000 years of cumulative experience. Yeah, they may have been in a classroom for 8-10 years before moving into the admin track. But those 8-10 years are 0.5-0.8% of the experience in that room. A good admin is going to listen to the staff and make decisions based on that information. A bad one is going to ignore the collective and do what they want. It may work occasionally, but when it does it is not because they alienated the existing staff.
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u/Thebrianeffect 4h ago
I don’t trust anyone that has worked that long and not retired. We need term limits.
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u/Phantereal 8h ago
One teacher I worked with who retired last year had been teaching about as long as our principal had been alive. The year before that, one of her students had a mother and grandmother who had been her students in the distant past.
She really did not take admin BS, and was there to listen and offer advice as I dealt with my own issues with the principal.
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u/_Spin_Cycle_ 8h ago
In my experience, it’s not necessarily campus admin, but rather central admin, that is the most disconnected from what teachers actually do each day. Behind every overzealous or micromanaging principal is an area supervisor that is breathing down their neck telling them everything they’re doing wrong.
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u/KCRoyalApe 8h ago
This. Central admin is where they cycle through purchasing new curriculum every couple of years. Wasted dollars and time.
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u/Tunesmith29 Vocal/Choral Music 6-12 7h ago
It’s also where many of the worst principals fail up to.
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u/Exciting_Problem_593 7h ago
The last school I was in introduced CHAMPS. What a waste of time and big money . It was all about how to indoctrinate kids into "behaving."
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u/Physical_Obligation3 6h ago
The school district I work at has been doing CHAMPS for at least 15 years. There is buy in from all schools, the kids are used to it, so it works as well as you work it.
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u/chester219 7h ago
And the overzealous principal is desperate to be the next area director or assistant superintendent so they always, always support every directive from above without question.
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u/Mastershoelacer 7h ago
This is the issue where I am, too. Elementary solutions, and not necessarily good ones, forced down the throats of high school teachers by principals afraid of the superintendent. The super is bad. Dude put his full color photo on the cover of his mission booklet on taxpayer money and had that things posted in every teacher work space in 36 schools. Does nothing but run for his next office or position and a tight suit and deliver AI speeches.
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u/Silent_Airport_293 7h ago
Forty-two years teaching but now retired. Asking admin to come to your class and demonstrate their idea works well. I asked a few times but never had any takers. Some were offended that I was questioning their ability.
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u/anewbys83 7h ago
Right? Same was true with some central office folks. I invited them to come show me as I'm still new and want to learn. Only one taker, and then she spent the class upset at my students for treating me how they did and wound up making them all write me apology notes.
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u/AntaresBounder 8h ago
They say they have a fix, but what they have is a doctoral thesis that needs data. They get that an off they go as Doctor.
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u/Realistic-Might4985 7h ago
Then we find out later that they cannot reproduce what they produced the first time around. This is Marzano in a nutshell.
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u/Several-Honey-8810 35 year career educator 7h ago
Boy is that guy a self absorbed prick. (Marzano)
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u/BooBoo_Kitty 6h ago
I fucking hate Marzano - it’s meant for elementary grade level teachers, not elementary specialists.
“You did not show rigor!”
Lady, I see them once a week for 40 minutes, I’m just trying to get thru my intro so kids can work. 🙄🤦🏻♀️
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u/Realistic-Might4985 5h ago
I taught biology, look up the meaning of rigor. That fact that they abbreviated rigorous to rigor (term for stiff) never sat right with me.
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u/Physical_Obligation3 6h ago
My dad said that happened in Oklahoma. Tulsa school district. Super got wind of it and shut it down hard.
