"Students And Parents Don't Care": 17 Longtime Teachers Reveal The "Last Straw" Moments That Made Them Fall Out Of Love With Their Profession

Recently, we featured a viral TikTok of a teacher explaining why she retired after 24 years in the profession, and unfortunately, the reasons aren't very good (spoiler alert: it was mainly due to parents). In response, other retired teachers in the BuzzFeed Community spoke out about why they left teaching, and some of the explanations shocked me. Here are stories from former teachers that might leave you feeling surprised and disappointed in the education system — but also super appreciative of those still in the field:

1. "I retired after 23 years in the profession. When I taught second grade, students didn't even know how to spell their last names or recite their addresses. Rather than being committed to learning, they were focused on making TikToks and scrolling on Instagram. Some parents would even FaceTime their kids in the middle of a lesson. It's brutal and exhausting."

2. "I retired after COVID-19 with 34 years and more of experience in both general and special education. What I found is that teaching is no longer respected; it has become a battlefield with no support, respect, or recognition. America has become a country lacking civility and intellectual curiosity, beset by general cultural ignorance."

—Anonymous

3. "I left the teaching profession after getting assaulted by a student and almost dying from it. I was blamed by the administration because, of course, I must have escalated the situation and the student (which I didn't). During meetings with the child's parents, I was called a racist after saying I no longer felt safe in the classroom. I begged to have the student who assaulted me removed and switched to another classroom — which they did not do. I was told that I 'hadn't gotten used to this type of student yet.' Teachers are not protected by the administration and are always blamed. Somehow, it's always our fault. Students and parents do not care anymore."

4. "I left when post-secondary institutions were adopting a corporate image. It all came down to the almighty dollar with a dumbed-down curriculum. Even as tenured educators, we were obligated by deans, VPs, and presidents to submit self-evaluations to keep our positions. It became stressful and overloaded. I knew it was time to move on."

—Anonymous

5. "I retired eight years ago after 32 years of teaching at about 30 public schools and taught at the elementary school level. Before I retired, I saw a shift in parents. There were some awesome parents, but some would do anything to appease their children because they either didn't want to be their friend or just didn't want to be bothered being a parent. There has been a group of parents who just wanted to intimidate teachers to get their way, and there have been those who didn't care about education. It just kept getting worse."

6. "I got my teaching credential in 1982 and retired in 2021. We went from the earliest computer classrooms to full Chromebook instruction. We went from nobody having a cellphone to daily battles over them. One of the biggest factors, though, was the constant flux of administration and curriculum. We had admin who changed our instructional standards nearly every damn year and implemented pacing charts and 'teach to the test' policies that whittled away any meaningful instruction. Yes, I know that dealing with kids and parents is difficult, but so is the confusing, unhelpful, and pointless habit of every incoming admin reinventing the wheel regarding standards, practices, and goals. My retirement is restful as hell."

7. "In my area, many young people (middle and late teens) have babies. They haven't had time to grow up, and many of their parents don't parent until it's report card time. Despite calling and sending letters of concern about behavior, lack of motivation, and failure to turn in work, the parents wonder why their precious, unparented child is failing. I began teaching at 48 and retired at 70."

—Mary, 73, Texas

8. "I've been out on disability since December after suffering from a nervous breakdown. This was my 24th year of teaching. Schools are not funded adequately, which leads to larger class sizes and caseloads with less programming, supplies, and support. Decisions about education are made by those who are NOT in the classroom and have no idea what it's like. I tried. I was active in my union, mentored new teachers, and attended board and council meetings. I even lobbied at the state and federal levels. Society doesn't value education because if it did, parents would do their part, schools would be funded equitably, and teachers wouldn't have to purchase their own supplies."

9. "I was teaching kindergarten. I had 17 students; four had autism, and one had a defiant disorder. I had no aide in the class to support me. When my back was turned, one of my students got angry and hit me over the head with a metal portion of a chair. I lost the use of my arm for over a month. My principal told me that I 'needed to work harder' to make the student like me."

