This might be an unpopular opinion (perhaps even talked about in another thread), and maybe it's just too soon for me to feel true sadness (and I do care about my students), but does anyone else NOT really miss all their students at the moment?
I don’t miss my students. I have a very rough class this year, both students and parents, and I actually felt relief.
Don’t get me wrong, the coronavirus is terrifying and too many people are dying. I wish It ended for a different reason, but I do not miss my students.
I like my students. I like my job (most days). But miss them? Nope.
But I do feel bad for what they're going through right now. I know a lot of students rely on school to be a safe, routine place where they are cared for and fed. I wish were still in school, and I do hope we go back for just a bit so kids can have some time to say goodbye.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one!!! Does anyone else ALSO not care about doing zoom/google meets chats with them constantly? I kind of hate being on video for the zillion staff meetings we have online now, so the last thing I want to do any day is talk to my students on there...
I don't begrudge the folks who really miss their students and love doing these digital meetings with them---but I feel like everywhere I turn, there's a strong message that if you don't miss them like crazy, you're a horrible teacher. Anyone else get that vibe?
While I miss many of them individually, yes, I don't miss them as a whole group, if that makes sense.
I do enjoy our daily read alouds via google hangout, but even that is difficult because it's just not the same. I enjoy seeing the joy in their faces as they see each other and say hi to one another.
I don't miss teaching full time, either.
This is going to spoil me for next year, that's for sure!
He's actually really mean and stuck up towards a lot of people but sucks up to our principal. At the meeting today he said in his Eddie Haskell voice " I REALLY want to connect with my kids."
I don't begrudge people who want to connect but he was obviously putting on a show.
I rarely miss them in any circumstances, even "the good ones."
I like my job. I'm pretty good at it. I get results. I connect with the kids.
But at the end of the day, it's a job. Society is the one that tells us we have to be fully emotionally bonded to make a difference.
I disagree.
Doctors, therapists, coaches or mentors don't have to miss their patients or players or mentees to be considered good at their jobs, which also require "relationship" to be successful. So why do we?
You can care deeply about the well-being and success of someone without missing them when they're not with you.
Gromit I absolutely love your post. I do think it's quite the "thing" to seem like you have to be gushing over one's students to be a good teacher, and it has left me feeling, well like I'm not a good teacher, because I'm just not that way. Of course, I do care about my students, their education, and well being, but it is a job.
Edited to add: Of course, there is nothing wrong if someone IS someone who gushes over their students and misses them a lot, if that's just what comes naturally to you. I think we can often see the difference between someone who is genuine and someone who is putting on a show trying to show off to admin or others.
Last edited by TeacherPK6; 03-31-2020 at 03:07 AM..
I miss a few of mine but I'm thrilled not to have to deal with the other 95. My group was rough and I was getting really worn down. My admin was not supportive and I resented that. I'm good if I never see some of my students again, honestly. Blatant defiance was at an all time high and I really felt like a preschool teacher instead of middle.
We haven't heard any word about having to do a bunch of mess yet. Honestly, if nothing is graded, I'm not about to put effort into creating "wow" assignments that none will do just so I'll look good. Screw that. Who feels like doing all this when the idea of mortality is very real. I'm painting, eating what I want, and watching whatever I want.
My situation is different. I work with severely disabled students. I have 6-8 students each year and they stay with me for up to 5 years. The relationship is much closer than what I had when I taught regular ed. I do miss my students, and I am very concerned about them bc they all have significant medical issues. They are unlikely to survive if they contract COVID 19.
But even though I miss the kids themselves, I’m not missing work at all. It been a horrible year, and the last several years haven’t been good either. I’m really much more relaxed than I have been in a long time.
No, I don't really miss them. I had an obnoxious group of kids this year on our team. Not that I would have wished this ending of the year on anyone but I truly don't miss them. There are other years that I would have missed my class though.
I can't say I miss my kids necessarily. I do, though, miss interacting with them and others. I miss live teaching as there are so many more things you can do.
What are your thoughts of this movement of organizing "teacher parades" where teachers drive their cars through the school district's main town, honking their horns, waving, and screaming that they miss their students and students? The parents come out of their homes with their kids, and some parents drive their kids to town and they gather in parking lots, on sidewalks - to see their teachers drive by? And of course, they are encouraged to stand 6 feet apart as they wait for the line of teacher cars to drive by.
