BASTROP, Texas — A teacher in a suburban Dallas school district didn’t hold back when she expressed her frustration about the teaching industry.
On March 28th, Julie Marburger wrote a lengthy post that has been shared more than 400,000 times:
“I left work early today after an incident with a parent left me unable emotionally to continue for the day,” Marburger wrote. “I have already made the decision to leave teaching at the end of this year, and today, I don’t know if I will make it even that long.”
Marburger said parents have become “too disrespectful,” and their children are even worse.
Her post included pictures of her classroom that she said was “damaged or destroyed” by her students. She pointed out that she spent her own money to buy supplies because she doesn’t have a classroom budget.
She also said half of her students were failing due to missing assignments.
“Most of the students and their parents haven’t seemed to care about this over the past three months,” she wrote. “Emails have been sent and phone calls have been attempted.”
“I have never heard of a profession where people put so much of their heart and soul into their job, taking time and resources from their home and family, and getting paid such an insultingly measly amount,” she said. “Teachers are some of the most kind and giving people I have ever met, yet they get treated so disrespectfully from all sides.”
Most parents can’t stand to spend more than a couple hours a day with their kid, but we spend 8 with yours and 140 others just like him,” Marburger wrote. “Is it too much to ask for a little common courtesy and civil conversation?”
She said people have to stop “coddling and enabling their children.”
After the post went viral, Marburger updated it.
“I’m feeling a little shell-shocked over the attention I have gotten, to say the least,” she said.
“I never intended to be a spokesperson for anything. I’m not the most qualified to do so, and I’m certainly not the best teacher out there, by far,” she continued. “But obviously my words, spoken in desperation that day, have struck a chord with many people.”
She admitted she would have said things a little differently and pointed out that she does have “many amazing, hard-working, respectful students who show up every day and give their best and also many supportive, loving parents.”
But she said her post pointed out three main issues that have to be addressed:
“First, the education system as we know it needs reform. It is broken and inadequate for our children.
Second, we absolutely have to hold our children to a higher standard of accountability in all areas. Inflating their success doesn’t raise self-esteem. If it did, we wouldn’t have the highest teen suicide rates in history right now.
Third, we as a society have to get back to treating one another with manners and respect. We are only going downhill with hatred and name-calling. No one wins when kindness dies.”
Marburger said she plans to start a blog and hopes other teachers and parents will join her in the discussion.
“If we all work together, we can make the changes we need for our collective success,” she said.