—Ann, 52, Florida

10. "After 40 years of teaching in elementary schools, I will be retiring in 2025! I have put my heart and soul into this profession from the beginning, and I've always tried to design my teaching style to what is best for my students. Believe me — students and parents have definitely changed over the course of my teaching career. If I were to sum it up, it's the lack of RESPECT. There's a lack of respect for teachers, common-sense rules, and oneself. Parents are a child's first teacher, and respect should be taught and modeled at home. Then, teachers and the school community are responsible for reinforcing what should've been taught at home. My job is to teach curriculum while modeling and reinforcing a positive environment in the classroom. I've tried my best, and because of it, I have made a wonderful life with lifelong friends, including students who are all grown up and have kids of their own."

11. "I am a retired middle school teacher from Northern California. I taught in a community with very entitled parents and students, and there was only one supportive principle. The other administrators threw staff under the bus to make themselves look good. I taught for 40 years."

—Anonymous

12. "I taught for 20 years. I became an educator to share my love of science with the next generation. I loved inspiring young people to achieve great things. In recent years, I found my primary task had become behavior management. Recently, even older students failed to self-regulate and listen to directions. This year, students broke various pieces of lab equipment after playing with them with the abandon of unruly preschoolers. Shortly into the school year, I was forced to baby-proof a high school physics lab: locking cabinets, covering electrical outlets, removing handles from sinks, and more. All because of students' poor decisions. It was definitely time to retire. Since I left, my mental health improved significantly. Even though I no longer have a 'summer break,' I find it very refreshing to finish June and not feel like my soul has been completely removed from my body. I enjoy being treated like a human being in my new profession."

—Anonymous

13. "I taught for 16 years before leaving the profession. Teachers must compete with social media just to keep students' attention. Over time, I believe that behavioral and academic expectations have eroded in our schools and society in general. Frankly, education isn't valued in the United States. If it were, school budgets wouldn't be constantly slashed. What America really values is money, and what makes money is rewarded. Even our colleges and universities have seemingly become businesses, with the intent to produce workers."

14. "I left after 15 years. I loved creating, teaching, and organizing, and I loved being the supportive adult for many kids who didn't have anyone else. However, the 80% of parents who were absent, didn't care, didn't parent, or were just straight-up combative and rude far outweighed the things I loved and the $60k I was making. Parents and students did not take accountability for their part in learning and being decent human beings. I always wanted a camera in my classroom so that parents could tune in at any time and couldn't deny that their kid was behaving so badly. I think that, for sure, would've caused some self-reflection on the parent's part."

15. "I thought I would teach forever, but I retired after 29 years — as soon as I qualified for retirement. Beyond the parents and behavioral issues of the students, politicians have made teachers afraid to actually teach or be welcoming to ALL students, their families, and their beliefs. Is a parent going to take offense if I use they/them pronouns and try to get me fired? Are they going to take offense at a book I read to my class?"

16. "Teachers now have to do more than just teach school curriculum. We are teaching things normally taught at home, such as integrity, respect, responsibility, compassion, empathy, and kindness — which takes time away from learning academics. Additionally, low enrollment is everywhere, but instead of focusing on students, districts focus on money. As a result, class sizes increase or become combination classes. It's no wonder there is a shortage of new teachers. Who would want to be paid so little for doing so much more now?"

—Chris, 50, California

17. Lastly: "I just left this year after 12 years. The job became so mentally exhausting from the constant need to constantly be 'on.' So many kids lack basic skills and the ability to reason. They constantly need help because they don't know how to troubleshoot or have the desire to try. The job has also become extremely performative. It was so overstimulating that by the end of the day, I had nothing left to give to my loved one, which wasn't fair. I had an incredibly supportive admin team and coworkers, and it still wasn't sustainable. I wish more people not only understood how dire education has become but actually took steps to fix it. Go to the parent-teacher meetings and actually listen to what the teachers are saying. We're highly educated professionals who know how to do our jobs, so please honor that. Our kids deserve expertise, and we deserve to do the job we love without this level of burnout."

Teachers are truly stronger than the Navy SEALS. If you're currently a teacher, what do you think has changed the most about education and students? Let me know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit using this form!

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.