Public School Is Not For Everyone

A lot of people ask me about my job. Specifically, they want to know if it's really worth giving up my summer vacation ("You only work 9 months a year, right?") and salary ("Teachers are overpaid!") to find something not in education. First, let me assure you that I work, contractually, 10 months a year. I also have to do classes over the summer, I spend my weekends grading papers and preparing for class, and I am still here at work most nights long after my contractual time ends. As for the salary, I guess I can't complain, but when you factor in all the extra out-of-school time I spend doing school related stuff, it's really not as much as it seems.

That being said, I will relay an incident that happened in class today so that those who still feel I'm living the good life can get a glimpse into what I deal with.

A senior (fifth year, since he couldn't do high school in four) has been a behavior issue since Day 1 this year. I will admit that I'm not a huge fan of his, but I do try to be fair, and I do try to tolerate him when he's not acting like a jackass. This student asked, in the middle of class, to go to the bathroom. Actually, asked is not the word...he held out his passport and told me to sign it. Since we were in the middle of something, I denied him. He wasn't happy with me, but I went on with my lesson. Twenty minutes later, he interrupts me while I'm talking to ask again. Again, I say no. Now he's really upset, and he's threatening to "piss on my floor". I told him that when he was finished doing that, he'd have to stay to clean it up. Then I went on with my lesson. At the end of class, the students were walking out, and what do I discover this prize specimen of a child left me? He spit...yes, SPIT...on my floor in protest.

So please, when you ask if I am really sure that I would like a career change, remember this story. Because I guarantee you, some summer vacation is a small thing to trade for a job in which I don't have to deal with the likes of these kids 180 days of the year.