I have only been teaching for three years and I am so fucking tired. I teach in the state that is rated #47 out of 50 in terms of its school system. We have absolutely NO control over what/how we teach. We are forced to plan all lessons together as a team, and admin is present for (babysits) each one of those “collaborative planning” meetings. There is no room for creativity, individuality, or joy. I teach elementary school, and on Halloween I gave in and did a fun craft with my kids. The other teachers just whispered, “Don’t get caught.” I wanted to become a teacher to inspire students, to find creative ways to help kids learn, and to create a safe place for kids to come to if they don’t have a safe place at home. But they just want us to be robots. Post the standards. Recite the scales. Underline the learning goal. Repeat the objective. Do not think. Beep beep. Data. I don’t give a FUCK about data. Maybe I should just be an art teacher.