I'm home by myself doing absolutely nothing and I love every minute of it! My district initially required us to prepare a few work packets. Out of 1500 students in the high school, less than a dozen have requested work. The superintendent is focusing all efforts on feeding lots of kids K-12. These uncertain times call for families to be together and that's what's more important. I haven't done anything in over 2 weeks. On lockdown at home but doing nothing work related. I love my vacation. Although some made me happy & proud to go to work this year, I don't miss many of my 110 students.
I like my job and my students, but I don’t miss them. I don’t expect they miss me either! I do miss interacting with them and others in my building, and teaching in person rather than over the internet.
Last edited by FancyFish; 03-31-2020 at 11:14 AM..
I don't. I don't even miss my coworkers as they're even obnoxious while doing distance learning. I'm glad parents see what we do now. Maybe, but doubtful, they will step up and parent instead of trying to leave raising their children on us.
I'm a specialist so I see all of the kids in the school. I miss a few of them. I'm really happy to have a break from others, and am privately relishing the thought of their parents having to deal with them full time. I especially think about the class that is leaving the building this year. If we don't go back this year, there are a couple that I will feel sad about not seeing anymore, but there are more that I'm perfectly fine with the idea of never having to deal with them again.
In my previous job, I had a K-12 music position and I was there long enough that I taught many students for 13 years and then had their children as students. I truly did love some of those kids and I truly did miss them when they graduated. I'm still in touch with some of them. But, I agree that it's an absurd expectation that we should be emotionally attached to all of our students and it's a myth that you can't be an effective teacher without that level of attachment.
If this had happened last year I would not have missed my class one bit....hardest class of my teaching career!
This year I have a class that was heaven sent...seriously angels. I do miss them terribly. However, I am NOT the teacher that will post anything mushy on social media...I'm not trying to compete over who misses their classes more.
I like my students, I don't love them. I love my own kids. Teaching them is my job. I enjoy it most days very much. But, I'm not sitting at home crying that I'm not with them every day. I am so over all of the over the top displays from some teachers screaming they miss their kids so much. It's as though there is a competition happening to see who can get the most likes on social media, the most national spot light by outdoing each other. These miss you parades are too much! I'm a damn good teacher and I connect with my students each day. I do my job and I go home to my own family. That is my priority right now.
And to the parent that has been fighting me all year long about her child's attention issues and lack of work completion and overall disrespect and rude behavior... now that you have to teach him every day without dealing with 27 other kids in the room, let me know how that's going for you!
I'm doing enough to stay involved and available. I'm quick to answer questions, but I don't miss them. They are a bad mix of personalities and the talking was way over the top this year. The kids were rude and the parents were too. Parents had unrealistic expectations to the extent of they weren't willing to do anything on their end and wanted me to pick up the slack for that. The attendance was awful too, so now they can stay at home. Shouldn't be that big of a change for a lot of them.
Thanks for the thread!! Felt good to say that.
Lady Teacher, you read my mind! I don't hate social media, but if I see ONE MORE post about how much someone misses their students or something of that lot, I might go bananas!
Lurker, I'm with you on the coworkers front! I don't mind a sarcastic group text with my immediate team so we can say how much we despise the staff Google Meets meetings...but during the actual meetings, my other coworkers are ALL kinds of extra---primarily tying into wanting to seem like they care the most about all this!
No, I don't really miss my class. It was a difficult bunch who required a LOT of extra work with behaviors, getting along, etc. I do feel a little bit guilty about being at home and still getting paid, though. We did send packets with our students before we left, and tomorrow I have a Zoom meeting to figure out what else we can give them for their 'optional learning' since we've been called off for an additional two weeks. I checked, and not very many students have even done the work already assigned, so I'm not sure assigning more will be very productive!
I don't miss my class per say, but it's been a tough year and I was kind of done anyway and looking ahead to starting over next fall with a new class. That said, I do genuinely like my students as individuals and will be happy to see them when we officially start virtual learning next week. I am very impressed with how my district has stepped up to the plate, with preparing weekly lesson/ materials and uploading them for students to work on independently throughout the week. We will be expected to meet virtually with the whole class once each week, then be on call for a couple set hours each day for any questions. The work is meant to be review and maintaining skills. We are not expected to do whole class lessons with direct instruction.
I am going to start working on a routine for our class meeting. I want to start off with a fun greeting, do some sort of simple math activity, review parts of speech by doing mad libs (plus I think it will be fun), do a short read aloud, and I'm not sure what else. This is grade 2, so we won't be doing anything too complicated or high tech.