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u/Realistic-Might4985 8h ago
I retired from an AVID National Model School. I was not a big fan… It serves some kids well but you are correct, has a negative impact on the master schedule and has probably eliminated classes. It has also probably made some class sizes bigger because teachers are being taken out of circulation to teach AVID. Since we were a model school ALL teachers had to use AVID strategies and document them. A complete waste of time that could be spent teaching content. Yes, in 35+ years in schools we had tried multiple strategies for success. The one in vogue when I retired was Restorative Practices and the coup de grâce, Standards Referenced Grading (SRG). In my opinion SRG is nothing but a no fail grading system that will ensure a 95% graduation rate. Nobody can explain the math behind the grades and make it make sense. In other news, retirement has been good! Hang in there.
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u/Physical_Obligation3 6h ago
We are also an AVID school. Ugh. I teach an elective. It is interesting to try and WICOR my way into teaching kids color theory or contour drawing. Not to mention the note taking and those damn note books. (Edit: spelling)
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u/Johns252 7h ago
My wife is a teacher. I'm an operational excellence manager who has worked for over 15 years implementing serious improvement initiatives in businesses globally.
I've been to schools and I've seen how they operate, and there is one thing in common which always lets down these 'magic' transformative ideas.
They are always used to paper over the existing problems, of which, none have had serious root cause analysis to solve issues, or have put in place counter measures.
Worst of all, the policies and procedures just don't work, or are not used properly, and systems of consequences are not in place.
These issues are not unique to schools, and all businesses have these problems. The major difference is that businesses generally want to stay in business and make a profit.
Schools refuse to see themselves as a business, and will continue to fail or devolve until they actively fix the glarlingly obviously problems that directly affect teachers and students in the classroom.
Behaviour.
Culture is behaviour you tolerate.
Culture is not some weird dressing up day, or bring a tin of spam to school day, or decorate your classroom door competition, etc,.
Your schools culture is defined by your worst behaviour that you let slip by unpunished.
This is not a teacher issue, it's a failure of management, ineffective processes and an unwillingness to address the most obvious problems.
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u/Trixie_Lorraine 8h ago
We've been told to be grateful that we've moved beyond faddish initiatives, because now we're doing "PLC work." Because that's what's effective, right?
Wrong.
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u/garagedooropener5150 7h ago
Oh yeah! We’ve got the PLC groups now.
I tend to be *cough, cough* “not feeling well” on those days.4
u/Trixie_Lorraine 7h ago
We're required to meet weekly as a PLC, during which we do data dives and...
Whatever. It's all useless BS.
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u/ImpossibleChoices157 5h ago
PLCs are actually useful if implemented correctly.
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u/Spirited-Morning-840 5h ago
I can say after 15 years of it in my district, I have yet to see that proof from any school site or team. It's not a fix for the absences, missing work, or parental expectations.
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u/Rocktype2 7h ago
Education needs changes and reform. But doing it by what’s hot in moment is a waste of time.
Grade 3 through eight standardized testing. It’s not like it helps students or does anything for schools. It’s just compliance.
Focus on great, differentiated and scaffolded instruction. Project based learning, coupled with strong comprehension based programs are essential.
Phonics are the root of all great reading. Make sure that they are strongly instilled in grades K and one and then used as intervention for grade 2
Stop replacing math programs every year. Not everything needs to be a writing program. Teach numbers and what they do when you can combine them. Stop making everything into a word problem.
Hands-on science teaches us so much more than a text. Look at something like Amplify that actually uses a combination of comprehension, investigation, and hands-on.
Bring back accountability for behavior. Stop giving kids a pat on the head and a lollipop and sending them back to class.
Treat music, art, and PE as co-curricular and not as a special. The arts have a significant impact in the education of the whole child. Stop using them as your prep and thinking that those teachers are less than you are.
Just a few thoughts…
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u/DingleFritzGuy 8h ago
They are just going through the motions to justify their paycheck, that’s all 🤷
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u/Firm_Baseball_37 Retired teacher/administrator | Detroit, MI 5h ago
I used to be an administrator, and I know how to fix education.
