澳门跑狗论坛

鈥淒oes anyone else cry after work?鈥�

鈥淲hy don鈥檛 admin just get lost and let us teach?鈥�

鈥淭o quit or not to quit (it鈥檚 always the question).鈥�

These queries, recently posted on a popular Reddit page for teachers, might be a barometer for the well-being of the teaching profession these days. The subreddit, , has nearly 390,000 subscribers, many of whom are teachers who anonymously commiserate with one another about misbehaving students, demanding parents, and frustrating administrators.

While teacher communities are a staple on nearly all social media sites, the anonymity of Reddit allows educators to be especially candid and vulnerable. And, while the userbase is not representative of the teacher workforce as a whole, many of the subreddit鈥檚 users say they鈥檝e noticed an uptick in posts about how emotionally draining teaching is and a growing desire to quit.

While the forum can run the risk of devolving into a reinforcing loop of negativity, it is a vital source of support for many educators. And experts say it can be a way for school leaders and policymakers to see the inner thoughts of an embattled and beleaguered workforce鈥攁nd perhaps adjust policies accordingly to better recruit and retain teachers.

The subreddit might serve as a 鈥渃anary in the coal mine鈥� for understanding the state of the teaching profession, said Amy Stornaiuolo, an associate professor in the literacy, culture, and international education division at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Reddit posts, Stornaiuolo acknowledged, 鈥渃an be dismissed pretty easily as, 鈥楾hose teachers are just complaining,鈥� or, 鈥楾his is just a place for venting, but we shouldn鈥檛 take it seriously.鈥欌�� But she argues that the forum should instead be used as 鈥渁 bit of a litmus test for how teachers are doing.鈥�

鈥淭heir full social-emotional needs are not being met; they鈥檙e asked to do more with less,鈥� she said. "[We can] use this as a window to what it looks like when those pressures are just increasing and increasing and increasing.鈥�

A study unveiled this month found that the status of the teaching profession is at its lowest in five decades鈥攖eachers鈥� job satisfaction is the lowest its been in recent memory, public perception has soured, and fewer young people are interested in teaching as a career. The pandemic and recent political pressures have exacerbated the perennial challenges of the job, including low wages, a hefty workload, and high levels of accountability.

鈥淭eaching can feel very isolating, especially in the current moment in which their professionalism is called into question,鈥� Stornaiuolo said. The posts on Reddit, she said, reflect a mentality of: 鈥淭he kids are not all right; I am not all right; something is happening here.鈥�

Reddit is like an online teachers鈥� lounge

In many ways, the teacher subreddit serves as an online teachers鈥� lounge. Educators from across the country and even the world, who teach every grade level and subject area, ask for advice, share small victories, and discuss the general state of the profession.

Some of the posts are positive stories about a classroom win or a heartwarming student interaction. But these posts can feel few and far between amid posts about classroom management challenges, concerns about a lack of professional autonomy, and other workplace gripes. Posts mulling resignation also perpetually rise to the top of the subreddit.

One of the moderators of the subreddit, a former music teacher who asked to remain anonymous because he has received death threats on Reddit, said he鈥檚 been moderating the forum for five years. While there鈥檚 always been a good amount of venting, he said he noticed a shift in the past couple years as teachers became even more frustrated with their low salaries and growing workloads.

The subreddit was designed to be 鈥渁n open forum for teachers to talk and get things off their chest and try to work things out,鈥� the moderator said. 鈥淭he problem is, as things seem to be more and more bleak for teachers, the tone of the posts seems to be heading鈥攏ot darker, but definitely angrier.鈥�

And, while the subreddit has long been prone to attacks from trolls (or disgruntled students), the rhetoric of those attacks have shifted in the past seven months or so, the moderator said. These days, the unpaid team of moderators is deleting near-daily posts calling teachers 鈥渃hild molesters鈥� or 鈥済roomers"鈥攑ejoratives weaponized by some conservative pundits and politicians during debates about whether classroom discussions and materials related to sexuality and LGBTQ identity should be allowed in schools.

鈥淭hat stuff bleeds into the sub, and then we have to fight that,鈥� the moderator said.

The subreddit can be a place for support

Reddit users have said the forum has helped them get through the hardest schooldays. Christine Greenhow, a professor in educational psychology and educational technology at Michigan State University, reviewed some of the subreddit posts at 澳门跑狗论坛鈥檚 request and said she noticed a feeling of solidarity and support among posters.

While many of the posts on the subreddit are asking for tips from other teachers, some users wrote that they didn鈥檛 necessarily want any advice鈥攖hey mainly wanted to vent, Greenhow said.

鈥淭hese are places to give voice to your anxiety and for other people to say, 鈥業 understand. Let me tell you how it鈥檚 played out in my school or my classroom. You鈥檙e not alone,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭his seemed to be a place where I could go and talk about what鈥檚 going on and get other people鈥檚 thoughts. That can be very comforting鈥攊t can be a source of solidarity.鈥�

And when teachers have a greater feeling of solidarity, they鈥檙e at less risk for leaving the profession, Greenhow said. Surveys have indicated that a sizable number of teachers say they plan to quit in the next year or so, although it remains to be seen how many actually will.

One high school career and technical teacher in Texas, who requested anonymity for fear of his name being linked to his Reddit account, said the anonymity of the forum has allowed him a safe space to vent among like-minded people, which has helped him handle the stresses of teaching.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been my catharsis,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ost people just don鈥檛 get it. This profession is something you don鈥檛 really understand unless you鈥檙e really in it. ... The only way you can get it out is with people who are in the same boat as you.鈥�

He quipped: 鈥淭herapy鈥檚 expensive; internet connection鈥檚 cheap.鈥�

School leaders and policymakers could monitor the subreddit to take the pulse of the teacher workforce, Stornaiuolo said: 鈥淭here鈥檚 something very powerful about seeing many, many people saying the same things.鈥�

Still, she warned that teachers spending too much time steeped in the negativity of the forum could perpetuate and deepen their frustrations.

鈥淚 think people need a space in order to be able to share the full range of emotions, but when it鈥檚 predominately negative, that can also be reinforcing a feeling of hopelessness,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is a bit of a fine line: It is through collective story-sharing that one can be inspired to action, that something can change. It can be a catalyst, but it can also be a spiral.鈥�

And the tenor of the posts on the forum don鈥檛 necessarily represent teachers鈥� full selves, the Texas teacher said.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to read it with a grain of salt鈥攚e鈥檙e coming there for therapy, to get it out, and some are needing to rant in the moment because we are who we are, and we all have an altruistic bent,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e never really flip the switch to not being a teacher. It鈥檚 on our minds 24/7. We wake up in the middle of the night thinking about how to be better for our kids. ... Just [getting] it out in a safe space is an extreme need.鈥