Posted by Anon:

I don't miss grading papers, endless meetings, grumpy parents, lesson plans, redoing curriculum notebooks, report cards, wild students, over demanding principals, after school activities to bring families back to school, state testing, evaluations, walk thrus, hot field trips, working at school during the weekends and holidays, field days, teachers who [just] get by, and early morning arrival time.

Posted by first grade teacher (retired):

The best thing I love about being retired from teaching is no more school work on Sunday night!! And the pension check comes in every first of the month. YES!

Posted by Sherry:

• 5:45 alarm
• Testing
• parent conferences
• Testing
• NCLB
• Testing
• Hot room with no air conditioning
• Testing
• Outdoor duty
• Testing
• Field trips
• And did I mention....TESTING?

Posted by Yellow Rose:

The black cloud that formed over my head every Sunday after we returned from Mass and I had to face the work that I had brought home with me Friday afternoon but had not yet tackled.

Posted by mrso:

I don't miss the cliquishness of some teachers, the extra work that a "new" program brought, only to be replaced by some other newbie before it could be brought to fruition. There was -- and still is, I'm sure, more than enough work for teachers without the constant piling on of more "little things that will only take a few minutes." Wow, I love retirement!!

Posted by Christine:

I'm in it for a year or two more, but as other posters said those Sunday nights with work (all the many nights, being so tired after a self-made longer day and still having to do more) are what I really won't miss! There's always more to do; it's like the laundry (mine anyway), you never get caught up.

Posted by Elaine/7/IN:

Grading papers at night . . . which is where I'm headed now!

Posted by Tut:

The one thing I do not miss is the constant colds that I would catch from those little ones. They were darling children but I don't miss those colds and flu!

Posted by hg (with just 2 1/2 days to go until retirement):

Things I won't miss:

• Some snippy coworkers and teachers who chum with parents in order to get the best students in their class
• Weekend work
• Summer work
• Defensive parents who say their child exhibits none of the behaviors at home that we are having problems with at school
• Testing kindergarten children
• Working hard to get the groups attention in order to explicitly teach phonics and other skills
• Doing worksheets with kinders
• Writing a ton of nurse's passes a day.
• Settling arguments and filtering through all the tattling
• Several respiratory infections, colds, pink eye, or strep throat cases each year. This year I even had a staph infection in my nose.

Things I will miss:

• The good morning greetings and sharing time
• Watching children who are actively engaged in a learning activity of their choice
• Reading aloud to children (especially this one)
• Helping the children complete a hands-on or art project.
• Seeing children's smiling faces when they have successfully mastered a difficult task
• Meeting new parents who value the educational experience for their child.
• Helping children learn to use computers.

Posted by Magoo, a sub for 14 years:

I don't miss:

• total lack of a discipline policy in a school
• parents who send their kids to school sick
• parents who take their kids out of school 2-3 days before a vacation
• parents who do not support their kids' education
• admin. who have not been in a classroom since God was a child
• stupid state/fed. gov't rules and regs made up by people who haven't been in a classroom since God was a child
• NCLB taking time away from geography, history, art, etc.
• petty behavior from some people who work in schools (I won't call them 'teachers'.)
• We don't have the $ for that" when football gets all it needs.

I do miss:

• TEACHING (not just holding things together till the regular teacher returns)
• the look on a kid's face when s/he 'gets it'
• class discussions on almost any subject
• reading to kids
• learning from other teachers
• watching kids grow from K-6th grade
• thinking up ways to make a lesson more interesting for the kids
• getting little 'love notes' and drawings from kids
• having a class holler, "Yay! We get Mrs. X for our sub!" when I walk in

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