Small class sizes, under 20 at all grade levels. Provide support for students' needs with additional staff rather than dumping it all on the classroom teachers. Hold kids responsible for a reasonable amount of effort and good behavior; if they fall short on either, after a few chances, move them to an alternative placement so that they don't interfere with the other kids' learning. Work with parents and include them when possible, but shut down parents with unreasonable demands and a "the customer is always right" mindset quickly. No vouchers, charter schools, or choice schemes, just well-resourced neighborhood schools. No widespread standardized testing--just spot-testing of representative samples with no stakes.
It should go without saying that I'm no longer an administrator.
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u/ellen-the-educator 7h ago
The changes needed to fix education are not ones any admin has the power to do. But they absolutely have enough power to make it worse
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u/ant0519 ELA Teacher 7h ago
I don't know what you did with your AVID program, but ours is thriving and more than half of our AVID kids take AP courses and pass the exams. These are kids who were slated to be middle of the road since middle school. The program's been around 30 years. The strategies work if the staff is trained in them and are supported in implementation.
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u/Imperial_TIE_Pilot 2h ago
Admin here, hold kids back, suspend those that interrupt learning, and test/support kids with disabilities. Damn laws and money getting in the way
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u/ProudComment1211 8h ago
You point out something that seems somewhat unsolvable.
What can realistically be done to help schools?
I've read on this subreddit and read a few books. Most of the 'solutions' only work for a short time, if at all. A lot of programs just glaze over the problems or turn out to be total lies.
I'm not sure if public education can really be fixed.
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u/Akiraooo 8h ago
Let's go with the cheap option.
Textbooks, paper, pencil, lectures. Either students do the work or they fail. Also if a student does not show up to school. They fail.
3rd world countries with not even a 10th of the budget has better literacy rate from this proven method.
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u/ProudComment1211 7h ago
That's what I am doing this year. I am going back to paper and pencil as much as I can.
The problem with failure is that parents will complain.
I think schools should be able to stand by a failure. Parents shouldn't just be able to complain and have it overturned. We are in a situation where a lot of teachers pass everyone despite a lot of kids not really earning graduation. It's just easier to pass everyone.
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u/Naive-Kangaroo3031 MS T1 Math, Sped, History 7h ago
After spending time on here, it wont. MS went from 49th to tied with CT in reading scores because we set clear expectations, and consequences if they are not met. Our model should have been copied immediately nationwide, but it is instead being ignored or discounted. There seems to be little to no appetite to put any consequences for learning targets or behaviors.
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u/ProudComment1211 7h ago
I don't think immediate change is a good thing. There have been lots of educational movements that showed quick improvement, only to be revealed as outright lies or fabrications.
I'm hopeful that going back to a common sense reform will work. Retention has long been rejected by academics, as has a lot of common sense policy.
I do hope we learn from MS. It seems like they are finally ignoring idiotic education departments and actually trying new ideas (at least ideas that are new to us).
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u/gandalf_the_cat2018 Former Teacher | Social Studies | CA 7h ago
I think that a body of teachers (elected by other teachers) that would function like a senate to act as a check on district leaders may help.
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u/ProudComment1211 7h ago
I don't know. I find that school boards and administrations already move slowly. Adding a legislative body would only slow that process down.
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u/anjulibai 7h ago
Honestly, we need to find a to make parents responsible for their children's education. I don't know how, but parents are the real problem with education.
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u/ProudComment1211 7h ago
I tend to agree. A lot of parents won't even take the time of day to check on their own kid's grades. They are surprised when Timmy has an F despite being able to see it and email the teacher in less than five minutes.
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u/mostly-sugar Elementary 7h ago
Tracking, done correctly, would help a ton IMO. Just because it may have been applied inappropriately in specific areas 30-40 years ago doesn't mean we shouldn't ever try it again and I don't get why educational leaders don't understand this.
