- K-12 public-school teachers revealed the hardest parts of the job to Business Insider.
- Many teachers say teaching kids going through difficulties at home takes an emotional toll.
- Rude parents and misbehaving kids also make the job challenging.
As many students head back to school, teachers will gear up for what can sometimes be a challenging year.
While teaching remains a popular profession, many teachers across the US have gone on strike to protest low pay and other challenges on the job.
Business Insider asked dozens of teachers what they feel is the hardest part of the job. Some teachers chose to answer anonymously or just use their first name. Business Insider verified all identities with school badges and emails.
Many said they struggle with the emotional burden of teaching children going through difficulties at home.
Other issues include having parents berate them for their child's bad grades, and constantly needing to teach to a standardized test.
Here are what teachers say are seven of the biggest challenges they face today.
Teachers must carry the emotional burden of having to help students going through difficulties at home.
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"[The] most difficult part for me is learning about struggles and hardships my students are facing and then carrying that with me," said Andrea, a teacher from Illinois. "When they hurt, I hurt. Teachers care deeply about their students and any concerns we have stay with us well beyond the class period or school day. It's hard to shut this off."
"So many students have so many life situations outside of school," said a high school teacher from California who wished to remain anonymous. "We expect them to come to school and behave a certain way and focus on very abstract things, but many of them are living with so much stress and trauma. For some students, school is the safest, sanest place in their life."
Teachers must deal with difficult parents.
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"When I called parents to discuss their child's misbehavior I was often blamed for it," Morgan said. "One mother told me that I was racist and shouldn't be teaching (I'm black and taught a group of predominantly white students). Another told me my feelings were hurt and to 'get over it.'"
The teacher added she received little help from the school's administration on how to deal with parents. "I really had needed more guidance that year," she said.
Teachers say they need to constantly teach for standardized tests.
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Some educators said constantly using standardized tests limited
teaching.
"I would have to say that the most frustrating part of teaching
would be all of the testing," said Dianna, an elementary school
teacher from Nebraska. "It won't let kids be kids and it seems as
if you are always doing it."
After Ronald Reagan released a report
condemning American public schools for failing to keep
students competitive in math and reading with those in foreign
countries, the country began using standardized tests to track
students' learning.
Today, students take an average of 112 standardized tests between
kindergarten and the 12th grade, according to a
2015 study. Critics say over-testing students does not
account for
differences in the way children learn and socioeconomic
factors
driving test performance down.
"It is awful dealing with the pressure to teach to standardized
testing," said a high school teacher from Texas who wished to
remain anonymous.
"It's scary knowing that if you don't teach well, your kids will
suffer for maybe years," said an elementary school teacher in
Texas who wished to remain anonymous.
Some teachers struggle with disconnecting after the work day is done.
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"I tend to bring my day home with me and this includes every emotion both I and the students experienced. It can make it difficult to disconnect from work," the teacher said. "It is a stressful job that requires mental and physical stamina."
Students who misbehave in class make the job harder.
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| © Associated Press |
"So many of my students have families who are below the poverty level," said an elementary school teacher from Virginia who wished to remain anonymous. "They come in needing so much more than just being taught, they need attention and sometimes that attention turns into flipping tables."
Brett, a high school teacher from California, also said teaching "disengaged and disrespectful students" makes his job challenging.
Teacher say pay is low.
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Some teachers feel overworked.
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A middle school teacher from Maryland who wished to stay anonymous said she feels she does the work of "a five human team that never sleeps."
She has 14 special-needs students, and she must follow a strict individualized teaching program for each student while customizing a lesson plan in three different subjects. She said the work amounts to 42 individual lessons a week, which she says is "not possible."
Plus, she said her school administration does not provide the materials that her students need to properly understand lessons.
"There is no support in the way of creative thinking about planning," the teacher said. "I think we need to take a major step back and ask what is actually important for these kids."
She has 14 special-needs students, and she must follow a strict individualized teaching program for each student while customizing a lesson plan in three different subjects. She said the work amounts to 42 individual lessons a week, which she says is "not possible."
Plus, she said her school administration does not provide the materials that her students need to properly understand lessons.
"There is no support in the way of creative thinking about planning," the teacher said. "I think we need to take a major step back and ask what is actually important for these kids."
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