Yesterday I heard from an old friend
that he too had left the work as a teacher. It came as a chock. How
can a well educated and popular teacher like him quit before the
semester is over to start working in the local grocery store, with
meat?
What I know the school he worked on is
quite calm compared to a lot of schools in towns. When asked he
answered: “Now I will not have to work when I am free from the job,
and if I work some evenings and weekends I will anyway have the same
salary as before...” (great salaries for teachers in Sweden!)
What is happening in Sweden? I know my
story (and you too soon), but all these good teachers leaving the
school like the rats jumping from the sinking ship. I will just
mention two more before my story: One music teacher became a church
musician (nice change) while one who became retired started to work
as a sub in her old school, saying “now I only have to do the fun
part-have lessons- all the other things, the so called paperwork that
took all the time from the real work is gone. This is the real work
for a teacher”. I can't agree more with her!
Now my story:
I also felt that I spent more and more
time doing work that was administrative and not teaching. I used to
tell my friends that when I started working as a teacher I had time
to sit and plan my lessons and help as a sub when somebody was sick
(up to 4 lessons/week). I also got extra paid for that.
After 15 years I still had to be a sub
when someone was ill, but due to new rules that the union had
approved all over Sweden we were not paid for this, but forced to do
it. The planing had to be done during the “home working time”!
Now I also had to do other things like much more paper works to
“protect the school from being accused to not follow the rules”
and “check if the students had any diagnosis” and... these where
the reason why my friend quit and now works at ICA superstore.
I worked anyway until one day I was
threatened during a student trip in the forest were we where supposed
to sleep that I should “live as this was my last day”. The trip
was canceled during the evening and I made a report to the police. I
was told that they can do nothing because the girl was under 15 years
old (she was 14). The head master did what he could, but according to
the law in Sweden the girl did not have to move to another school
unless she said yes to the place he wanted to give to her (her
parents said “No!”).
So I had to work in a classroom were it
was a student who knew I could do nothing when she were messing and
disturbing the other students.
Some weeks later she really were
messing during a math test. She was playing games, with the sound on,
on her cellphone! She was told by me to put it away, and I got the
answer “soon”. When I came back I said “according to the law I
am allowed to take your cellphone if you are disturbing others with
it, so pleas put it away.”. “No”, she said. “Then I will take
it now”, I replied and put my hand on the cell. What happened then
was like in a dream.
She hold tightly in her cell and leaned
fast forward and bit my hand. I was in shock and just looked at my
hand and said loud:”You bit me”, then I walked out from the room.
I do not remember what happened with the test.
Once again I called the police and the
headmaster and my colleges gave me all their support. I signed of and
was home psychically down. It is called “sick leave”. I did not
have any strength left to work in that kind of situation. The doctor
said it was no good to return. (The girl stayed in the class and the
police did nothing again., and the headmaster could nothing do, more
than try to insert extra resources in the class-but he lost me. He
did what he could for me!)
What to do? Stay home and be “sick”
approved by a doctor, although you don't feel sick or do as my former
colleges above?
I did nothing of that. Instead I
started to study again to become an engineer. I have great study
buddies and gets a great education, but the cost is high: I need to
take new student loans (the way it works in Sweden) and it costs the
society too to. It is a crazy situation, but now I enjoy my life.
Will I ever come back to school as a
teacher?
Good question. I love teaching, I
really do!!! and I am a great teacher (according to my other
students, not that girl). The problem is that even the law is against
the teachers in Sweden.
Under 15, nothing happens
over 15... according to a court
decision recently students are allowed to hit the teacher “a little
bit”, because the teacher profession should be looked upon as the
police profession according to Aftonbladet (Swe link). “!on kcuF” (invert
it). They never gave me a course in self defense. I am a teacher, and
as long as the students have the right to beat the teachers I will
not come back.
If Sweden are supposed to be one of the
best countries in the world in education the government and the
opposition have to do something drastic, else there will be no
teachers any more.
Poor all the wonderful children!
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