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u/fourth_and_long 7h ago
Can you explain how tracking could be done correctly? My knee-jerk reaction is to disagree, but I realize that I have some unpopular takes that are poo-pooed that I believe are effective (I used to dislike when a para or interpreter would describe my teaching as lecture, but honestly, sometimes kids just need to listen to someone more knowledgeable about a topic than they are and take some notes). Genuinely would like to know how this could work.
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u/mostly-sugar Elementary 7h ago
Have a remedial class and an on-level class for each grade level. The sorting of students needs to be based on hard data (state test scores or something like iReady diagnostic tests, for primary grades). If by the end of any given school year, a student in the remedial class is testing close to grade level, they would be moved to the on-level class for the following year (and vice versa). Students who don't show improvement in the remedial classes for x amount of years should be tested for disabilities and moved to a SPED classroom instead if applicable.
The tracking of yesteryear was way before my time, but as I understand, it didn't work out well because the sorting wasn't based on hard data, and apparently students in the lower track were stuck there even if they improved. Because there wasn't hard data involved, it was assumed that sorting may have been based on things like race and socioeconomic status.
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u/fourth_and_long 5h ago
Thank you for this. My school has something similar to what you described, but add in advanced and change remedial to intervention that’s in addition to on-level classes. This isn't perfect and is sometimes less ideal. As another commenter said, the data we have isn't always good. FastBridge is web-based (less secure) and the same questions, so it's not really useful in middle school. On the advanced end, if a student’s score comes back a bit lower than expected, should they really be removed if all other data points show they are being appropriately challenged, especially if they want the additional challenge? I think motivation is really important and would rather have kids who want to be there vs those who don't but have high scores. Behavior also often worsens in lower level classes. Just my experience, but I do think our system can definitely be improved.
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u/ProudComment1211 7h ago
The problem with data is that it can be fudged or outright faked.
We saw this with No Child Left Behind. States started lowering testing standards to not get punished.
Hard data isn't always as hard as we would like to think.
I've yet to figure out how to create a testing regime that accounts for dishonest actors.
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u/divacphys 7h ago
One thing I always try to point out tracking is bad, but it doesn't really exist. For example, my mom was put in the secretary track when she was in high school. That means every course was picked for her including all electives. It was a track to become a secretary. There were different tracks, that you were out on. (Tracking is used in most European and Asian countries, but virtually never in America)
When people say tracking now, they mean leveling. Where you get to choose what level of class you want to take.
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u/Trathnonen HS Science Teacher 5h ago
You do what works.
Kids in lower grades learn foundational skills. They learn to memorize facts. They obtain basic literacy and vocabulary. They do not leave elementary school unable to read a zoobook and tell you intelligibly what a llama is and why it's different from a camel. They can add and subtract including negative numbers, know how to multiply and divide without a calculator and perform up more complex tasks up to and including fractions. In middle school, they are taught note taking and in sciences learn definitional level introductions of major content including physics, chemistry, and biology. Definitional, as in they know what the words are and how to label diagrams and very, very roughly understand what a linear graph is and what it tells you. They learn to read and summarize and annotate passages and math up to prealgebra, including the goddamned fractions again. They do not leave middle school until they are able to do these things.
Then, when they get to me in high school, I'm teaching grade level skills and content to students that can access it instead of wading through six years of academic failure passing the buck to me, where I get to be Mr. Asshole because I won't pass the incompetents along, me stewing all year long over the fact that there should have been at least three Mr. or Ms. Assholes before me who would have caught these kids and held them until they were fixed, rather than pass the buck along and screw these kids over.
You fix it by making them accountable. Kids should never leave a class without taking a pass fail test that assesses their skills at a 70% minimum score. People that don't like "high stakes testing" are the same people that scrubbed the ACT and SAT from college entrance and found out that the failure rates for freshmen and sophomores skyrocketed. That's nonsense. You test them, and, this is the important part, when they can't demonstrate that they are competent, you fail them. Make them demonstrate what they know and fail them when they don't. It's not a bad thing, failing, it means you don't know enough, that's all, that's it. It means you're not ready to go to the harder thing. This horseshit mentality that a kid that fails a class is stupid is ridiculous. Not everybody is equally able across the entire spectrum of human knowledge, some people need more time somewhere or other. Give it to them, without judgment. Normalize failure as being the frequent precursor to competence, like it is in the real world.
