I was a High School educator for 4 years, took a break, started a restaurant than a software company, then went back into teaching Middle School for 5 years. I lasted till December this year, inflation has eaten away my 52K salary on our single income family. My students every year were worse and worse behaviorally and the disregard for teacher safety from administration (false accusations, inappropriate COVID response, believing parents and students first) became even more so. We had students targeting male teachers that they didn’t like (two resigned) and I saw the writing on the wall that any student I disciplined could make a false accusation against me. I put in my two weeks notice and I started the new year at my new position as a Video Game producer and am now making more money remotely. I don’t miss a second from teaching. A job that you receive no bathroom breaks, no lunch breaks and barely any planning time made me burned out and paranoid. I also felt a huge disconnect from those in the classroom and those who are not. Unfortunately, a lot of school board policies are decided by the ones who are not in the classroom.