A TEACHER who “oozed passion for the profession” has created a heartbreaking list explaining why she quit her job.
Jessica Gentry, 34, from Harrisonburg, Virginia, took to Facebook to explain why she left teaching after more than a decade.
The primary school teacher told in the post, shared more than 225,000 times and ‘liked’ hundreds of thousands more, that “it's easier for people to believe that I left teaching because of the lousy pay”.
But that was not the case, she explained.
“Parenting has changed,” she said. “Society has changed. The kids are just the innocent victims of that.
“Parents are working crazy hours, consumed by their devices, leaving kids in unstable parenting/co-parenting situation."
“The kids flipping tables at school? They don't have a safe place at home. Our classrooms are the first place they've ever heard 'no', been given boundaries, shown love through respect,” she continued.
She added school timetabling and a focus on meetings had taken her away from her pupils and left her mental health in danger.
“Such. A. Waste,” she blasted. “All of the info I could have told you about them without taking away from precious instructional time.”
And bullying parents had ruined teaching, she added.
“I've seen the Facebook rants about attendance and getting ‘the letter’,” she said. “Well, here's the thing… I can't teach your child if he's not in school.
Parents are working crazy hours, consumed by their devices, leaving kids in unstable parenting/co-parenting situation.
“I was cussed out by parents who wanted to attend field trips but missed the THREE notes that went home and when they did attend a trip, sat on their phone the entire time.
“I've had parents stand me up multiple times on conference days then call to tattle on me when I refused to offer an after school option.
“I've had parents tell me that I'm not allowed to tell their child 'no'…”
Jessica said her “mental and physical health” was in “jeopardy” daily while she continued teaching.
She was continually stressed she was letting her class down.
“Knowing that your kids need and deserve more than they're getting,” she said. “Sitting in one meeting after another, begging for more support, only to be told 'don't lose sleep over them'… when you LOVE your kids and are PASSIONATE about your mission… these messages tear you apart.
“Watching them come in… dirty clothes… chaos at home… and knowing they need more than you can give them in a classroom of 21, with less and less support, multiple languages spoken, several different disabilities… it breaks you.
“We become emotional eaters. We become couch potatoes to zone out. We become so short fused that our families suffer.
“I finally realised… you can't save them all. You can't even help 21 if you aren't healthy yourself. If your mental and physical health aren't a focus, you aren't even good for the 21
“I decided to start with my one at home… and work to help other mommas be able to show up for their ones at home.”
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