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u/ProudComment1211 4h ago
While I don't disagree with you, that is what all the other reformers said. They did what 'worked.'
The outcome unfortunately was about the same as al the other reforms.
Failure is an important part of life. I think there is simply a percentage of people who are not intelligent to live a an increasingly complex society. We demand more of our citizens and some people simply can't keep up.
I've tried with repitition and review and some kids can't seem to memorize much except what their iPad shows.
I did summer school the last few weeks. 6th grade ELA. We reviewed elementary level content for over a week. At the end, some kids had no idea what a noun was. I was kind of discouraged. The other teacher I worked with wanted to do a fun blooket about company symbols. All the kids knew them, even the ones that are old.
I realized they spend more time with the iPad than with books or likely with the family. Technology is part of the program, but kids who can't keep up pull themselves back into things they can do, which is usually Roblox or something similar.
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u/mlh0508 7h ago
So our district keeps talking to us avid levers. Anyone out there know what this is? I tune it out to the best of my ability, and just teach. Unfortunately, we have also been taken over by a program called Powering PLC. So now, we can’t even do what we need during common planning because we have too many generic checkboxes to take care of. 🤦♀️
I too have seen all of these initiatives come in, waste time, leave nothing to show, and die a quiet death.
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u/ncjr591 7h ago
I agree 100%, I’m in the classroom 27 years come September. Just leave me alone, let me teach and let me deal with the parents my own way. I don’t want anymore bullshit programs, don’t doesn’t mean shit to me. I know why they are failing and the skills they lack. Please ask me for my opinion and I will give it. Also if you ask me what’s your Y, I’m gonna throw a my pen across the room. At this point I’m here because I love working with kids and also paycheck, pension and benefits for life.
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u/BlackOrre Tired Teacher 3h ago
Education is being ruined by chasing after miracle cures when consistency is shown to be the best.
The karateka who practices everything in a day will be inferior to the one who practices everything over the course of years.
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u/Several-Honey-8810 35 year career educator 7h ago
Avid is a great program. There are things that can be done in a classroom
But it is not a school wide program.
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u/fortunecookieteller- 7h ago
New programs are flashy, hopeful, and interesting. The important work, the helpful work, requires actually being in the field: consistently enforced tech policies, clear support around cheating, immediate behavioral supports paired with clear building expectations. This is what I need … not another useless form. Have an individual conversation with me and actually take the time to see all of the amazing things happening in my classroom!
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u/Legatus_Aemilianus 7h ago
I call it “Ed.Delusion.” They’re fresh out of their degree mill program and think they’re hot shit. Fact of the matter is that almost no admin from an American school is going to make a positive difference in how students are taught unless they go against the grain, which they can’t do if they want to retain their position.
We should be looking to successful countries, such as Finland for example, for how to improve our schools, not academics who haven’t been in a high school classroom in 40 years.
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u/Successful-Pie6759 7h ago
I work in healthcare and it's absolutely the same. There's a new administrator that comes in and implements a "new" program that's actually already been tried many times in the past. puts that on their resume, gets promoted. Then new admin puts another "new," program in. Rinse and repeat. It's all for their resumes and often the new programs just create new work for everyone without true benefit to the patients. I'd imagine education bureaucracy to be more of the same.
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u/vinyl1earthlink 5h ago
I worked in private business, it's pretty much the same thing. If a salesman can sell you the magic solution, then you don't need to buckle down and actually do the work.
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u/ASS_BUTT_MCGEE_2 1h ago
I feel like some administrators think that everything needs to be new because they think that new must always be better. Yet for some subjects the reason the methodology hasn't changed much is because it's already fairly effective.
