Why I'm so fu***** angry and stressed out!

[MisterLove]

I know this is a forum, not a personal diary but I really need to vent.

I think 2014 is going to be a sh*t year at work (I'm a high school teacher) because I'm flooded with work and it is simply not possible to cope with it.

Because of the austerity measures inforced in our country, it is not possible to hire new teachers and I have been given these tasks:

a) Teach my own classes

b) Teach the classes of a bimbo that retired last year

c) Teach the classes the bimbo missed during two consecutive months because she presented a fake medical certificate

d) Do all the legal work

e) Course direction

f) Class direction

So yes, I'll be doing overtime with no extra pay and I have no time whatsoever to prepare my lessons.

I can't really complain because I'm only a temporary teacher and have no legals rights.

To make matters even worse, I already know I'll be getting a mediocre grade in the end because good grades are reserved for the 'aristocracy'.

So yes, I'm pissed.

[southbiochem]

Well, teaching is one of those ungrateful jobs, Mister Love

I know that for a fact, my sister and mother are teachers, so I know what you mean

on paper you have a certain amount of hours but in reality you do so much more work...at school and from home...

even if austerity measures are not taken, but you still have a cheap bastard running the school, often teachers have to do more work than they're supposed to do..it's one of those dreaful thing you just can't do anything about..

sorry to hear you might have a rough year...

[partis]

I cant understand how you can be expected to do all that extra work and not get more pay, it just doesnt make sense.

It makes ME pissed off and its not even happening to me.

I would say "just quit" tell em to go "fuck themselves" but i know how much you enjoy your job (at times) and from what ive read of your post it,ll be your students loss mostly not the authorities.

But i tell you what would they do if all the teachers had enough, then they would have to stop being so austere unless they want the next generation to be illiterate and unqualified.

Grrrrrrrrr

[MarySandy]

When all teachers have enough they go on strike, however that is one luxury that most teachers cannot have in Portugal due to the very hard economical situation over there and even worst when the said teacher is not part of a collective convention.

Here in Canada it is practically the same, if teachers didn't have any sort of a union they'd be screwed so much. My dad use to teach in Highschool and later on college and he got so fed up of so little recognition for the hard work he was doing with students that he quit and that year almost half of the students failed their school year because they were missing my father and because he was one of the teacher who was teaching for the love of education and children. The next year they asked him to come back and he solidly refused. This year he is launching a tutoring services where he's in charge and most of the children he had in class have already registered.

Teacher have it rough, as SB said so well it is a very ungrateful job... anyone who have children be aware of what going on at your child's school not just about your own child but the whole organization that forms that school, unhappy teachers makes unhappy student and thus both of their roles are not respected. I would love to go and teach at the end of my degree, but not in a condition where I'm enslaved to my job.

Misterlove... thanks for being a teacher, education passes from you to the students... social values and stuff are "usually" provided by parents and family but the 8 hours a children passes in school everyday is at school with their teachers and that has to be taken in serious consideration. If a teacher isn't happy with its job it creates a domino effect, it affects each and every one of us.

[MisterLove]

Thanks for your kind words guys, I really need them right now.

The real problem here is not the extra work, the problem is the extra amount of work is so obscene and grotesque it won't leave me any time at all to prepare my lessons.

Thanks again, guys!

[MisterTinkles]

Teachers here in the USA have been ignored, rejected, abused and misused, they just simply dont give a shit anymore. They are nothing more than over paid baby sitters.

Do you have private schools there where you are? If so, you might want to check those out.
Private schools here in the US not only pay better for good teachers, they have better benefits, and they have the authority over their classes.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Similar happened in the USA during the Last Century. The majority of smart teachers took their degrees and went into other feilds, now we have pretty much the stupid people who stick with the position because they don't have sufficient braincells to bail out. Meaning the stupid are teaching, thus the quality of education in public schools has declined.

And I know all of that only because my boss loves to explain how when he taught high school students for 35 years where things where when he entered the scene and where things ended up being when he retired gladly and flat refuses to deal with another damned school ever again. He also said that most of the new teachers he has met are about as educated as a well trained chimpanzee, however he feels chimpanzees would just to a better job at it.

