A Kindergarten teacher is getting an assembly of praises this week after her honest post about the real reason she left her job as a public educator has taken social media by storm.
Jessica Gentry says she loves children. But even a passionate desire to mold young minds wasn’t enough to keep her in the job she’s held for the last 12 years.
The former kindergarten teacher from Harrisonburg, Virginia, took to Facebook with a now-viral post detailing the mental and physical sacrifice that ultimately led her to walk away from teaching altogether.
“Let me tell you why those who ooze passion for teaching are leaving the occupation like their hair is on fire,” Gentry writes.
“I think it’s easier for people to believe that I left teaching because of the lousy pay. It was easier for my former HR director to believe it was because I found something that I was more passionate about.”
Gentry lists out the five main reasons she left her job.
None of which had to do with the pay.
1. Lack of Parental Involvement and Responsibility
“The old excuse ‘the kids have changed.’ No. No friggin way. Kids are kids. PARENTING has changed. SOCIETY has changed. The kids are just the innocent victims of that. Parents are working crazy hours, consumed by their devices, leaving kids in unstable parenting/co-parenting situations, terrible media influences… and we are going to give the excuse that the KIDS have changed?“
Gentry says for many of her students, the classroom is the first place they’re being told ‘no,’ because of the lack of intentionality and relationships at home.
What’s worse is that she’s even had parents tell her that she’s not allowed to tell their child, ‘no.’
2. Sacrificing Relationships for Technology
As if our children aren’t struggling enough to understand appropriate behavior and social cues, Gentry says that schools are pushing harder and harder this technology agenda in an attempt to be “21st Century” schools.
“Forget the basics of relationship building and hands-on learning. Kids already can’t read social cues and conduct themselves appropriately in social settings,” she says, “Let’s toss more devices at them because it looks good on our website.”
She says teaching is no longer dependent on how well you manage and TEACH kids, but rather, your ability to use technology.