Just Want to Go Away

[Loser74]

I'm new to this blog and don't even know why I'm doing this. I was forced out of my job after 23.5 years of teaching. I made the mistake of using capital letters in an email to an eighth grade student in which I told him that he needed to make better use of his in-class work time. His parents complained to my former principal, and I was essentially fired. I was told that my negative email reflected poorly on the school district. Never mind that administration at my school had a policy of allowing eighth graders to do whatever they wanted in class--play games on their Chromebook, watch YouTube videos on their Chromebook, sleep the class away--as long as they weren't disturbing the class. "Don't poke the bear" was a favorite mantra of administration. Yet MY asking a kid to better use his time in class reflected poorly on the district? I was not allowed a union attorney or a personal attorney at my "hearing." I am so bitter and so incredibly sad. I loved my students. I felt privileged to be a teacher. And now it is all gone. And all I want is OUT. It's been over a month since I was forced out of my job, and every day just gets worse and worse and worse. There's nothing I can do right now--my husband is having surgery tomorrow, and I need to be here to help him recover. But as soon he is back to health, I hope I have the courage to leave. This is NOT the way I thought I would be ending my career of 23.5 years, and I don't see any way other than out.

[-Sasha-]

I'm sorry you lost your job and how it's made you feel about yourself. Honestly I have a lot of respect for you and the fact that you teached for so many years. It astonishes me how little respect, pay, credit, etc. teachers get for helping shape kids lives. Today kids feel so entitled and parents rather encourage this behavior because they don't want to be told anything bad about their child. It's something we as a society have to do better at. Have you thought about maybe tutoring or something? I know it's not the same but you would still be helping kids learn and would get to focus on one or a few instead of many kids. I don't know your what your options are but I hope you can find something that you do enjoy doing to make this time easier for you. In the meantime we are here to listen if you need it.

~S~

[dore13]

I would have hired a lawyer and gone to town on that district! That is a lame reason for you being fired, it sounds like you got pushed out because you had a lot of years invested in the school. I always believed in doing what I feel is right, and if you swore at the student or were abusive, I could understand the context...but this is BS! If you feel you have been wronged, fight it. Talk to lawyer and get their opinion on it. What can hurt to ask?