Troubled students, safety and unruly parents are just some of the common reasons teachers are giving for leaving the profession.
More than two dozen teachers answered the question on Reddit, “What was the ‘last straw’ that made you quit your job?” and some of the answers are harrowing.
“A student kicked me in the stomach while pregnant,” one woman wrote. “I finished off the year, although it was torture. After my daughter was born, I went back to school part-time to get my doctorate so I could teach at the university. Best decision I ever made. That kick changed my life.”
“I still teach, but at my first school – where I thought I’d be for life – I got a new student,” another teacher wrote. “He was troubled and heard voices, but was very nice to me.
“And then one day, he stabbed me in the shoulder with a pen. There was a ‘manifestation meeting,’ and basically, they decided it was OK for him to do that. My district wanted me to sign that I wouldn’t press charges and wanted me to attend 40 hours of training on how to handle someone who is trying to murder you, basically.
