Why My Last Public School Teaching Gig Made Me Quit
I wanted to be just like my middle and high school band directors. They were more like fathers to me than my own was. I got my degree and credential, and taught for a few years, until I realized that my dream career may not be exactly what I do forever. At this point, I have come to terms with that, although I might accept a job that is part time and a decent situation. I still teach music, just not as a full time band director.
Here is a list of some of the unfortunate experiences I had at the last public school I taught at. I went into a dark place after this, leaving the public school teaching field all together. After that, COVID hit and I did not think it was a good idea to try to get back into it.
Sharing my story helps me find peace with it. They are in no particular order, because my brain doesn’t work that way. If you relate, message me so we can get through the PTSD together.
I was required to go to IEP meetings during my prep period that weren’t even my own students because none of their actual teachers would go. I guess I didn’t need that time as much as they did.
I was hired to rebuild a music program, but was shot down every time I tried to do anything.
I had to fight for technology in my classroom, even resorting to asking the custodians for help getting a projector and screen. I never got a classroom set of laptops like the other teachers had.
My classroom was not cleaned more than once a month, not even the trash was getting emptied. I cleaned and students helped. Even students I didn’t know would come by after school and help (they wanted to hang out in the band room because the counselors won’t put them in band, yet I had a whole group of kids that were kicked out of other districts and didn’t want to be in band). But when bringing it up to the administration, I was blamed for creating a dirty environment for the kids.
I had students who wanted to stay in choir the next year, but was shot down even after bringing a list of names long enough to fill a whole class. The assistant principal basically said “what makes you think you’re special?” when I was just trying to make the changes necessary to build their program. You can’t build a program that has different students every semester. You need students who know how it works so they can build traditions and culture.
There was one student who wanted to learn piano but wasn’t allowed into piano class, where I had 40 students, most of whom didn’t want to be there, and only had 20 keyboards with a few stands. I taught him every day after school and he was one of the two students who performed at our winter concert which was actually the art showcase where my kids performed in the background. The other was one of my choir students that they were not allowing to continue with music the following semester.
Many students called me names, threw things at me, acted like animals, and every time I asked for help I was met with either silence, “good luck with that,” or “that’s how it is here.”
The teachers perpetuated the disrespect by continuing the gossip and rumors started by kids. For example, students had thrown oranges across the room. They started a rumor that I got hit in the head by it even though that wasn’t true. At an after school meeting, a teacher came up to me to ask if it was true. It was humiliating.
The principal gave me a negative evaluation during my piano class because the students were walking around and talking at the beginning and end of class with no instruction. They were setting up/ putting their keyboards, chairs, and music stands away according to our established procedures. I had to get the union involved because of this principal as well as one other that were constantly trying to break me down for no apparent reason.
Students with disabilities were taken out of my band for being bullied, and the bullies stayed to wreak havoc on me and my other students. The students with disabilities still said hello to me every day and one even introduced me to his other favorite teacher when he saw me walking into school because he wanted us to know each other.
I couldn’t get my band to play a single note the whole semester. When I had another teacher come in to observe and give me some suggestions, admin called me in to say I can’t do that. They accused me of having her teach my class for me when in reality, she sat quietly in the corner the whole time and gave me her notes and suggestions which we discussed after class.
I had no books for an entire class of beginners, and the books were not counted as text books so they came out of our band budget.
The man who helped get me the job, who I thought was my mentor since high school, ignored all of my efforts to contact him when I needed help. He saw that I had left the school on facebook and said he was disappointed to see it there instead of hearing from me. When I told him I did try to reach out multiple times, his excuse for never responding was that he was busy with other things.
I did have positive experiences at this school amidst the downfalls. I made a couple of nice teacher friends, bonded with a bunch of students, and truly gave it my all. I do not regret the experience, and learned more about myself than most people know at such a young age. However, after having the daily experience of my apple watch telling me to track my eliptical workout while I was simply driving to work because of my heart rate while I was anticipating going to work… I will never accept being treated like this by an employer ever again.
Also, fun side note that I can’t talk much about, I am paying this district back thousands for overpayment, 6 years later, since I didn’t work the full year. It is heartbreaking every time I write that check every month. If you know how to fight it, please reach out.
