Classroom Chronicles

Teachers go through a lot — even without a pandemic

It feels like May, but it’s still October. Teachers across the country are ready for summer vacation. But with summer several months away, teachers are using their personal and sick time now more than ever.

We’re tired. And we’re frustrated. Teachers are stressed over academic demands, classroom sizes, COVID protocols, and unnecessary evaluations. Teachers are getting hit left and right.

All of this adds up to increased teacher absences and more substitutes covering classes. The problem is the number of available substitutes has decreased as well. Fears of being surrounded by unvaccinated students keep many substitutes away.

Teaching in the 21st century has always come with stress. High-stakes tests like the MCAS mean more demands on teachers. This is especially true for English, Math, and Science teachers. As far as I know, the MCAS will be back in full swing next Spring, meaning the pressure is on to make sure students are ready.

In addition to teaching during a pandemic, there is the ongoing stress of managing a full-size class. One of my classes has close to twenty-five students, many of them unvaccinated and they qualify to get the vaccine. The majority of students work hard. They want to do well in my class. But there are some who feel that school is a waste of time and would rather spend that time on their phones or playing video games.

Then, there are the students who want to add to my workload. There is one young man who as he stated recently, “likes to make me mad.” Every day he comes to class, argues with me, swears, and makes sexually explicit comments. I’ve spoken to the young man several times. When he sees that I’m really upset, he’ll back down and focus on his work. But that doesn’t last long.

Other students try to get the boy to stop his disruptive behavior. Depending on the student, the young man backs down or doubles down on the behavior. Since I teach high school, I try to get the students to take ownership of their behavior before informing the administration and/or parents.

This young man has no desire to stop the behavior. I spend most of the period redirecting him back to his work. Then, if I don’t sit with him and help him with the assignment, he states I’m not helping him or teaching him. When I make statements to the class, he always shouts out a comment. When I call him on it, he states the comment wasn’t directed towards me. But it’s obvious that it was. I’m actually relieved when the student is absent from class.

This is what it means to be a teacher. The workload. The teaching schedule. The lesson planning. And everything else that goes with the job. But the abuse from students shouldn’t be a part of the profession. Teachers are people, too. I’ve been sworn at, yelled at, and assaulted by students over the course of my career. And now I have to deal with a verbally abusive student during a pandemic?! Hell, Nah!

I understand more and more why people are leaving their jobs. It’s a chance to be free from corporate rules. It’s an opportunity to make dreams a reality. People want more say in their careers. That freedom is something that I want.

I’m tired of the abuse and the stress. I want to chart my own course. Freedom from abuse sounds really nice.