I am also very, very thankful we are getting regular pay.
I hope you all don’t mind my comments. I am retired, but I do want to share my thoughts.
Agree: I wouldn’t miss the students. Yes, I know that I would care about them and their well-being. I KNOW that I would NOT be on Facebook posting about how much I miss them. It would be insincere on my part. I do not believe that a teacher has to put on a big show to let others know they care about the students in their classroom.
On line learning: I feel for all of you that are teaching in this way right now. I have read your comments and I WOULD be stressed out to no end teaching this way because I am not tech savvy. I know you all are doing the best you can.
Covid-19: This is different than missing school because of a weather event. People are stressed over many things: loss of jobs, husbands and children at home, stresses over shopping for food and essentials, etc.
District I taught at is doing this:
*AMI(Alternate Methods of Instruction) are being posted on the districted website for grades K-8. The parents would need to print them off on their own and grade them.
*PBS television schedule for different grade levels are going to be presented for the students to view.
*Teachers have to be available from 7:45-3:30 via e-mIl to answer questions from parents.
Parades: Oh my gosh! I would NOT want to participate in one, but I know I would feel pressure to do so. The K-1 building in my former district had one last week. It was all over Facebook. The building I taught in was supposed to have one yesterday. It was cancelled. You can imagine the comments from the parents-they were very upset. I read a few comments and then stopped. It was ridiculous.
Teacher friend: A teacher friend(ELL teacher)forwards e-mails from her building to me about all that is going on with her school. We taught in the same district but not in the same building. I was a classroom teacher and we have different views about many things concerning education and teaching. I expressed my opinion about some things that teachers (classroom teachers) were going to have to do before the decisions made above:
*teachers would go to the school and copy the items for the AMI packets and have a drive through pick-up plan for the parents. There are at least 10 classrooms in each grade.
*volunteer to pass out sack lunches and breakfast-no gloves or masks would be available.
I expressed my opinions about the info she shared with me. Her comments about my suggestions made me feel guilty-that I was only thinking about the teachers and not the children.
*However, the school district basically decided to do most of the things that I thought would be more realistic and feasible for the children, parents, and TEACHERS.
*Many of the children in this school are minority students. Many of them do not have internet, printers etc.
*The work does not have to be sent back to the teacher. Everyone will basically move on the the next grade. If retention conferences had already been held and a decision was agreed upon, those decisions will stand.
*I think the school district had a difficult job in deciding on a plan. It will be doable for some children and not so doable for others. Everyone will just have to do what they can.
I hope the above makes sense. ALL educators are in my thoughts and prayers EVERY day. Once a teacher ALWAYS a teacher.
Take care of your families-after all, think about the many hours that you have spent taking care of other people’s children.
Gromit's Message:
I rarely miss them in any circumstances, even "the good ones."
I like my job. I'm pretty good at it. I get results. I connect with the kids.
But at the end of the day, it's a job. Society is the one that tells us we have to be fully emotionally bonded to make a difference.
I disagree.
Doctors, therapists, coaches or mentors don't have to miss their patients or players or mentees to be considered good at their jobs, which also require "relationship" to be successful. So why do we?
You can care deeply about the well-being and success of someone without missing them when they're not with you.
Yes! to this a million times!
I have recently been made to feel as if I'm a heartless b!+c$ because I'm not missing them. And while I'm at it, I'll admit it ... I'm not a fan of these teacher parades. Sorry. Maybe that does make me heartless *shrug*.
*ETA I don't have a classroom of students this year.
OrganizedPup - Not going to lie--the parades make me heavy eyeroll every time! I mean, I guess I get the sort of sentiment, but it always seems more like a social media stunt to me than anything else!
Parades? Where? This is some crazy Karen type buffoonery. I am speechless any towns do this. I think most people are really fake when they are over the top.
You put this perfectly. It has always bothered me that society sees teachers two ways -- as these heroes who do whatever it takes for the sake of the kids and build this amazing bond with each and every one of them, or as lazy people who take the summers off and complain all the time when they have it so easy. The reality is that most of us care about our jobs and like most of our students, but the job is exhausting and they can be difficult.
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03-30-2020, 05:59 PM
I think we can often see the difference between someone who is genuine and someone who is putting on a show trying to show off to admin or others.
