‘Even if it was livable wages’: Third grade teacher explains why you couldn’t pay her to return
A former teacher is sparking discussion on TikTok after revealing why there is no amount of money in the world would make her want to teach again.
TikTok user Bethany Morris, known by username itsbethanymorris, recalls in a recent video an incident that made her not want to teach again. "Why you could not pay me even if it was livable wages to be a teacher again,” she says in the video.
In the caption, she warns: "Idk how many parts this will be but buckle in bucaroos." As background, Morris explains that as a third grade teacher she had a habit of placing a basket filled with candy and toys in her classroom. On special occasions, she allowed students to pick an item from the basket. However, one student ruined this opportunity for themselves. “One day, I was gone and I came back and everything was gone from the little bucket,” she says.
@itsbethanymorris Idk how many parts this will be but buckle in buckaroos😮💨 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #teacher #teachertok #specialeducationteacher #oklahoma #tulsaok #tulsateachers #motherhood #sahm #workingmom ♬ original sound - Bethany Morris
Morris later learned a student left their bus line at the end of the day to return to the classroom and took the items. While Morris acknowledged the incident isn't a "big deal" in the grand scheme of things, she did want to address the behavior.
However, Morris did not receive the response she expected after emailing the student's parents. In the email, she requested the family return whatever they could find. The mother’s reply? “Maybe you shouldn’t leave a bucket of fun things out and entice an 8-year-old boy.” To add insult to injury, Morris said she did not have administrative support and was told to "let it go."
The video has amassed over 490,000 views since it was posted on Aug. 12, with many former teachers weighing in with why they decided to leave their jobs.
“OMGGGGGG the lack of the support is what gets me!! Literally no accountability! I’ll never go back !” one viewer wrote.
“I quit teaching after less than a year. When people ask me why I just don’t even know where to start,” a second wrote.
Other teachers shared even more dramatic experiences.
“When I was out for 10 days with Covid this happened. The parents blamed his choices on my absence as if I have control on the pandemic,” one user shared.
“teaching preschool i noticed that this is how the parents are as well. a lot of kids would also hit us and the parents don’t care,” a second commented.
“I work at a daycare the other day. I was telling a parent that her son was hitting his friends. She says it’s because we gave him Colby Jack cheese,” a third wrote.
According to Zippia, the average third grade teacher in the U.S. earns $22.54 an hour.
A recent NBC report paints a bleak picture when it comes to staffing in schools:
Administrators say that to deal with the staffing shortfalls, they are relying again this year on long-term substitute teachers, hiring emergency certified teachers with no teaching qualifications or experience, bringing in teachers from overseas, and increasing class sizes. It means yet another year when many students won’t be able to get the support they need as standardized tests show kids falling behind in key areas, educators said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Morris via Instagram DM and TikTok for comment.
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