Things I Hate About Being A Teacher

I have days when I absolutely hate being a teacher. I am sure that every professional experiences a strong dislike for their profession at some point, but for some reason people think that when you ar a teacher, you must love it at all times on any given day. That’s not true. It is kind of impossible.

I hate the mountains of admin that is exhausting to deal with. From subject files, to learner portfolios, to checking classroom attendance, to creating seating charts etc. I hate that everything must be printed because our education system has not figured out how to monitor digital filing systems. I hate that there are so many different rules and protocols to follow in each subject area, especially as someone who is in multiple different subject departments. It is all so tiring.

I hate it when management (senior leadership) takes a situation out of context only to blame you for all the things that go wrong. To say that teachers do not know how to handle their own learners in a classroom could be true when all you see is a non-audible camera, but when you aren’t there in the room to contextualise the situation then as management you need to be willing to accept that you are wrong. I also get annoyed when a principal or deputy says that they do not experience behavioral issues in their classes (those they teach), of course not, your title might not give you all the power but we cannot ignore that it does give you some authority that is greater than mine. Learners aren’t oblivious to knowing that.

The most difficult one to say is that, at times, it is the learners that make me want to just throw it all up in the air because they can be ungrateful and entitled little human beings. I hate it when a learner acts and says things insinuating that they are doing me a favour by being at school. I hate it when a learner truly believes that it is their way or the high way. I hate it when a learner cannot see that a teacher is working towards contributing to their success. All they can point out is mistakes that a teacher makes and laugh at them; all they do is complain about everything every second of every period. It is so exhausting just to listen to and to feel worthless and unappreciated by the very people you want to whole-heartedly serve.

I have come to realise that I hate an unsupportive, missing parent/guardian because they are the ones who force their children to go to school but never show up to parent meetings or pick up the phone when it concerns their child. Such parents know exactly what their child(ren) are like, so they just dump their child at the school and refuse to take any accountability for their child’s actions. I think parents need a parenting workshop on how to support their child’s schooling career and how to support teachers in teaching their children.

I do not hate the act of teaching. I find that it is really amazing and full of purpose. It is unfortunate that it comes with so many additional unpaid side hustles. Hence, I believe every teacher should have a Teaching Assistant and every parent should spend a day or two following their child period to period. Maybe, just maybe, things would be different.

The truth is a teacher’s experiences everyday sometimes makes us question why do we do this? There is power in education and learning and there is joy in switching on a few lightbulbs for a few kids. However, we are human, not superhuman. It would be worrying if we thought everything was perfect, which it is not. There are good days but there are also heartbreaking days filled with real tears. This profession is something else, many in one.

Thank you for your time!