Pros
- Strong student connections. You are given lots of time to build relationships with students because you are with them for so much time throughout the day. - Fosters a sense of pride in your work. Shout outs are encouraged and promoted through all staff to acknowledge the little things you do throughout the week. Also, the work is hard, but when it is accomplished, it feels exciting. - Personal growth is possible. There are many opportunities to be in secondary leadership or to move up the ladder to leadership positions.
Cons
- Extreme Favoritism. Favorite teachers receive less work and are given more opportunities to make mistakes, grow, or receive leadership positions. - Long hours. Most days are from 7am-4:30pm, except for any day that has a school event which typically means you work 7am-7pm. - Lots of negative feedback and assumptions from leaders that prevent growth. They often focus on what you are doing wrong, assuming you are in bad faith, rather than actually trying to understand your perspective and showing you how to correct mistakes. Lots of yelling at you like you are one of the students. - Lack of behavior support. Often, students are sent back from the DOS with the idea that an apology fixes the behavior, just for them to turn around and do it again. Teachers are blamed for a lack of strong classroom management, however, are also not allowed to give any consequences to the students. - Retaliation from leaders when you do not comply to all their demands. If you do everything correct for the whole year, and push back once about a duty due to a lack of fairness in the distribution of duties (see extreme favoritism) then they immediately threaten to fire you. - Poor communication. Literally everything is a secret. SLT and teachers are told things very last. - Emotional exhaustion. This job, as many teaching jobs, requires a lot of emotional work, both positive and negative. You are expected to give it your all, not be emotionally hurt by student behaviors, and remain “emotionally constant” under intense stress. You are never allowed to feel overwhelmed (see Retaliation from leaders). - Personal growth is possible, but at a cost. You get little stipend for SLT and fellowship positions. You are also expected to be on all the time. Work-life balance is not allowed.