>>Yes, I am a teacher, and I hear what you are saying. It’s not the kids who make the job difficult, it’s the grown ups.
Exactly. When you hear a black assistant principal tell you, “Sometimes you teachers can’t connect with our black children because you don’t share the same background as them, and this affects your teaching environment,” it’s time to start revising your resume.
The real issue, and admin gets pissed when you say this, is that disciplinary support pays off 100X more than money thrown at professional development and curriculum administration positions, and IT’S FREE. The district may get pissed at your AYP and grad. %, but the benefit is that the kids that WANT to learn leave the school with an actual education.
And they will never say this in the essay, but an openly gay male in a mostly-minority school? They won’t give you a chance. Sorry.
They won't at first. But I have seen absolute flamers survive. It's a matter of hanging in there for 3-4 years with your teeth gritted until you become a known entity. When kids start telling their little brothers and sisters, "Oh you got Mr. G for history this year? Yeah, I had him. He's okay." It starts to get easier.