Hey ladies. New teacher here from south Texas. So, just to start out before I get rude comments... yes, I knew my first year as a new teacher would be rough. Yes, I knew COVID would make it that much worse..

I got hired at a small elementary school. The principal is an absolute control freak who literally micromanages me and my team. He gives us ridiculous amounts of things to do last minute, with extremely high expectations. He will also text or email us with more items to do, during evenings and weekends. He literally acts as if we should eat, sleep, and breathe work. He caters to shitty parents who cuss us out for calling to check on students who were not present during lessons, which is something he requires us to do. Any items that should be delegated to those who are in admin or the front office, get dumped onto us teachers. We literally are expected to teach live lessons through zoom, but also answer parent phone calls during the lessons. He makes the schedule, yet will come over the intercom during our lessons to make insignificant, long-winded announcements, even though there is ample time in between lessons to make them. The only thing he is worried about is how our school can count students present (because we get paid from student attendance), whether they’ve only logged on for literally two minutes per day or not. Student education isn’t at the forefront. All he cares about are the testing scores because of data. He doesn’t care if the students are actually equipped with the knowledge they need for moving on to middle school. I also should mention there was a whole new team for our grade level this year, we’re all first year teachers, and there was an all new grade level of teachers last year and then I think the year before. The turn over rate is high at this school and student performance is the lowest in our district.

Also. Since kids have all different types of needs, they may have to be pulled out of class by another educator depending on what accommodations or modifications to their education that they require. Totally understandable. I’m a reading/writing teacher.... for some reason... the teacher who does one on one lessons with some of my students literally has latched on to me. Let’s call him Mr. Pita. I am not the only English teacher on my team with students he has to work with, yet I’m the only one who is “graced” by this educator’s presence so often. Y’all. Literally every time my door opens, it’s Mr. Pita. He doesn’t knock. Ever. He doesn’t care if I’m in the middle of my lesson, lunch, etc. In he comes. Half of the time it’s to give me some “advice” or something “to do.” The other half it’s literally to be messy af and gossip about other teachers. If I’m not in my room and I’m in another teachers room planning lessons or just discussing whatever, he comes to find me and interrupt. Why don’t I just tell him I have boundaries and ask him to respect them you ask? I can already see that he can and will make my teaching life a living hell if he is rubbed the wrong way. He has an unwarranted opinion about everything and everyone. Always something snarky or messy to say. He starts rumors and gossip. I want nothing to do with it so I never have a response. I don’t even understand why he keeps bringing me this garbage when I literally give him nothing in return to insinuate I enjoy hearing about anyone else’s business. We have a student whose parents decided to bring him to the school (at Mr. Pita’s request)... and brought him at the wrong time. Now, Pita has time to take this student at any given point to give him his lesson.... what did he do two days in a row? Brought him to me during my lunch and asked in front of the student if it was ok... then proceeded to talk shit about the student’s parents in front of the student. I was floored. My team is aware of the constant annoyance and stress he is causing me... they will see or hear him coming and try to hurry and warn me so I can try to make myself disappear. I have literally tried to hide from him just to get a moment of peace, to no avail. I had to go across to another building to meet with the assistant principal and during that time he came looking for me where my team and I had been having a grade level meeting... they told him I was in a meeting in the other building and I would be back. Y’all. He literally came all the way over to the other building to come get me and walk me back. The first half of the conversation was to tell me I need to call a parent (when he could have done it) and the second half was to gossip about some other teachers! I literally can’t get away from him... I don’t even feel at peace in my own room anymore.

I love my team. I love my babies. But with the combination of being new, the politics, principal, and suffocating coworker I already want to quit. I’m not sure this is the profession for me and I’m not even sure I’m a good enough teacher to help these sweet babies like they need to be helped. I took this job because I thought I could make a difference, and also because I needed better pay... and some other reasons. But I’m already absolutely miserable.

Advice?

Do YOU think it is ok to wear 🔴red🔴 to a wedding?