discussion What went wrong? (Your own life edition)

[wish]

COVID-19 and wasting too much time smoking too much weed, spending too much money, and hanging around the wrong people

 

Thankfully i’m still young and things are far from over. But I definitely had a flop era or two.

 

[Delicious]

1 hour ago, wish said:

COVID-19 and wasting too much time smoking too much weed, spending too much money, and hanging around the wrong people

 

Thankfully i’m still young and things are far from over. But I definitely had a flop era or two.

 

ur comeback era is around the corner 

[Halcyon Days]

studying a bachelor’s in english literature

[Jotham]

10 hours ago, zasderfght said:

I would say the one area in my life that needs work is my career. 
 

I went to school to be a teacher— after subbing, teaching, and doing student teaching/fieldwork all in the span of 3-4 years, I learned teaching wasn’t for me. At least in my city, weekly lesson plans have to be submitted every Sunday, if a student hasn’t attended school in three days, a phone call has to be made and documented, newsletters needed to be created biweekly (with what their child is doing in class), we were to implement “Calm Classroom,” meaning a child could literally curse you out/harass you, and you can’t raise your voice or push back. Not to mention, taking PTO was seen as sacred— if you wanted to take a day for a wedding or a mental health day, forget it. My admin. wanted you in that building unless your limbs were cut off. And people wonder why there’s a teacher shortage. 

 

I now work middle management. It pays the bills (but barely), I have a savings that I can also fall back on, but my plan is to move in back with my parents once my lease is up, go back to school to become a licensed therapist, and do that for a career. I need a career where I can make time for myself, my friends, my family, and my partner. Being a teacher not only barely gave me time for just myself— I couldn’t even keep up with the job itself, and even my admins. knew I was technically doing my job. It’s just the demands are so insane for this profession. 
 

 

I relate a lot to this.

 

I was planning on getting into teaching after undergrad but I am having so much second thoughts about the field. I did a lot of teaching during my undergrad that I enjoyed, but ever since COVID happened, I'm having so much reluctance on whether I truly want go into the field. I think the pandemic has exacerbated so much of what has gone wrong with the career (at least here in the U.S.) and sadly I don't see how it's going to get better. I haven't completely ruled out teaching yet but I am now looking into other options.

 

Interestingly enough, I've also considered becoming a therapist (or maybe a social worker). I struggle with anxiety a lot, and it's taught me a lot about different mechanisms such as cognitive behavioral therapy, and it's made me so much more interested in psychology and therapy. But this would be a huge decision for me since I'd have to go through a lot of schooling as my undergrad degree isn't related to those fields.

[GreatCoolBright]

My own traits did me wrong - being too reserved, not being able to handle my savings, horrible time management and untidiness in general. 
 

Pandemic has made me realize a lot of things and I got closer to my family (Joanne moment), and I am ready to work on my flaws and have my Shallow haha.

[Guest]

I got bullied in school bc trans 

Couldn't take it anymore and dropped out at age 15 

My first proper relationship ended up being emotionally abusive 

 

I feel like I'm thriving despite all that's happened. At the start of 2021 I just didn't see a point in continuing, but I actually do enjoy the life I've built for myself now. But if those things hadn't happened to me, who knows where I'd be now and what I'd be doing?

[zasderfght]

22 hours ago, Jotham said:

I relate a lot to this.

 

I was planning on getting into teaching after undergrad but I am having so much second thoughts about the field. I did a lot of teaching during my undergrad that I enjoyed, but ever since COVID happened, I'm having so much reluctance on whether I truly want go into the field. I think the pandemic has exacerbated so much of what has gone wrong with the career (at least here in the U.S.) and sadly I don't see how it's going to get better. I haven't completely ruled out teaching yet but I am now looking into other options.

 

Interestingly enough, I've also considered becoming a therapist (or maybe a social worker). I struggle with anxiety a lot, and it's taught me a lot about different mechanisms such as cognitive behavioral therapy, and it's made me so much more interested in psychology and therapy. But this would be a huge decision for me since I'd have to go through a lot of schooling as my undergrad degree isn't related to those fields.

Things could vary, but this is from personal experience and the experience of veteran teachers I've worked with: 

 

-You usually start at a low-income school that's in a seedy part of town; this is because these schools typically have the highest turnover rates.

 

-You usually start with overcrowded classes or classes where a chunk of students have IEPs/504s and/or are undiagnosed but clearly have mood/behavioral issues. That's because teachers don't want these classes. If you're looking to become a SPED teacher, this shouldn't be an issue.

 

-Prepare for lots of popping in/out of classes by your principals, formal observations are a thing at basically any school that's not a Catholic private school, and students, mentors, and even veteran teachers (who are a huge part of your job) will be the first to call a mistake out but will be the last to praise (or barely acknowledge) you for something really amazing you did to benefit the team and/or your students' learning/growth. 

 

-There's a reason why teachers are alcoholics. No, seriously, I can count on both hand the amount of schools I've worked at and teachers I've worked with that openly admit they have an alcohol problem (usually in a joking way). It's because the work and deadlines. NEVER. END. No, seriously. If you want to leave work at work, you either need to stay way earlier, later, or have no free time at all during your preps and lunches. And then prepare to do that all over again Tuesday-Thursday. 

 

-The Sunday scaries are a real thing, unless you're Amy Squirrel from Bad Teacher. 

 

I don't know what I would've wanted to graduate and major in if it wasn't teaching, but I absolutely would not recommend this profession unless you like all aspects of the job (and I mean put up with some HUGE BS from parents, admin, students, other coworkers). Teaching, honestly, is maybe 10% of what teachers do. We're in meetings, plan lessons for weekly lessons and units, parent/teacher conferences (formal and informal), paperwork (especially for students with behavior plans and IEPs), evaluations, etc. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by zasderfght

[TheArgonaut]

It was April 2018 when I developed the debilitating illness that will forever haunt me.