This woman you just talked about is most likely and example how the refusal of government to actually pay for quality educators is leading to a situation where unqualified individuals will take the job then proceed to mess up your nations greatest resource, its future minds.

I hate to say this but you may be facing a choice here which is ugly, either you stick with this and suffer in silence hoping you can reach at least one student and change the world for the better that way, or you bail on being a public educator and do something with your degree(s) that either make you richer, or make you happier.

Now for some woo-woo conspiracy theorizing. The Failing Education System is doing exactly as it is supposed to be doing. Americans are being 'dumbed-down'.

1940's through the 1960's the US public education system became a model of education for the rest of the world. This was back in the day when the USA was actually number one in many areas. A whole generation was raised to be brillant, and that lead to that minor thing we here in the states call the 'Civil Rights Movement'. All of those protests, marches riots learned the politicians and the Authority a good lesson. That being a well educated population is harder to control than a stupid population.

From the Civil Rights Movement onward, there has been a general "dumbing down" of the education system in the USA. Of course the government didn't just up and change everything, instead they held back funding, and did a lot of minor changes to slowly reduce the quality of education to where today high school students in America are woefully behind in every area compared to most of the world.

And it has worked, since the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War Protests, protests, marches, and all of those other wonder voicings of We the People had diminished in size and loudness. We the people should have been very pissed off to find out that bush went to war with Iraq based on 'sexed up' Intel from the Brits. Where was all the protests, the march on to Washington DC? What happened? The population is stupider now, they don't care.

Like it or not, the USA is the leader in innovation, has been since at least WWII. And from others I have spoken too in various fields in other nations they have been following exactly in the foot steps of America when it comes to education. Doing EXACTLY the same things to dismantle their education system, gut it and leave it in a condition where what is churned out is far less likely to question authority, have wild individual thoughts, and be a 'problem' to the government.

I do not know Portugal socially. Unlike 60% of Americans I can find it on the map, its in Asia right? :biggrin: LOL However you may need to actually step back here and look at the bigger picture of Education in your Nation and decide for yourself if this is a purposeful 'dumbing down' move on part of your government.

If it is, forget trying to change this trend, you are one, they are many. However you can re-plan your life to where you personally don't have to deal with the decades of struggle to be a 'good educator' in a poor education system.

[MisterLove]

[...] Now for some woo-woo conspiracy theorizing. [...]

It's not just a conspiracy theory, in this country the government really wants to dismantle public school and hand it over to private corporations and makes no secret of it.

Two or three interesting facts: there is no money for toilet paper and I have to pay for my students' photocopies and all other resources.

[southbiochem]

It's not just a conspiracy theory, in this country the government really wants to dismantle public school and hand it over to private corporations and makes no secret of it.

Two or three interesting facts: there is no money for toilet paper and I have to pay for my students' fotocopies and all other resources.

*sigh*....at least my country tries to make it go unnoticed...

of course we are not fooled given the sky high tax on books....they are FREAKING EXPENSIVE....

here it costs you less to get drunk than to get educated..

I still prefer to buy books, and that's something I guess. Neither teachers nor parents nor students have given up just yet here..but neither part is all too happy about how education is being managed by the Ministry.

I can understand very well what you mean...my mom and my sis invest good money on material for their classes, photocopies, prints, art work stuff, books.....and they shouldn't but they accept it as a part of the job...and that's just sad..

you do a fine, fine jo in trying to get those toddlers some education...it's ungrateful but you're doing some good in the world....poor comfort, I know..

[Evan88]

I dreamt of being a teacher before when i was a kid.. I wanna check the exams, plan lessons etc but there is more to that. The moment i learned that teachers here are underpaid, i dont wanna take the risk..

Teaching in public schools here is the worst case scenario since some underdeveloped schools have like 100 kids in one room. Sometimes, they buy their own chalk and other materials for teaching. Teachers here are considered Heroes and i agree so since its a thankless job but they do touch lives and really full of sacrifices

Mister Love, i believe teachers there in Portugal are paid better, you dont wanna know the salary of teachers here in the Philippines.. At least you're teaching in a first world country..