Goodbye Public Education

 After being a public school teacher in both Maryland and Florida for the past 8 years, and feeling like I was no longer making a difference in teaching, I resigned my position at the end of the 20-21 school year. I know I am not the only one in public education who has exited the field. I've witnessed an outcry across social media from many public school educators who had come to the end of their rope and were not able to be a part of a sinking ship a moment longer. 

If I am being honest, I would have quit in the middle of the '19-'20 school year. It was that bad. In a classroom of 18 students, I had one student on grade level. There were multiple students with behavior issues. I had one child that cried and moaned, laid on the floor, and did absolutely no work daily. I was no longer teaching. I was managing a classroom full of behaviors, however barely any instruction was taking place. I came home nearly every night crying, searching for other lines of work. You see, I couldn't just quit though. My family and I had moved to Florida in the summer of 2019, so my husband could go to Bible College. The state of Maryland pays significantly more to teachers than the state of Florida. I had taken a considerable pay cut to come in teach in Florida, and we no long had my husband's salary, so we went from a middle class family, to poverty level. I prayed, and I asked God to provide an opportunity, a way out. I prayed daily for my situation, for this school in which I was working, for my students. I prayed and I cried. I was feeling so hopeless, and just completely ready to leave education. And then, some call it a pandemic, but I call it my relief, happened. We went online after spring break on March 13th and never returned face to face. This was an answered prayer for me. I was actually able to teach via Google Meet and through different online platforms. I no longer had the behavior issues that I had within the four walls of my classroom. Don't get me wrong though, learning through Google Classroom and Google Meet is no way to teach students. That is absolutely what is not best for students learning in the public education classroom who are significantly below grade level with no parental support.

When the '19-'20 school year ended, I applied and got a temporary position teaching virtually. I was considered on loan from my school to the virtual school for as long as my school didn't need me. Those 10 weeks, once again, were wonderful. I was able to teach from home, made great connections with second graders from different parts of the county, I loved it. Then on a Tuesday I got a call that I would have to return to in person on that Friday. I had one day to set up my classroom across the campus, get familiar with a new grade level (that I had never taught), and then had students on that following Monday. Whew, what a whirlwind. Looking back, I know the Lord used me in those students lives. Luckily, most of the students knew me, since the previous year I was a 3rd grade teacher. Now we were all in 4th grade together. I started with 11 students at the end of October, by January I was up to 14, and then by March I was at 19. It was pure survival. I had new kids returning at least once a week. The office stopped telling me I was getting a new student. I remember one day as the students entered the classroom, one of them said, "Mrs. Ebersole, we got 2 new students today." The students knew before the teacher. I was so incredibly overwhelmed. 

But in May of 2021, I was made aware of an opportunity at a new Classical Christian School that had just opened in 2021. I applied, went for an interview and tour of the school, and fell in love. I knew very little about the Classical model of education, but I was eager to do whatever it took to teach at this school, as well as get my younger two children there. I was hired to teach a combo 3rd/4th class, and it has been nothing short of exactly what I needed to ignite my love for teaching that I had thought I lost. From reading great books, to narration, to the beautiful live oak in our garden with our nature studies, to actually getting to teach children, the past 6 months have been incredible. I do have to add that I have taken even more of a pay cut from teaching in public school, however the Lord provides, and the reduction in stress and the lighter workload is so very worth it!

If you have been following me through the years, thank you. I apologize for the inconsistency in my posts. I hope to write more about the lessons I am teaching in Classical Christian Education, and how wonderful it is for students! So please continue to follow!

I also create resources on TpT, I have resources that span from K-5, as I have taught various grades over the years. I would appreciate any support! You can find my store here - Momma with a Teaching Mission