It's no secret that the public education system is far from perfect and that students often have to lean on their classrooms when their home environment is lacking.
But teachers have been becoming increasingly loud about the fact that the teacher landscape has changed dramatically, too—and for many teachers, it's simply too impossible of a job to continue.
Teacher and TikToker @fitpeanut shared in a long series of TikTok videos about the truth and difficulties of teaching and, more pointedly, why she is leaving the profession.
The TikToker has filmed 180 "The Truth about Teaching" videos to date, but her two most popular videos are about why she decided to quit teaching, and the day that she officially retired.
You can watch the video from the day before her resignation here:
"I have seen education change in 24 years, and it hasn't changed for the better. And a lot of it has to do with parenting or lack thereof."
" Parents don't appear to be teaching their children the basic life skills, such as how to self-regulate, how to act in social situations, how to speak to an adult, how to manage their emotions, and how to respect physical boundaries."
"As of late, we have become such a feelings-based society, so instead of teaching their child how to become empowered or practicing a little bit of tough love, they acquiesce because some of these kids have been reared to be overly fragile."
"Teaching is a dying profession. I, for one, have 24 years of experience, and I am leaving. Another experienced teacher bites the dust."
You can watch the video the day of her resignation here:
"I have been doing this, like I said, for a very long time. My goal was to make it to the end of the year before I 'retired,' but I can't."
"I am here making this video, and I am speaking to you, the parents."
"Parents, you need to get off the backs of your teachers."
"I am leaving this profession because the societal expectations of teachers are out of control."
Needless to say, the TikTok video divided viewers, and the conversation was nothing short of heated.
There were those who strongly agreed with the former teacher, stating that conditions were far too difficult, unstable and demanding for teachers to do anything beyond "babysit" at this point.
But others felt that teachers should have already understood what they were getting into, to do the job they were hired to do, and to not give up on "their kids."
Some were empathetic of the former teacher's feelings and understood why she was quitting.
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But others called her out for "whining," not doing her job and generally being a part of the problem.
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This is one of those hot button topics that everyone has an opinion on and everyone gets super intense over expressing those opinions.
That's part of the problem, honestly.
If we could create a safe space where teachers, parents, administrators and even students could talk about what they like and don't like about the current education system, we might make progress toward something far better for everyone.
@badgalriri/Instagram