I think a lot of people realize that us teachers deal with some rough things on a daily like managing misbehaviors, crappy admin, etc. But I think something a lot of other career fields don't think about is the fact that we don't always have the free will to just get up and use the bathroom!! So let's have a discussion! What things do you think we deal with daily that people in other careers don't need to deal with that's not the obvious?
Microdistruptions. That thing that sounds ridiculous to write a kid up for but it's happened 20 times in less than an hour.
Yes. I lost it (not really) yesterday because one of the students won’t stop talking over me. He’s loud, and has no self-awareness. I can’t get through a lesson without him starting a side conversation like I am not right in front of him. He’s not a bad kid, but he’s one of my least favorites because he cannot understand that his behavior is wrong, even though it’s not technically the ‘worst.’
Ok to be fair - I’ve worked with some adults who have done this outside of teaching lol. But not to the same extent for sure.
Decision fatigue. I don’t think this is something that only teachers deal with, but I do think it’s something that non-teachers underestimate. We make SO MANY micro and macro decisions throughout the course of the day and I think many people don’t realize how absolutely tiring that is. I’ve come to realize that that’s why even after a “slow” day (i.e., no behaviour issues, no important deadlines coming up, no meetings, no duty, easier work for the kids, etc.) I’m still exhausted by the time I get home.
Please don’t ask me to make a decision when I get home. My brain is cooked
For real! I've lost count of the number of times I've told people "I can't make decisions right now" and this is part of the reason!
I hit a point where there is no decision anymore, the answer to everything is "NO". I don't like being this person! But I can't function!
For real. I think a class I took said that we make somewhere of like 1000+ decisions a day
We work the whole time we're at work.
We don't hang out for twenty minutes by a coworker's desk, browse reddit for an hour, go hang out in the break room, step out for coffee, or ever take an "easy day" when we kind of slack off. A few studies have been done, estimating how much work gets done at work, with one estimate putting it at 39% (link). A teacher's work day is nearly 100% spent working.
That's a huge difference.
Exactly! I’ve tried explaining this to my husband.
25 minute lunch...
Lunch duty...
Overstimulation and having to be “on” all day.
Omg YES this is literally me. I get auditory overstimulation more often than I'd like to admit. And it's not like we can just get up and go somewhere else when we have students in the room 😩
I use loop ear plugs to deafen the sound sometimes.
I got some for myself but they blocked out a bit too much noise. So now I just use them for busy crowds and on the subway instead.
That we are one of the few professions where we are expected to spend our own money on basic things to be successful at our jobs, like paper and pencils.
I am hit, kicked, punched, bit, etc on a daily basis and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, and honestly, I will take all that to see a little bit of progress.
I get frustrated that I can't finish a single task without being interrupted with a more urgent one. I'm lucky if I can stop and take attendance. Constant task jumping exhausts my brain. I teach special education preschool, so it's a busy environment.
The sheer number of decisions I have to make in a day.
Getting to work an hour beforehand and staying 30+ minutes late as well. So I can PREPARE for work.
Parents and/or daycare that do not pick up on time. We are responsible for waiting with the child until someone comes.
Working way past dismissal.
Interruptions due to disciplinary issues
I'm retired, so I no longer have to wait until I'm on the clock to go to the restroom
The sheer range of tasks that a teacher is responsible for in a day. Work the weapons detector in the morning? That’s me! Handle With Care assist? I got you! Lunch duty? Every day. Go from teaching 3rd grade xylophones to preK finger puppets, even if it means your 25 minute lunch break consists of a sandwich eaten while you are rolling xylophones back into the storage closet.
It's 4 times the work (or even more!): prepping, teaching, grading, administrative work/parent contact.
Name one profession that has the equivalent of Donor's Choose. People know we spend our own money but I don't think they know how much money.