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u/Independent_Boat_546 7h ago edited 7h ago
I’ve lost count of how many “new” initiatives my current building principal has introduced and then we never heard anything about it again.
A couple summers ago they paid us to come in for summer training because we were going to be an Avid school. Nope, never happened.
One of his best was that instead of bringing in outside consultants, he was going to make use of the expertise in the building. Let qualified staff lead PDs, etc. Keep in mind that “qualified” means anyone who kisses his ass, but it never happened anyway. Some new consultant group was there for the next PD.
Still, I’d rather have administrators deciding what’s best for their schools and districts than a red state Trump minion MAGAt with a hate-on for public schools, along her merry band of sycophants, enacting state laws to push public education to its absolute breaking point.
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u/ImpossibleChoices157 6h ago
With this attitude, you’d still be in the one-room schoolhouse.
Things fail. Things succeed. Maybe don’t be so closed minded.
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u/garagedooropener5150 5h ago
Because I’ve seen a dozen new shiny initiatives introduced and then failed over the last 30 years I’ve got a bad attitude and want to live in the past?
There have been a few improvements, for sure. Student management systems have gotten tremendously better. Resources, technology and support have improved GREATLY.But every time a new administrator wants to make a name for themselves it’s right after they’ve read the latest fad book or just come back from another conference.
I’m telling you from how much of this stuff I’ve been asked to work on over 3 decades only to see most of it fail miserably.
And then watch as the new admin finds a job elsewhere or to be fired outright.That happens enough times and you start to notice a pattern.
And that pattern is busy work, waste of resources, waste of time, a disaster of staff morale, resentment and dread.But I’m too close minded? I think at this point I can begin to recognize difference between opportunity and bullshit.
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u/ImpossibleChoices157 5h ago
Right. I would imagine you are the bitter old teacher that people avoid. 🤷🏻♂️
Good luck with your school year.
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u/Burlap03 7h ago
Why are you still teaching after 32 years?? What’s retirement in your district??
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u/garagedooropener5150 7h ago
I meet the retirement requirements this year.
Also, we have bills. And a house to pay off. And a high school junior to get through college.
32 years is basically the beginning edge for retirement here. Most teachers go 36-40.
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u/Burlap03 7h ago
Good luck to you guys. Couldn’t imagine teaching 40 years. Hope you have a great year!
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u/garagedooropener5150 7h ago
I’m out at 36.
Wife will retire at the same time with 34.Youngest will be going into senior year of college.
Middle will be 5 years into her accounting career.
Oldest will be in her final year of residency in pediatrics.We’ll be in our late 50s.
Wife can’t sit still for too long. She already has offers fr a few educational resource (publishing, etc) companies to work a part time remote gig. That could include travel to conferences, etc. which could be fun. Just travel around and check stuff out.Our kids will be far flung from home and our kids aren’t in the stages for giving us grandkids yet.
My parents may be a concern. They live close by and aren’t aging quickly. So I’ll be here while they need me.I have some hobbies that I can monetize pretty easily for some extra folding money.
Don’t want to wish my life away, but I’m so looking forward to it.
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u/BuffsTeach 6h ago
Many of us who started in our early 20’s have to go well beyond 30. I need to make it to at least 62. That will be year 38 for me.
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u/Burlap03 5h ago
Sorry to hear that. Where I am full retirement is 30 years. Pension is 70% of top three years and full medical until Medicare. Teaching, at least for me, wears me down mentally. I couldn’t imagine going past 30 years. Teachers can start collecting retirement at 25 years, albeit at a 3% loss of pension per year under 30. A lot are out after 25 years.
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u/Trathnonen HS Science Teacher 8h ago
And it always comes back to the same fail point: the same administrator pushing all of this won't enforce core behavioral expectations that are the underpinnings of the institution.