Teacher Says The Disrespect She Receives From Her Class Is Worse Than Ever — ‘I’ve Just Stopped Caring’
“Forty more school days and then I say goodbye to let another teacher deal with them.”
Lisegagne, Mart Production / CanvaPro It’s no surprise that school districts and teachers are struggling post-pandemic — from the whiplash of online to in-person learning to dealing with the emotional burden of teaching children at such a tumultuous time.
With many failing to receive support from their staff, leadership, and community, it’s become almost impossible to make a comfortable living in the profession. The average teacher can afford just 12% of homes for sale within commuting distance of their school, and their salaries are not keeping up with inflation. It’s no wonder they’re finding it difficult to show up as their best selves for their students.
Of course, their students are struggling, too, especially in poor districts where their parents are likely dealing with similar financial burdens. It’s a never-ending cycle of misbehavior, helplessness, and failing institutional support that needs to be addressed before more teachers face situations like the woman who vented on Reddit.
In a post to the “Teachers” forum, she revealed that her students’ erratic, disrespectful behavior has made her job impossible. Looking wistfully towards the end of the school year, she said she's doing the bare minimum to teach her students, and she's ready to pass them along to a new teacher.
The teacher said she’s ‘stopped caring’ in the face of her students' disrespect and misbehavior.
“It’s just one class of 6th graders,” the teacher wrote, “5 boys and 2 girls.”
With many classrooms almost triple that size, it’s shocking to hear about her struggles.
“The boys are rude, disrespectful jerks (there are MANY other words I’d like to use than this),” she continued. “At the beginning of the year, I raised my voice, and the disrespect continued.”
Despite calling her students’ parents and redirecting behavior in the classroom, she said every day, ‘It’s the same crap.’
“Calling parents the day after helped,” she wrote of her redirection, but shortly after, her students “went back to the same crap.”
Photo: FatCamera / Canva Pro
After a few months of trying to involve parents and other school staff, she said she eliminated all fun activities, socializing, and exciting new lessons.
“All I’m doing is giving notes pages, explaining how to do the work, a sheet of practice problems, and an exit ticket and calling it a day. No more fun online math games or partner activities. I don’t care if they whine or complain. It was their choice.”
Most teachers are experiencing this rise in student misbehavior and report feelings of ‘hopelessness’ in their profession.
According to the Pew Research Center, in just a decade, teacher morale has plummeted by over 40%. In 2010, 60% of teachers reported feeling “enthusiastic” about their jobs, but only 20% reported the same in 2020.
Not only are there insufficient wages, failing infrastructure, overwhelming emotional burdens, and toxic work environments, but the students these teachers are responsible for have become almost impossible to handle.
While many parenting guides and “teacher handbooks” urge teachers to redirect misbehavior in classrooms as a leader and authority figure, TikTok teacher Katy Hoffman said she’s taking a different approach.
“I do believe that our students need to see us as actual people, not just these rock-solid robots,” Hoffman said. “Showing emotions [when redirecting behavior] allowed these students to see that I really do care about them and expect more.”
Of course, that’s not going to be the solution to every teacher’s student misbehavior problem, but it is a reminder that we’re all human. Not only are these behaviors a reflection of students' struggles as humans, but the teacher's ability to help support them is also.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.